Wild Cat
by flabirder
Summary: Introducing a little sister for the Cartwrights. She will be related to characters from other Westerns and have some famous Godfathers, but they will rarely be in the story. It will be necessary to show her life before she moves to the Ponderosa. Warning, spanking of minor children in some chapters. Trolls will be dealt with by the Three Billy Goats Gruff.
1. Chapter 1

It was a late spring night and Ben Cartwright was sitting in his favorite chair with a book in his lap. He had been trying to read for the past two hours but couldn't concentrate on what was written on the pages.

Supper had been over for more than two hours and she still wasn't home. He was positive he knew where she was and why and he knew she could take care of herself, but he still worried about her and was very upset that she was so late. The later it got, the angrier he got and swore she was going to get a good tongue lashing when she finally did walk in the door. He thought about sending her to bed with no supper, if she hadn't already caught and eaten something, but this was the final week of school before summer vacation, she had exams in the morning and needed a good hot meal and a good night's sleep. She was too old for a thrashing, not that it did any good with her anyway. "Doggone that girl!" he exclaimed aloud. "She knows better than to be so late on a school night!"

Adam, Hoss and Joe tried to reassure their father. "You know where she is and why Pa." said Joe.

"I know son. I was hoping that she'd forget this time."

"How do you forget something like that?" asked his youngest son. Don't you think she'd like to forget what happened to her all those years ago?"

"It was storming over that way earlier and she probably took shelter to wait out the storm," Hoss chimed in.

"She can take care of herself Pa." Adam tried to reassure his father. "She was better able to take care of herself when she was ten than we were when we were her age, and she's got her dogs with her. They won't let anything happen to her."

Ben knew that his sons were right, but he had to do something. "I'm going to look for her," he said as he got to his feet.

Just as Ben was getting to his feet, a slender young girl about sixteen or seventeen rode into the yard on a large black horse, accompanied by two dogs, a collie and a large silver white dog that looked more like a wolf than a dog. "Would you two please let Pa know we're home? I know he's fit to be tied because I'm so late," she said to the dogs as she slid down off her horse's back. "I'm going to get Fury rubbed down and fed. I hope someone has already fed Angel and done my chores. I've got my history and reading exams tomorrow. I need to get some food in me and head for bed so I don't fall asleep in school tomorrow."

The dogs obediently walked up to the front door and barked.

"She's home. Now will you please relax?" asked Adam. "You know she'll be in just as soon as she gets her horse rubbed down and fed."

A few minutes later, the front door opened and the girl walked into the house followed by her dogs. Her long brown hair was in neat braids. She wore a buckskin shirt, trousers and moccasins instead of a dress and shoes. She had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over her back and the head of a small hatchet stuck out of the quiver as well. She put the bow and arrows along side her father and brothers' guns on the armoire near the door. "I'm home Pa," she said as she walked into the living room.

"Where have you been young lady?" her father demanded. "Do you know how late it is and how worried I've been about you?"

Just for a moment, the girl stared at her father, almost not believing what he asked. "You know where I was Pa. I went to visit my parents' graves." she said quietly. "It's been nine years today since my mother was murdered and sixteen years since my father was killed in the war. I also put flowers on Aunt Marie's grave while I was up there. I'm sorry I'm so late but a storm blew up just as I was starting to head for home. I barely got a lean to and fire built before the rain started. It was storming pretty bad up there and I had to wait for it to stop before I could start for home."

Ben hugged his daughter close. All thoughts of a tongue lashing left his mind with her reply. "I was hoping that you'd forgotten about that this year. I'm glad that you're home safe. Have you had anything to eat?"

"I can't forget about it Pa. No matter how hard I try, I just can't forget what happened nine years ago. I wish I could forget. Please tell me how. No I haven't eaten. I knew that you'd be worried because I was so late so I ran Fury almost all the way home once I got onto dry ground and I didn't stop to catch anything to eat. Don't worry, I made sure he was completely cooled down before we got home."

"I wish I could tell you how to forget what happened that day. I wish I had a way to make you forget. Hop Sing has been keeping a plate of food warm for you in the kitchen. You'd better go and tell him you're ok and ask him for it. I think he's been more worried about you than I was. I wasn't worried about your horse. You take better care of him and your dogs than you do yourself"

"Alright Pa, just as soon as I get my chores done. I've got you, Hop Sing and my brothers to take care of me and in ten and a half months, I'll have Thaddeus to take care of me too. My dogs and horses only have me to take care of them"

"Don't worry about your chores little sister." said Hoss. "We've already taken care of them for you."

Hoss's statement was greeted with a big smile and an even bigger hug. "Thanks lots big brother. I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about your chores tomorrow morning or Wednesday morning either," said Joe. "You've got final exams tomorrow and Wednesday, so get a little extra sleep so you can do well on your exams."

"Right now, you'd better head to the kitchen and let Hop Sing know you're home safe before he goes crazy. I think he worries more about you than he did the 3 of us when we were little," said Adam. "Also, you've got to eat. You won't get a good night's sleep if you're hungry."

"You mean Hoss actually left some food for me?" laughed the girl. "It's a wonder I haven't starved to death before now the way the three of you, especially Hoss, eat."

Hoss pretended to growl. "Get along with you now brat before I decide to eat your plate of food and make you get up early to do my chores and yours before breakfast." The girl just laughed, dodged a pretend swat that came from her older brother and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey Joe, what are you getting me for my eighteenth birthday week after next?" asked the girl as she headed toward the kitchen.

"I keep telling you brat that it's not your birthday, it's mine," teased Joe. "What are you getting me?"

"My mama gave me to you a long time ago. She said I was your present for your tenth birthday. You've got me. What else could you possibly want?"

Ben chuckled to himself as he listened to the familiar banter between his children. "Cat, it's getting late and you've got exams in school tomorrow. Go and get your supper so you can get a good night's sleep. Besides that, if you don't let Hop Sing know that you're home safe, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Alright Pa. I am hungry enough to eat a side of beef. I hope Hop Sing has a big plate of food for me." The girl ran into the kitchen. "Hop Sing I'm home and I'm hungry enough to eat a side of beef."

The Cartwright's Chinese cook came out of his room, hugged the girl and then proceeded to give her a good scolding in a combination of Chinese and English. "Missy Cat vely late. Miss big supper. Hop Sing get vely angry when Missy Cat miss supper. You much too thin. Need to eat more. Get big like Mister Hoss." Hop Sing continued his scolding as he took a plate of food out of the oven and set it on the table. "You eat all of it now. You no be hungry while Hop Sing is here. You want more, you tell Hop Sing and he get it for you. Where you been? Why you so late?"

The girl did her best to keep from laughing during the scolding. She knew that Hop Sing loved her as though she was his own child and the scolding was just his way of showing it. She looked at the plate of food in front of her and said, "Thanks Hop Sing. This looks delicious. I don't want to get as big as Hoss. Thaddeus might not love me as much if I did. I went to visit my parents' graves and got caught in a storm."

"You no go up there any more. You get sad when you go up there. Hop Sing no like it when you sad."

"I had to go up there today. My mother was murdered nine years ago today and it's been sixteen years since my father was killed in the war. I also put flowers on Aunt Marie's grave while I was up there."

"Hop Sing no care. He no like it when you go up there and get sad. You no go up there any more. Now you stop talking and eat. Mister Thaddeus no love you if you too skinny either."

The girl knew better than to keep arguing, so she just said, "Ok Hop Sing. Whatever you want," and ate her food. The plate was almost empty when Hop Sing piled more on it. The girl laughed and said, "Hop Sing, I wasn't really hungry enough to eat a side of beef and I don't want to get as big as Hoss."

"You stop talking and eat. You got exams in school tomorrow and need to eat. I save big piece of cherry pie and ice cream for you."

Thirty minutes later, a very full girl walked back into the living room.

"It's late. You'd better go and get ready for bed Cat. You may be graduating on Friday but you've still got exams tomorrow and Wednesday. Go on now and I'll be up in a few minutes to say goodnight."

"Alright Pa. I am tired. Oh yeah, I won't be coming home right after school tomorrow."

"Oh?" One of Ben's eyebrows went up. "Why not?"

"My arithmetic exam is on Wednesday. Adam promised to meet me after school and we'd go someplace quiet so he could help me study for it. Uncle Matt will kill me if I don't do well on it and Thaddeus said he doesn't care if I'm eighteen or a hundred and eighteen, he won't marry me until I graduate, so I've got to do good on that arithmetic exam."

"Well," said Ben. "I don't know how you're going to graduate on Friday if you can't use proper grammar. You've got to do well on the exam. Now go and get ready for bed."

"Alright Pa. Lassie, Chief, let's go."

Ben watched and smiled as his daughter ran up the stairs followed by her dogs. When she was born, her mother had been told she couldn't have any more children, so the girl had been named for both of her parents. His sister had been called Katherine or Kate but she and Michael decided to call their daughter Catherine. Catherine Michael Cartwright. Wild Cat they called her. She wasn't even two years old when she earned that name. Hoss said that she was as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. That statement hadn't been too far from the truth and still wasn't.

A few minutes later he got up from his chair and walked upstairs. He had a little less than year left to sit with her and read before she went to sleep. Her eighteenth birthday was coming up soon. After it, she would go and spend the summer in Dodge with her father's brother one last time. Ten months after her birthday, Cat would marry the man who saved her life nine years ago and had been waiting for her ever since. He would miss the ritual they had shared almost every night since she had come to live on the Ponderosa, but just like with his sons, Ben knew its time would be ending before he knew it.

He walked into her room, picked up the book they had been reading off the night table and sat down in the bed next to his daughter and hugged her close. "Penny for your thoughts," he said as he looked at the girl.

"I was just thinking about what happened to my mother," she said.

"Don't go starting to blame yourself again. You know as well as I do that if you had gone with her and her husband, you would not be alive now."

"I know. I just wish that there had been something I could have done."

"You were only eight years old. There was absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent what happened. The only way it could have been prevented is if somebody had known about it ahead of time. Now, stop worrying about the past. You can't do anything to change it, no matter how much you'd like to. Now, we've barely got enough time to read two chapters before you have to go to sleep." He looked at the cover of the book in his hands. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Sam Clemens was an old family friend and had dedicated the book to Cat saying that her love of life and adventure were his inspiration for both Tom and Huck. She did love adventure and that meant more gray hairs for him.

A short time later, he walked back downstairs, picked the book up out of his chair, set it on the table next to the chair and started thinking about the past. The day his niece was born, Ben had promised his younger sister if anything should happen to her and Michael; he would take care of their little girl. Had it really been nine years since he received the telegrams that changed his life?


	2. Chapter 2

Ben walked over to his desk, opened the safe behind it and took out two pieces of paper. He walked back over, sat in his chair near the fireplace and opened the first one. It was from Matt. "Urgent! Kate and Stephen arriving in Dodge in four days. Afraid they're going to force Cat to go with them. Already wired Jarrod to see what your father's will says."

He refolded the first paper, unfolded the second and read it. This was the one that changed his life forever. It arrived about two weeks after the first wire. "Urgent! Come to Dodge immediately. Kate and Stephen murdered last night. Cat seriously injured." Ben closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to the events of nine years ago.

On a late spring morning in Dodge City, Kansas, an eight year old girl was getting ready for school. "Hurry up Cat. You've got to eat breakfast and I won't have you being late for school."

"I'm ready Uncle Matt. I was just making sure that my school work was inside my books." The girl came out of a small room and hugged her uncle who picked her up.

"I declare, you weigh as much as a baby elephant. It won't be much longer before I won't be able to pick you up at all." The girl just laughed and hugged her uncle around his neck. He hugged her back and set her down. "Let's go. You won't be able to concentrate in school if you don't get some breakfast in you."

She grabbed her books and the two of them walked out of the jail toward the hotel. When they reached the dining room, they spotted Doc Adams sitting alone at a table with a cup of coffee in front of him. "Morning Matt. Morning Cat. Come and join me."

The girl ran up to him and hugged his neck. "Morning Doc. Thanks for letting us sit with you."

"Morning Doc," said Matt. "I'd like to bring Cat by your office after school for a check up. There's nothing wrong. I'm just not sure that an eight year old should weigh as much as a baby elephant."

Doc just laughed. "There's nothing wrong with how much she weighs Matt. Cat here looks like she weighs just about the right amount for an eight year old and she's got a good, healthy appetite." The two men laughed as they watched the girl eat her breakfast like she hadn't eaten in a week.

"How are you doing in school Cat?" asked Doc.

"Fine, except for arithmetic. I hate arithmetic. I don't see why I have to study it." Matt just raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. This had been an ongoing fight for years.

"Well, I'll tell you why you need arithmetic," said Doc. "How much does Mr. Michaels pay you for the fish you catch?"

"Five cents each for the small ones and ten cents each for the big ones," replied Cat.

"Ok. If you catch five small fish and six big ones, you have got to be able to count the fish you catch. You have also got to be able to figure out how much money you are supposed to be paid for all of the fish you catch. You also need arithmetic when you buy candy. You need to know if you have enough money to pay for it and if you get the correct amount of change back. Why don't you stop by the Blacksmith shop after school and ask Quint how he uses arithmetic?"

"I didn't know that. Thanks Doc. That's a great idea. I love spending time watching Mr. Quint work. That food was good Uncle Matt. May I please have some more?" she asked after swallowing the last morsel from her plate.

Matt looked at his watch. "Alright, you've got time for more before school," and ordered more food for her. Fifteen minutes later, the girl had finished her second helping of bacon and eggs. "It's time you started for school young lady. You have exams coming up next week and if you don't pass them, you'll be staying here instead of spending the summer with Uncle Ben and your cousins on the Ponderosa."

"I hope Uncle Ben lets me ride a horse this summer. I'm too old for a pony now."

"You're only eight. Your uncle will do what he thinks is best for you and if that means riding a pony one more summer, you'll ride a pony."

"Mark McCain is the same age I am and he wrote me that he has his own horse. Also only the little kids at school ride ponies."

"Right now, I'm not worried if you ride a horse or a pony this summer. If you're late for school, you'll spend this weekend inside instead of fishing and playing with your friends. Now, go to school and no fighting!"

The girl grabbed her books and ran out the hotel door. "You've done a great job raising her Matt," said Doc. "She's happy and healthy. There's nothing wrong with her weight or her appetite. And, before you ask, yes, her appetite is just fine for an active eight year old child."

"Thanks for explaining to her why she needs to know arithmetic. I've been trying for years without any luck. I wish I could get her out of those buckskins and into a dress more often. Kitty is the only one who can get her to wear a dress and that's only for church on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. She should dress more like a girl than a boy."

Doc just laughed. "Pick your battles Matt. She's a great kid. She's polite and well behaved and sometimes she's extremely lucky. Mrs. Johnson told me that Cat just happened to be in the right place at the right time yesterday. She was coming out of the general store with her arms full of packages and started to drop some. She said that Cat made a dive and was able to catch her eggs before they hit the ground. Mrs. Johnson said that when she looked at the eggs, only one was broken and only one was cracked. Almost everybody likes her. Quint says she has quite a way with horses and can calm a nervous one just by talking to it. He says that she'll make a great Blacksmith when she grows up."

Matt laughed at that last remark. "I'm not so sure I want my niece growing up to be a Blacksmith Doc and I don't think the rest of the family will either. Most people don't see her wild side. That's why they like her. She doesn't usually misbehave in public, but when there aren't many adults around, look out. She got into a fight after school the day before yesterday. One of the boys said something she didn't like and she hit him, which of course led to a fight."

"Who won?" laughed Doc.

"Cat did of course. I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She hunts and fishes and cleans and cooks what she kills. She gets into fights and wears every black eye like it was a badge of honor."

"I wouldn't worry too much Matt. As she ages and starts seeing boys in a different light, she'll start settling down and wearing dresses more. You were courting her mother at the same time your brothers were. Didn't you tell me that Ben said his sister was wild when she was young? Kate settled down enough to have more than just three young men courting her and I'm sure that Cat will too. Just give her some time. Wouldn't it be funny if she ended up marrying that boy she keeps fighting with?"

"You're right Doc that would be funny," Matt laughed.

As Matt and Doc sat eating their breakfast, Cat started on her way to school, taking her time and not bothering to hurry. She was trying to think of a way to get out of it, but anything she thought of would just get her in trouble with Uncle Matt, which meant she would have to stay inside all weekend. She hated being in school and told she had to sit still or being scolded for looking out of the windows when she was supposed to be studying her arithmetic. It just wasn't fair. She wanted to be outside, running with the wild things, not cooped up inside all day while the sun was shining. She approached the Blacksmith shop and wondered if he needed her help. Maybe he had a bunch of horses that wouldn't hold still and she could stay there and help him. "Good morning Mr. Quint. Do you need any help this morning?"

Quint heard the school bell start to ring and smiled. He knew exactly what the girl was up to. "Good morning Cat. No, I don't need any help this morning, but if you're late for school, I won't let you help me for two weeks. Now scoot before I tell Matt what you're up to."

The girl loved helping in the Blacksmith shop almost as much as she loved being out running with the wild things. The thought of being denied spending time there for two whole weeks was unbearable, so she ran all the way to school and made it into her seat before the bell stopped ringing. Quint laughed as he watched the girl run toward the school and went back to work.

Doc and Matt sat in the hotel restaurant for a little while talking and drinking coffee. Doc looked at his watch and was starting to get up when an out of breath man hurried up to them. "There you are Marshal. I've been looking all over town for you. This telegram just came for you and John said it was important."

"Thank you Pete. I appreciate you bringing it to me," said Matt. He opened the telegram and all of the color drained from his face when he read it.

"Are you ok Matt? You're as white as a ghost. What's in that telegram that has you so upset?" asked Doc.

Matt handed the telegram to Doc and said, "Kate is in the country. She'll be here in four days. I'm afraid that she and her husband are going to try and take Cat back to Australia with them. She hasn't bothered to try and contact her daughter in seven years, so why would she show up all of a sudden if it wasn't to try and take Cat away from me?"

"That's terrible Matt. Why would she try and take Cat back to Australia with her? What are you going to do?"

"Yes, it is terrible. Before he died, Cat's grandfather found out that Kate's husband was not the man he pretended to be when he convinced old Joe Cartwright to allow him to marry his recently widowed daughter. Stephen was very deep in debt. It also seems that he was married four times before to wealthy women, all of whom disappeared not too long after he got control of their money and it didn't take more than a few years for him to go through all of it. I suspect he married Kate, thinking she would inherit her father's money when he died.

When she turns nine, Cat is supposed to inherit one hundred dollars from each of her mother's parents. She'll inherit another one hundred from each of them when she turns ten and five hundred from each when she turns fifteen. She'll receive another thousand from each when she turns eighteen and the remainder of her inheritance when she marries. She'll be receiving a very large sum of money from each of her mother's parents' estates once she's married and will be a very wealthy woman. I'm afraid that Stephen wants Cat's money and if he can get her away from the family, he'll arrange to adopt her. If he adopts her, he can force her to sign over her inheritance to him. Once he has control of her money, he won't need her any more and I'm afraid for Cat's safety.

The first thing I'm going to do is send a telegram to Jarrod. He's the family lawyer and should have his grandfather's will. I think that there's something in it about Cat being forced to leave the country and Jarrod will know for sure. Then I'm going to send telegrams to my brother and Ben Cartwright. I think I'll send telegrams to Luke McCain, Sam Grant, Bill Sherman and Phil Sheridan also. They probably can't do anything to help, but they were Michael's friends and deserve to know that his daughter may be in grave danger. Even though they're not related, Cat has always referred to each of them as her uncle."

"Go, send your telegrams Matt. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. What are you going to tell Cat?

"I don't know Doc. I will need to tell her that her mother is in the country and will be here in a few days. Beyond that, I don't know what I'm going to tell her. I guess it will depend on what her grandfather's will says." He got up, reached in his pocket, pulled out some money and left it on the table for the two meals and walked out the door, not even noticing Kitty Russell as he walked by her. Less than five minutes later, he was in the telegraph office writing out several telegrams. The first was to Kate's nephew, Jarrod Barkley at his offices in Stockton and San Francisco. It was short and to the point. "Urgent! Kate and Stephen arriving in Dodge in four days. Afraid they're going to force Cat to go with them. What does your grandfather's will say? Please advise. Matt" The remainder of the telegrams were similar. "Urgent! Kate and Stephen arriving in Dodge in four days. Afraid they're going to force Cat to go with them. Already wired Jarrod to see what old Joe's will says." Matt handed the two papers to the telegrapher. "Please send this one first John," he said pointing to the top one.

After sending the first telegram, John looked at the second one from Matt and at the list of recipients. "Let's see now, Ben Cartwright, Lucas McCain, and Lt. Ripley Masters. Are you sure about these last three Marshal? President Grant, General Sherman and General Sheridan?"

"Yes John, I'm sure. They were good friends with Cat's father and promised to take care of her if she was ever orphaned and no family member could take her. There's nothing they can do, but they deserve to know that their Goddaughter may be forced to leave the country against her will. Please let me know as soon as you get a reply to the first one."

Doc paid for his breakfast and left the hotel shortly after Matt did and spotted Kitty Russell as soon as he stepped out of the door. "Good morning Kitty."

"Good morning Doc. What's wrong with Matt? He looked like he'd seen a ghost and didn't even say hello. That's not like him. Is he sick?"

"He's heart sick Kitty," Doc said, handing her the telegram Matt had left on the table.

"Oh my God, this is terrible Doc. What's he going to do?"

"He's sending a telegram to Jarrod to see what Cat's grandfather's will says and he's sending telegrams to the rest of the family to let them know what is happening. Luke, Sam, Bill and Phil won't be able to do anything because they're not really related, but Ben, Rip and Victoria might be able to do something since they're Cat's aunt and uncles. Matt's best hope is that old Joe Cartwright's will says something about Cat being forced to leave the country against her will."


	3. Chapter 3

After sending his telegrams, Matt walked back to his office. He sat with his head in his hands and wondered what he was going to tell his niece when she got back from school.

He remembered back to when he and his two brothers had all been courting Kate Cartwright. He was the elder of the three and his father had been killed in an Indian raid when he was just a baby. His mother married Tom Masters when he was two and the man always treated him as though he was his own son, even after Rip and Michael were born. Even back then when the three of them were courting Kate, Matt was a law man and his brothers were Army officers. Rip loved the Army while Michael hated it. He planned on resigning his commission as soon as he could, even if Rip would be disappointed in him.

Matt sat thinking and remembered the day that Kate and Michael informed him and Rip that she had chosen him over his brothers and her other suitors. Then Mike had dropped a huge bombshell. He was resigning his commission in the Army to become a rancher and he was changing his last name. He wanted his children to be Cartwrights and had already talked to a lawyer about how to change his name. Matt and Rip were shocked but they hugged their brother and his new fiancée and wished them well. Six months later, Katherine and Michael Cartwright were married.

Her brother had a ranch several miles outside of Virginia City, Nevada and had given them a piece of land on which to start their own ranch. They were very happy and in late 1859, Kate announced that she was expecting what she and Michael hoped would be the first of many children. In mid June of 1860, they were at her brother, Ben's ranch to celebrate his youngest son, Joe's tenth birthday when Kate went into labor. Michael carried his wife upstairs to Ben's oldest son Adam's bedroom while Adam rode to town and brought the doctor back. Kate's labor was not easy and when the doctor finally brought her child into the world, he informed her that she should not have any more children or she could die in childbirth. So, she and Michael named their daughter after themselves with a slight twist. Instead of Katherine Michael Cartwright, they named their daughter Catherine Michael Cartwright, Cat for short. When the family was allowed into the bedroom to meet the new arrival, instead of handing the baby to her husband first, Kate handed her to her youngest nephew and asked how he liked his birthday present from her. The boy replied that next to the colt his father had given him, his little cousin was the best birthday present ever, which set everyone to laughing. Ben promised his sister and her husband that if anything should ever happen to them, he would take care of his niece.

Everyone who could came for the baby's baptism. Ben and Kate's older sister, Victoria, even put aside her jealousy of her younger sister and came for the baptism with her husband and their four children. Their mother was in poor health, so their parents were unable to attend but sent lavish gifts for their youngest granddaughter and changed their wills to include her. Matt came in from Dodge, accompanied by Kitty Russell, the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Rip was granted a short furlough and came in from Arizona. Some of Michael's best friends, Sam Grant, Bill Sherman, Phil Sheridan, and their wives also attended the baptism and promised Kate and Michael that, if anything should happen to them and no family member could take the child, one of them would take and raise her as their own. His other best friend, Lucas McCain was unable to attend. His wife had given birth to a baby boy a few months earlier and Luke did not want to leave his wife and infant son, but they sent a blanket his wife knitted for the baby.

Although Kate protested that Cat was much too young for such things, with the help of her nephews, Michael made her a rocking horse, a doll house, and a doll carriage. Then he went to the store and bought several dolls to put in the doll house and carriage. He also made her large wooden blocks and painted the ABCs and numbers through ten on them in bright colors. The small ranch was thriving, the baby was healthy and the young family was very happy.

Unfortunately, their happiness was not to last. Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the Southern states seceded from the Union and the War Between the States began when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter. President Lincoln called for volunteers and young men from all across the country answered his call. Michael had no intentions of leaving his wife and baby daughter to fight in the war until he answered a knock at his door one day. He opened the door and in walked Sam Grant, Phil Sheridan and Bill Sherman. They had come to get him to join the Union Army. He would be commissioned a First Lieutenant and would receive his Captain's bars within a year. Michael said no. He hated Army life and did not want to leave his wife and baby daughter. The more they pressed, the more he said no until Grant uttered the four words Michael could not say no to, "Your country needs you." Michael reluctantly agreed to accept the commission and serve in the Union Army. Kate was furious and ordered the three men out of her house and told them that she never wanted to see them again as long as she lived. How dare they come into her house and coerce her husband into doing something he did not want to do? She slammed the door behind them and turned to face her husband, tears in her eyes. Grant had done the same thing at the McCain household when Lucas was also unwilling to leave his wife and baby son. Lucas' wife's reaction had been the same as Kate's.

The war raged on and shortly after New Year's Day in 1862, Kate received the news she had been dreading. Michael had been killed in battle. Lucas McCain was bringing his friend's body home for burial. Kate was now a widow and had a child to raise with no one to help her. A few days after Michael's funeral, Kate went over to her brother's house and told him to take care of her ranch because she was taking her daughter and going to stay with their father for a while. Their mother had died the previous fall; their father was not doing well and needed help. Little did she dream what the consequences of that decision would be.

Shortly after Kate moved in with her father, a man named Stephen Jacobs began calling at the house almost every evening at suppertime. Kate listened politely to his stories of living in Australia, diamond mines and strange animals but her thoughts were on the man she loved who was now buried on her brother's ranch. Several weeks later, Jacobs asked her to go for a walk with him. She declined stating that she was recently widowed and it wasn't proper for her to be seen in public with a man who wasn't married. This went on for several weeks until one night her father exploded and told her to go for a walk with Jacobs. Kate reluctantly did as her father commanded because she was afraid that his health would get worse if he kept letting his temper get the best of him. She did not enjoy the walk and made it as short as possible. It had only been two months since she buried her husband and she was still mourning his loss.

Jacobs kept showing up at supper time and Kate's father kept insisting that she go walking with him. One night several months later, Jacobs asked Kate to marry him. She said no. Her husband had only been dead four months and she wasn't ready to remarry. She reminded him that the only reason she was out walking with him was to keep her father's temper from possibly harming his health. Jacobs kept asking Kate to marry him and she kept saying no. Finally, he went over to the house one day while Kate was out with the baby and asked her father for her hand in marriage. Her father gladly agreed. During his wife's illness, he had become obsessed with power and wealth and Stephen Jacobs had both, or so he said. Kate was furious when her father told her that he had arranged for her to marry Jacobs. She told her father that it had only been

four and a half months since her husband died and it wasn't proper for her to be seen with an unmarried man, let alone marry again just yet. She did not love Jacobs and would not marry a man she did not love. As expected, he threw a fit, and gave her an ultimatum. Either she married Jacobs or he would turn her out of his house with no money to support her and her child. He would also prevent her brother and sister from helping her, he would cut her child out of his will and he would find a way to keep her and her daughter from inheriting her mother's money. Kate told her father that she could always go to one of her husband's brothers but her father told her that soldiers and lawmen did not make much money and they would not be able to support their brother's wife and child. She did not want her baby to be out on the street with nowhere to live, so she reluctantly agreed to marry Jacobs.

"What about my baby?" Kate asked her father. "It takes several months for a ship to reach Australia and if Catherine gets sick on the voyage, she will probably die."

"You'll leave the child with me," he said. "I'll raise her and if she gets to be too much for me to handle, I'll send her off to live with your sister."

Kate couldn't believe what she heard her father say. He expected her to just let him raise her baby or give the baby to her sister to raise. Kate decided right then and there that she would rather be homeless than let her father or sister raise her child. She did not want her daughter growing up to think that money and power were the only things that mattered in life. Victoria had been jealous of her when they were younger and even though her sister had fallen in love with the baby at her baptism and had been supportive at Michael's funeral, Kate wasn't sure how her sister would react to being told she had to raise her sister's child as well as her own children. That night, Kate packed all of Catherine's things and early the next morning before her father awoke, she took the baby and her things, quietly left the house and went to the train station. She took the train to Wichita, Kansas and the stage to Dodge City. While in Wichita, she sent a telegram to her husband's brother Matt in Dodge, informing him that she and the baby would be there in a day.

Matt met the stage when it arrived in Dodge. He helped his sister-in-law off the stage and hugged her and the baby. "Hello Kate. It's good to see you again. How long are you staying? What's all this stuff?" he said pointing to the baby's things.

"I'm not staying Matt. I have to leave on the stage tomorrow. Father is forcing me to marry a man I don't love and go to Australia with him. I do not want my father raising my daughter, so I'm leaving her with you. She's your brother's daughter and I know that you won't let Father have her."

"Kate, I can't take Cat, no matter how much I want to. I'm a United States Marshal. I live in the jail and I'm gone a lot. Who will watch her when I'm out chasing a criminal for days on end? Where will she sleep? There's barely enough room for my bed in the little alcove, let alone a crib and eventually a cot for her."

"You'll manage Matt. I don't have time to take her to Rip and even if I had the time to take her to Ben, I'm afraid that he would give her to Father as soon as he demanded. I know my sister would. I do not want my father raising my only child. You watch Cat. I've got to go over to the lawyer's office and have him write a paper that gives you legal custody of her. That way if my father tries to take her, he'll be breaking the law. I don't know what has happened to him, but ever since Mother got sick, all he cares about is wealth and power. I do not want mine and Michael's daughter raised by someone with that kind of attitude. You and I both know that he would not want Cat raised like that either. Father will be furious, but I have to do what I think is best for my child."

"Alright Kate, I'll manage somehow. The lawyer's office is across the street, to the left of the general store." Matt took the baby and her things into his office, put her in his bed for a nap and looked at his calendar. Cat would be two in less than a month, went from crawling to running and would soon be talking, so she wasn't really a baby any more. He didn't know much about raising babies or children and was going to need a lot of help. He took out a piece of paper and started writing down the names of all the women in and around Dodge who had children and could give him advice. Thirty minutes later, Kate came back with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Here's the paper Matt. The lawyer even had the judge sign it. It says that you have full custody of Cat and that she is not to be given to my father or my sister. If anything happens to me and you can't keep her, give her to Ben. If Ben can't keep her, give her to the Grants, Shermans or Sheridans. As much as I hate those three men for getting Michael killed, I know that they'll take good care of Cat and won't let Father have her. All of that's in the paper, including if you give her to Ben, he cannot give her to my father or sister. I can only hope and pray that he will honor what's written on that paper and not give into Father's demands. Where is Cat?"

"She's asleep on my bed. I think if I turn the bed in a different direction, we might fit a crib and eventually a cot in that little room. It's going to be a tight fit, but we might make it work. You look tired. Why don't you take Cat and get a hotel room? There's a family who lives on a farm not too far from town. They have a lot of children and may have a crib that I can use for a while. I'll take a ride out there while you and Cat are napping. Let me get Cat and I'll walk the two of you over to the hotel."

While Kate and Cat napped in a hotel room, Matt rode out to the Tanner farm. When he got there, Mrs. Tanner was hanging laundry out in the yard and greeted Matt when he rode up. "Hello Marshal. It's a pleasure to see you. I hope you're not out this way on business."

"Hello Elizabeth. You're looking well. How are John and the children? I'm out here on a personal errand." Matt replied as he dismounted. "My sister-in-law is in town and needs me to take care of my niece for a while. She's not quite two and I was wondering if you have an old crib that I could use for a while."

Mrs. Tanner laughed. "Cribs are one thing that are not in short supply around here Marshal. I gave birth to twins the time before last and I'm not planning to have any more babies, so I have more than enough cribs to lend you. John and I will bring one into town tomorrow morning and help you get it set up. We'll also bring you some other things you'll need for your niece."

"Thank you Elizabeth. I do need one other thing, and that is advice on how to raise a child, especially a girl. I don't know anything about raising children, including how to know why they're crying and how to change them."

"Don't worry Marshal. With ten young'ins running around the farm, I have plenty of experience and will be more than happy to help you."

"Thank you Elizabeth. I really do appreciate your help. Say hi to John and the children for me when they get in. I've got to get back to town. My sister-in-law is leaving on the stage for Wichita tomorrow and I want to spend some time with her. I haven't seen her since my brother's funeral and I don't know when I'll see her again."

"That's alright Marshal. You have good visit with your kin and John and I will see you in the morning."

Matt rode back to town and went to the hotel where he found that Kate and Cat had woken up from their nap. He went over to the livery stable where he rented a buggy and took them for a ride in the country. It was almost supper time when they returned, so while Matt returned the buggy, Kate took her daughter to their hotel room, fed and put clean clothes on her. Then Matt and Kate took Cat to Ma Smalley and asked if she would mind watching her while the two of them went to Delmonico's for supper. Ma Smalley was more than happy to watch Cat while Matt and Kate were able to spend some time together.

While they were at supper, Matt asked Kate about her comment that her father was forcing her to marry a man she didn't love. "He threatened to turn Cat and I out with nothing more than the clothes on our backs if I didn't agree to marry this man. He said that he would forbid Ben and Vicky from helping us and that neither you nor Rip earns enough to support us. It hasn't even been six months since Michael was killed and I miss him terribly. I don't trust Stephen Jacobs at all. There's something about him that seems fake. I wish I never would have left the ranch. Ben and the boys would have helped me run it. Now I don't know if I'm ever going to see my daughter again after tomorrow morning."

"I really wish there was a way I could help you stay here Kate, but I just can't. Rip is an officer and he will be able to take care of you and Cat. All you have to do is go to him. You are a grown woman. Stop being afraid of your father's temper tantrums and live your own life. As you said, it hasn't even been six months since Michael was killed. You have no business being in public with an unmarried man, let alone getting remarried. You are my brother's wife and I will always love you but you need to stand up to your father. Don't go back to St. Louis. I'll wire Rip and tell him that you and Cat will be there in a week. He loves you too and will be more than happy to take you and his niece in. I know that traveling is difficult because of the war, but there are Union soldiers on every train in case of a Confederate attack, so you will be safe. You have all of Cat's things here, you know how to sew and you can make more clothes for yourself. The only reason you have to go back to St. Louis is that you are afraid of your father."

"No Matt, I'm afraid that his temper will do more harm to his health. Mother hasn't been gone that long and his health has declined since she died."

"That's what he wants you to think Kate. He's having the temper tantrums to scare you into doing what he wants. Your father will probably outlive all of us. Now, do the right thing, take Cat and go to Rip. He loves you and Cat just as much as I do and Michael did."

"I can't Matt. Don't you see, if I disappear with my daughter, it will kill my father."

"Haven't you been listening to a word I said? Your father is pretending to have attacks after his temper tantrums to get you to do what he wants you to. You are a grown woman. Stop acting like a little child who's afraid of her father. Take your daughter and go to my brother."

"I'm sorry Matt. I just can't take the risk that you're wrong. I have to go back to St. Louis in the morning."

Matt just sighed and shook his head. "Alright Kate, if that's what you want to do. I just know that you're making a huge mistake."

After they finished eating, Matt and Kate walked over to Ma Smalley's and picked up Cat. Matt walked them back to the Dodge House and saw them safely to their room. He hugged his niece and sister-in-law and told them that he would see them in the morning for breakfast.

Not long after breakfast the next morning, the Tanners arrived in town with a wagon loaded with things for Cat. While John and Matt rearranged his room and set up the crib, Kate and Elizabeth played with Cat and talked. Elizabeth asked Kate why she was leaving her baby with Matt and Kate told her what she had told Matt. Elizabeth told her basically the same thing Matt had the night before, that her father was pretending to have attacks after his temper tantrums in order to get Kate to do what he wanted her too, but Kate refused to listen and kept insisting her father's attacks were real.

After Matt and John got Matt's room arranged and the crib set up, John brought in another large object from his wagon. It was square, about four feet on each side, had a bottom, a leg at each corner as well as one on each side and in the middle. It also had small slats between the bottom and top rails. Matt and Kate both looked at it in amazement and finally Matt asked, "What is that thing John? I've never seen anything like it before in my life."

"It's a little invention of mine Marshal. I call it a baby corral. Elizabeth was having a hard time keeping up with the twins and trying to look after the baby at the same time. When she was taking care of the baby, the twins would run outside and get into all kinds of mischief. One day Peter got into the pig pen while Michael almost got stomped by one of the horses. The older children were off at school and couldn't help their mother, so, I built this thing. Elizabeth is able to put the baby down for a nap in it while watching the twins play outside or keep the twins corralled while she is taking care of the baby. I figure with your niece already running, you'll need a way to keep her corralled when you can't be in your office to watch her. Living on a farm is dangerous enough for little ones that age but there are even more dangers for them here in town and I know you can't be in two places at once, so this will keep the little one safe. Just don't keep her in it all the time. Little ones need room to run and walk so their leg muscles grow strong."

"This little one doesn't walk Mr. Tanner. She went from crawling to running and hasn't stopped since. My brother's middle son has taken to calling her Wild Cat. He says that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame, which makes me surprised that my father wants her. She'll get into everything if she isn't watched every moment she's awake. Last week, the bottom drawer in my father's china cabinet was left open. Cat managed to get up onto it and was attempting to climb the china cabinet when the cook caught her. Matt is going to have his hands full with his niece," laughed Kate.

"Thank you John. I appreciate all of your help. Your baby corral will be perfect for keeping Cat safe when I'm busy or out of the office," said Matt.

Kate was moved to tears by the Tanner's kindness and generosity. She tried to thank them but they wouldn't have it.

"You just take care of yourself," Elizabeth said. "And remember what the Marshal and I told you about your father. It's not too late to change your mind about going back to him and stay here. We'll find a way for you to support yourself and your daughter."

But Kate insisted that she had to go back to her father before one of his attacks killed him. All too soon, the stage to Wichita arrived and Kate had to go. She hugged the Tanners and Matt and said a tearful goodbye to her daughter and got on the stage.

After the stage left, Elizabeth told Matt to bring Cat out to their farm and they would watch her whenever he had to go out of town for more than a few hours. "I've got ten young'ins running around the farm so one more won't matter at all. The oldest girls are old enough now to help with their younger brothers and sisters and will be able to help with your niece. Besides that, nobody in town really has the room or time to take care of her."

"Thank you Elizabeth. I appreciate the offer and will take you up on it. It will make me worry less if I know that Cat is being well taken care of while I'm away."

As she expected, when she returned to St. Louis, her father was livid that she had gone somewhere and taken the baby without his knowledge or permission. "Where in the blazes were you and where is your child?" he demanded.

"She is somewhere safe, where you can't touch her. I made sure that you will never have her, no matter how many people you bribe. The only reason I came back myself is because I was worried about your health."

"How dare you disobey me like that!" he shouted. "I told you I would raise the child myself!"

"I'm sorry Father but you're not the man who raised me. That man is dead and gone. He died when Mother got sick and was replaced by a man who only cares about wealth and power. I do not want mine and Michael's daughter being raised by someone like that, so she is with someone who will love her as their own, teach her right from wrong and raise her to be a kind, thoughtful person like Mother was."

All her father could say to that was, "You need to start packing. Your wedding is the day after tomorrow. There's a traveling preacher passing through and I paid him to perform the ceremony. None of the others would do it because they said you haven't even been widowed for a full year. You and Jacobs will be leaving for Australia the day after you are married. And don't you worry, I will find my granddaughter. I will get her back, no matter what it takes and I will raise her right. She will be raised in all of the proper social circles and when she's old enough, I'll arrange a proper marriage for her."

Kate was speechless. The judge in Dodge had assured her that the paper he signed for her would assure that her father would not get her daughter and no amount of money could change that. She could only hope and pray that he was right. Two days later, Kate and Stephen Jacobs were married and left for Australia the day after that.

About two months later, Kate's father was out for an evening walk when he came across an old friend. "Hello Joe. It's been a while since we've seen each other. I haven't seen your daughter out with her baby lately. I hope that they're not ill."

"No David, they're not ill. I married Kate off to Stephen Jacobs two months ago. They're on their way back to Australia and I'm still trying to find out who she gave the baby to."

"Have you lost your mind Joe? I thought you knew about Jacobs. You just sent your daughter off to her death. Jacobs is a con man. He does have a diamond mine but it's not that good and his partner gets most of the money, so he marries rich women. Once he gets control of their money, they disappear, never to be seen or heard from again. As soon as he goes through all of their money, he finds another rich woman to marry. Your daughter is his fifth wife. The other four are all presumed to be dead. I can't believe that you fell for his charm and good looks. I don't know what provisions you've made for your daughter and granddaughter, but you need to make absolutely certain that Jacobs cannot get his hands on any money they might have coming to them. Your granddaughter is only a baby now, so he's not interested in her, but once she's old enough to inherit from your wife's and eventually your estate, he will become interested in the child and force her to sign everything over to him. Once she does, he will not need her any longer and she will disappear."

"Oh my God! What have I done to my baby girl David? Ever since my wife took ill, I have been obsessed with power and wealth. I let that obsession blind me to the truth and now I have lost my youngest child and my youngest grandchild forever."

At learning what he had done to Kate, her father seemed to age ten years all at once. The next day he went to his lawyer's office and rewrote his will to state that if his youngest grandchild, Catherine Michael Cartwright, were to be removed from the country by her mother or Stephen Jacobs, she would not inherit any of his money and her portion would be split equally between his other grandchildren. Before leaving the lawyer's office, he instructed him to send a copy of the will to his eldest grandson, Jarrod Barkley, who was the family lawyer. When he got back home, he wrote a letter to Kate begging her to forgive him and to come back home. He would have the marriage annulled and she would be free to live her life as she wanted to live it. He mailed the letter and spent the next several years hoping and praying that his daughter would come back to him. He died two years after forcing Kate to marry Stephen Jacobs, a sad, broken old man who deeply regretted what he had done to his youngest daughter and her child. He could only hope and pray that the child was safe and in a loving home.


	4. Chapter 4

It didn't take long before Cat became a favorite among Matt's friends. People were stopping by the Marshal's office just to play with her. Even people who had never gone to the Marshal's office before would stop by just to see Cat and play with her. Whenever he was in town, Festus would take her for rides on his mule. Quint would often close the Blacksmith shop for an hour to take her riding and would let her play in the shop while he worked. Doc often went to the general store and bought hair ribbons and other things for Cat. Sometimes he would take her out riding in his buggy and let her hold the ends of the reins. Burke would stop by Matt's office with sweets for her and sometimes took her over to the freight office and let her climb on some of the crates. For Cat's second birthday, Kitty opened the Long Branch late in order to have a birthday party for her. She received many presents of clothing, dolls and doll things but her favorite present was a rocking horse John Tanner made for her. Once she climbed on board, it was almost impossible to get her off.

Matt watched his niece running around at her party, playing with the Tanner children and riding her new rocking horse. "Now I know why Hoss calls her Wild Cat," he laughed. "She doesn't stop going from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to sleep. John, I can't thank you enough for that baby corral. It has been a life saver. I was letting her run around in my office one day last week with the door open and took my eyes off of her for just a moment when she ran out the door and into the street. If Quint hadn't been coming out of the Long Branch, seen and grabbed her, she would have been run over by the stage. She isn't afraid of anything."

Shortly after her fourth birthday, Cat had what was to be the first of many adventures in her life. Matt needed to go to Arizona to testify at a trial and decided to take Cat with him. Since he wasn't bringing a prisoner back with him, he decided to take Cat to see his brother. Rip hadn't seen his niece since her baptism and this would be an excellent time for them to get to know each other. Cat enjoyed the stage and train ride and couldn't stop looking out of the windows at everything they passed. When they got to the fort, Rip greeted his brother warmly and hugged his niece who promptly took his hat off his head and placed it on her own, causing both men to burst out laughing. Rip introduced Matt and Cat to some of the men in the fort and his commanding officer, who fell in love with the 4 year old wearing his Lieutenant's hat and readily gave permission for them to stay in married officer's quarters for the duration of their stay.

At first, Cat was content to wander around the fort and watch the men working and drilling, but she soon grew tired of being cooped up inside its four walls. One day while Matt was at the trial, somebody left the side gate to the fort open. Nobody was watching Cat, so she walked out of the gate and into the Arizona wilderness. She walked for about an hour when she came across a small band of Apaches. There were two chiefs and eight warriors, including a boy who was about fourteen. When they spotted her, one of the warriors wanted to kill her, but she walked up to the younger of the two chiefs and said, "I like your horse. I want to go for a ride." Her boldness caused all of the men to laugh and the chief picked her up and took her for a ride. When they returned to the rest of the band, Cat announced that she was hungry, so some of the men caught some rabbits and cooked them for everyone. Cat watched the men very carefully as they prepared the rabbits to cook. After everyone had eaten, the elder chief asked her what her name was and where she came from. She replied, "My name is Catherine but everyone just calls me Wild Cat. I came from the fort where I was visiting my uncle who is in the Army."

Upon hearing her name, the elder chief told his companions, "We will take her with us and teach her to be an Apache. There is a legend my grandfather spoke of that says, 'A white child with an Indian name will help to bring peace between white and red men.' I do not know if this is the child my grandfather spoke of but I will adopt her. She will be known as the granddaughter of Cochise."

After hearing the elder chief's statement, the younger chief said, "I also will adopt her. She will be known as the daughter of Geronimo. Let us take our new daughter and granddaughter back to the village and introduce her to the rest of our people."

In the mean time, nobody at the fort noticed that Cat was missing. Everybody thought she was with someone else. Several hours later, Matt returned to the fort and began looking for his niece. When she couldn't be found, he and Rip began to panic. It was obvious that she had gotten out of the fort but they couldn't figure out how. Finally, a young boy told them that he had seen the side gate open on his way to school and reported it to the Sergeant who closed it. Now that they knew how she got out of the fort, they had to try and find her. She had been gone all day and it would be dark in a few hours. The Colonel allowed Rip to ask for volunteers to help look for cat and soon a dozen men, including Matt rode out of the fort to look for the missing child. They found the remains of the fire where Cat and the Apaches had eaten but since it had been extinguished hours ago and was cold, there was no way to tell how long ago it had been built. The men searched until almost dark and returned to the fort where the Colonel gladly gave his permission for a larger group to search for her the next day, which they did with no luck. They searched for three days and found no sign of the missing child. Matt told Rip that since he was supposed to be watching her, he needed to let the rest of the family know that Cat was missing. He also said that as much as he hated to, he needed to return to Dodge. Rip reluctantly sent the telegrams, which received angry replies from Ben and Victoria. Hoss and Heath wired that they would come and help search but Rip replied that he didn't need them yet. Every patrol that went out would also search for the missing girl. Matt reluctantly returned to Dodge with a heavy heart, extremely worried about his niece.

Meanwhile, Cat was teaching the Apaches why she was called Wild Cat. When the small band of men returned to their village with her, the women tried to put her in a dress which she immediately pulled off. She said she was the daughter and granddaughter of chiefs and was going to be a warrior so she wanted trousers. The chiefs just laughed when they saw the women chasing the girl through the village and told them to give her what she wanted. At the adoption ceremony, she was given a pony and the next day they taught her how to ride it. Once she mastered the art of bareback riding, there was no stopping her. She was on the pony's back all the time and didn't even want to get off to eat or sleep. The chiefs just laughed at her and told her that warriors needed to eat and sleep and their horses also needed to eat and sleep.

Several months later, the same band of men went on a hunting trip and left Cat back in the village. That didn't set well with her, so she got on her pony and rode out after the men. Her adopted father and grandfather scolded her but she just threw her hair back and said that if she was going to be a warrior, she needed to know everything, including how to hunt. The men just laughed at her and allowed her to stay with them. A little while later, a rattlesnake scared the 14 year old boy's horse which threw and injured him. There was a cabin nearby so they took the boy there. They were just going to carry him in when Cat told them, "You have to knock before going into somebody else's house." So they knocked on the door and a young woman answered.

She was frightened at first when she saw the men but one of them said to her, "Please do not be afraid. We are not going to hurt you. The boy was thrown from his horse and we hoped you could help him."

"Of course I'll try and help him. Bring him in and lay him on the bed near the fireplace." The woman examined the boy and told the men that she needed some herbs, which they went and found for her. She crushed the herbs and made them into a tea which she gave the boy. "He needs to sleep for a while, but I think he's going to be fine."

While the boy was sleeping, Cat told her new grandfather, "We should tell my uncle at the fort that I'm ok. He will be worried about me."

So the chief asked the woman if she could write. When she said that she could, he asked her to please write a note that said, "The child called Wild Cat is alive and healthy. She will be returned to you when the time is right." The woman wrote the note, one of the men took it and rode close to the fort where he tied it to an arrow and shot it into one of the gates.

At first when the arrow struck the fort gate, the soldiers thought they were under attack but soon realized that they were mistaken. A soldier retrieved the arrow and attached note from the gate. When he read the note, he immediately took it to Rip. Rip was extremely glad to learn that his niece was alive and well and sent telegrams to the rest of the family informing them of the note's contents.

When the woman's husband returned home, he was surprised to see his home full of Apaches and a white girl dressed in buckskins. His wife explained about the boy being thrown from his horse and her husband assured their guests that they would never refuse help to anyone, no matter whom they were, and that they were welcome in his house any time. He brought in more wood for the fire and helped his wife prepare supper for their guests. Shortly after supper, the boy woke up and the woman fed him some soup and he went back to sleep. She told the men that he needed to rest for several days and they should come back in two days to get him. Before leaving, Cochise asked the couple's name and the man replied, "Michael and Elizabeth Walker."

While the men were talking, Elizabeth took Cat aside and asked if she was a prisoner. Cat just laughed and said, "No. I found them when I was out walking and they adopted me. Cochise adopted me as his granddaughter and Geronimo adopted me as his daughter. I am going to be a warrior when I grow up. I have an uncle who is a soldier at the fort, an uncle who is the Marshal in Dodge City, an uncle who has a big ranch in Virginia City and an aunt who has a big ranch in California."

"Where are your parents?"

"My father was killed in the war and my grandfather made my mother go away without me. I live with my uncle in Dodge City. I was visiting my uncle at the fort when I got bored and went for a walk. That's when I found them," she said pointing to the Apaches. "That's Little Bear on the bed. He's my friend. He taught me how to ride my pony. Is he going to be ok?"

"Yes, he's going to be fine. He just needs to sleep for a few days so his body can heal itself. Do you want to go back to your uncle at the fort?"

"My new grandfather said that he will take me back after he finishes teaching me how to be an Apache. I hope it takes a long time. I like being with them. They don't treat me like a baby. I'm going to be five soon and I'm not a baby any more!"

Elizabeth laughed, "No you're not. You're a pretty little girl who should not be treated like a baby any more. The problem is that parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles don't want babies to grow up. They want them to stay babies forever so they don't feel like they're getting older."

The men finished talking and the two chiefs rose to leave. Cochise called his new granddaughter, "Wild Cat, let's go. We need to go back to the Village."

"We can't leave Little Bear. His momma will miss him."

"He needs to stay here for a while. We will come back to get him in two days." Although Cat wanted to stay with Little Bear, she reluctantly followed the men out of the house and went back to the village with them. When they reached the village, Little Bear's mother was understandably upset that her son was not with the rest of the men. They told her what happened and assured her that the boy was being well taken care of and would return home in two days.

Two days later, the two chiefs along with the other men and Cat returned to the Walker house to see if Little Bear was ready to return home. On the way, they killed a deer as a gift for the Walkers for their kindness toward them and for taking care of Little Bear. When they reached the cabin, they found both Michael and Elizabeth waiting for them. Little Bear was completely healed and was showing his gratitude by bringing firewood into the house for the Walkers. His father dismounted, ran to his son, gave him a big hug and thanked Michael and Elizabeth profusely. He also gave them the deer he had killed. While he was talking with the Walkers, Cat turned to her adopted grandfather and said, "Grandfather, these people took good care of Little Bear and made him well again. Can we do something for them so everyone will know that they are good people and friends to the Apaches?"

"You are a good, thoughtful child Wild Cat. Yes, we will do something for them." Cochise turned to the other men and said something to them. Three of them hurried to find some stones, which they piled up in a pyramid shape near the farm gate. "Those stones will tell all who see them that these are good people and friends to the Apache. No Indian will ever harm them."

"Thank you Grandfather. Little Bear is my friend and these people were nice to him."

Before the small band returned to their village, Little Bear decided to take a good look at Cat's pony to see if she was taking care of him the right way. When the chiefs decided to adopt her, he had appointed himself her teacher and found that she was a willing pupil. It didn't take more than two days before she mastered riding a pony bareback and even though she was only four, her skill using a bow and arrow was equal to that of a six year old. After inspecting the pony, Little Bear told Cat, "He is getting fat. You are feeding him too much."

"I have to feed him a lot," she replied. "If I don't, he won't grow up to be a big, strong stallion."

Little Bear just laughed at his friend and pupil. "He is as big as he is going to get. He is a small pony for a small child. When you are bigger, you will get a bigger pony. Now, stop feeding him so much or he will get sick." Cat looked at her grandfather and father for help and they told her that Little Bear was right.

About a week later, before anyone else was awake, Cat took her bow and arrows, caught her pony and decided to go hunting by herself. She reasoned that if she was going to be a warrior, it was time she started acting like one and went hunting. She was determined to show everyone that she wasn't a baby and could do anything Little Bear did. So, early one morning, she gathered her things and crawled out under a side of the teepee so she wouldn't wake her adopted parents and went hunting. When Geronimo and his wife awoke and couldn't find Cat, they started searching everywhere for her. Little Bear told them that her pony was missing and he was going to look for her. Geronimo and some of the other men joined him. They searched for hours but could not find the missing girl. About two hours after the men returned to the village, Cat came riding in carrying six rabbits she had killed and gave them to Little Bear. "I am almost ready to be a warrior. I can ride and I can hunt but I don't know how to fix what I kill. You need to teach me how to do it."

"First I will take you to your parents and grandparents. They have been very worried about you and need to know that you are back and safe."

Little Bear took Cat to her family where she was given a good scolding. "You must never leave the village alone," Cochise told her. "There are many things out there you don't know about and some of them can kill you."

"I am not afraid Grandfather. I am almost a warrior and can take care of myself."

"You are not a warrior!" Geronimo yelled. "You are a four old child and I need to know where you are all the time. You will never leave this village again without someone else with you. We spent hours searching for you and worrying about you. Tomorrow when we go hunting, you will stay here and help your mother."

"I will not stay here and help mother! I am a warrior and I will go hunting with you!"

"You will do as you are told and stay here with your mother! You will not ride your pony again until I say you can!"

Cat pouted and stomped her feet. "I will not stay here! I am a warrior and I will go hunting whenever I want to!"

"If you disobey me, I will give your pony to another child and you will not have him any more!"

That made Cat very sad. She loved her pony and didn't want to lose him. "I will stay here tomorrow and after that I will go hunting again. Now I need to find Little Bear so he can teach me how to fix the rabbits I killed." She turned her back on the two chiefs and stomped off.

The men just laughed. "Now I know why the whites call her Wild Cat," said Geronimo. "It will be interesting to see what she is like when she is older. Her white family will have a very hard time controlling her."

Cochise laughed. "You are correct. She will be a handful when she grows up. It is almost time for her to go back. We will keep her for a little while longer and when she has learned as much as we can teach her for now, we will take her back."

"Yes, she will need to go back soon, but we still have a lot to teach her. One thing she needs to learn is discipline. She needs to learn when it is safe for her to go off alone and when it is not. She also needs to learn to listen to her elders and learn from their wisdom. I did not like threatening to take her pony away but it was the only way I could make her mind."

"I understand. She is very headstrong and will need a firm hand as she grows older. Otherwise she will be uncontrollable. We will do what we can while she is with us. After that, it will be up to her white family to teach her. Now, let us go and see what Little Bear is teaching our little Wild Cat."

While the two men were busy talking, Cat was busy telling all of her troubles to Little Bear. "It's not fair. I don't want to stay here with mother tomorrow. I want to go hunting with you. Father was wrong to say he would take my pony away if I did not stay here."

"No, Wild Cat, he was not wrong. You are still young and have a lot to learn. What would you have done if a rattlesnake had frightened your pony and he threw you? What would you have done if a cougar had jumped out of a tree at you? You are not yet skilled enough with a bow and arrow to kill a cougar. Your father and grandfather are correct. There are many things that you do not know yet and some of them could hurt or kill you. That is why they do not want you riding out alone. I am fourteen and still do not ride very far alone. As you grow older, stronger and wiser, you will be allowed to ride alone. Now watch and learn as I show you how to fix these rabbits. I will teach you how to dry the skins and your mother can teach you how to make things with them. Take the time while you are not allowed to ride to learn from your mother. She knows many things that you will need to know as you grow older. There is more to being a warrior than hunting and fighting. Every warrior knows how to clean and cook what they kill. They also know how to make their own clothes. When we are altogether in the village, the women do the cooking and sewing but when the men are out hunting or with war parties, they have to cook their own food and sew their own clothes. Now, promise me that you will never ride off alone again. If you want to go hunting and I am not busy, I will go with you but you must not go alone. When you are allowed to leave the village, I will teach you how to fish, but just like with hunting, you must not go alone."

Cat promised that she would not go riding off alone any more and watched as Little Bear skinned one rabbit. Then he gave her his knife and held her hand as he showed her how to do three more of them. He watched as she did the last two, offering advice and praise. When all six had been skinned, he showed her how to stretch the skins. Once that had been done, he told her to take the rabbits to her mother and ask to learn how to cook them. The two chiefs watched, amazed as Cat did as she was told without arguing. They asked Little Bear how he got her to do what she was told without arguing. He told them that they were friends and instead of yelling at her, he talked to her like a friend and explained that there were many things that she needed to learn before she could become a warrior.

Cat took the rabbits to her Apache mother and asked to be shown how to cook them. The woman was surprised at her adopted daughter's request but gladly showed her how to make a stew from them. Cat watched and helped her Apache mother make supper for their small family. When it was finished, there was more than enough for three people, so Cat was told to go and ask Little Bear and his parents to join them as he had shown her how to clean the rabbits. Little Bear's parents gladly accepted the invitation and the six of them enjoyed the meal together. During the meal, Little Bear poked Cat and she asked, "Mother, tomorrow will you please teach me how to make something from the rabbit skins?" The woman was shocked at the request from her adopted daughter but gladly agreed.

The next day the men went hunting and Cat stayed behind with her Apache mother. "Bring the rabbit pelts and I will teach you how to make mittens and a hat to keep you warm this winter," the woman told the girl. When Cat returned with the rabbit pelts, the woman told her, "Bring me a large piece of doe skin." Cat did as she was told and the woman showed her how to measure enough of it and the rabbit skins to make a pair of mittens and a hat. Then she showed cat how to cut the doe and rabbit skins, how to sew the rabbit skins inside the doe skin and then sew the pieces together and attach strips of doe skin to the hat to tie it under her chin.

When the men and Little Bear returned from hunting, Cat ran to greet them and showed them the hat and mittens she had made with the help of her adopted mother. They received great praise from Little Bear, his father, Geronimo and Cochise. The men had killed several deer and had brought them back to the village where they would be dressed and prepared to eat. Cat wanted to help dress the deer but Little Bear gently told her that she could watch, but she was still too small to help. Cat didn't like being told that she was too small to help but watched the men and asked questions while they worked. The men gladly answered her questions and showed her how to stretch the deer hides so that they would dry. Then Geronimo cut off a large piece of meat, handed it to Cat and told her to take it to her mother, which she did. That night, Cat learned how to roast deer meat and vegetables.

From then on, as long as Cat lived with the Apaches, whenever she disobeyed and balked at having to stay in the village instead of going hunting, Geronimo threatened to take her pony away and she reluctantly stayed in the village.

The next day, Geronimo rode alone to the Walker house and spoke with them. He asked Elizabeth to write another note to let the soldiers know that Cat was alive and well and would be returned to them soon. Elizabeth said that instead of writing another note, she would go to the fort in the morning and tell the soldiers that she had seen Cat, who was indeed alive and healthy and would be returning to them soon. Shortly after breakfast the next morning, Elizabeth saddled her horse and rode to the fort. As she approached the fort, the soldier on guard duty called the Corporal to let him know that a rider was approaching the fort. The Corporal went out, greeted Elizabeth and asked how he could help her. "I need to speak with the man who is the uncle of a girl called Wild Cat," she replied. "I have a message for him about his niece."

The Corporal led Elizabeth's horse into the fort and over to Rip's office. He helped her dismount and escorted her up the stairs where he knocked on the office door. Rip opened the door and the Corporal said, "Lieutenant, this is Mrs. Walker and she has news of your niece."

Rip was extremely happy to hear the Corporal's news, thanked him and invited Elizabeth into his office. "Please sit down Mrs. Walker. My name is Rip Masters and I am very anxious to hear anything you can tell me about my niece. I have been searching for Cat as much as I can ever since she disappeared from here."

"Your niece is alive and well Lieutenant. I have seen and spoken with her several times. She is healthy and happy. She was adopted by two Apache chiefs as their daughter and granddaughter and has become great friends with a fourteen year old boy I nursed back to health after he was thrown from his horse. She is a bright, active girl who says she likes living with the Apaches because they don't treat her like a baby. They gave her a pony and she rides very well. She has also learned how to use a bow and arrows and how to hunt. Ever since I nursed the boy back to health, they occasionally bring a deer they have killed, to my husband and I. The last time they came with a deer, your niece was with them and gave me some rabbits she had killed. She says that she is going to be a warrior when she grows up, seems to always want to get her own way and does not like to be told no."

Rip laughed out loud when he heard that last statement. "That describes Cat to a tee. She has always been headstrong and does not like it when she does not get her own way. Her older cousin was the one who started calling her Wild Cat. He said that she is as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame.

"The only one who seems to be able to get her to listen is the boy they call Little Bear. Cat seems to look up to him as an older brother and he treats and talks to her as a friend and a brother. She is also a thoughtful child. When they returned to get Little Bear after he recovered from his fall, she asked the chief she calls Grandfather to do something nice for my husband and I because we had been kind to Little Bear. They piled some stones up near the gate to our farm and said they meant we were friends and would never be harmed. I was asked to tell you that your niece will be returning to you soon. Her adopted father says she will not want to come back to you but it is necessary. He said that he will send word with me when it is time for her to come back and ask you to meet him. He seems to be an honorable man Lieutenant and loves your niece as a father loves a child. You need not fear for her safety while she is with them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return home. I have many things to do before my husband comes in from working the farm. I will bring you news of your niece when I have something to tell you." Elizabeth rose to go and Rip got up and escorted her to the door.

When they got outside, he told the soldier holding her horse to find the Corporal and tell him that he was needed. When the Corporal arrived, Rip instructed him to take two men and escort Elizabeth back to her farm. "That isn't necessary Lieutenant. The Apaches won't hurt me."

"I know that the Apaches won't hurt you, but there are other things out there that will hurt you. These men will see you safely back to your farm and will ensure that you are not bothered by any wild animals on the journey there." Rip shook Elizabeth's hand, thanked her profusely for her news and helped her mount her horse. "Please do let me know when you have more news of Cat. I love her very much and miss her terribly." Elizabeth promised and rode off with her escort.

It was getting close to Cat's birthday and a few weeks later, her adopted father and grandfather told her it was almost time for her to go back to her white family. She had learned almost everything they could teach her for the time being and now it was time for her to go and learn from her white family again. Cat did not want to leave the Apaches but Cochise told her, "If you are the child the legend spoke of, you must learn to live in both the white man's and red man's world. Otherwise you will not be able to fulfill your destiny. You will always be my granddaughter and I will always be your grandfather. Little Bear will always be your friend and brother. We are your family now and nothing will ever change that. You will come back every year and we will teach you more of what it means to be an Apache so that if you are the child the legend speaks of, you will eventually be able to fulfill your destiny."

Cat wasn't happy about what she was being told she had to do, but she did not argue any more. Several days later, Geronimo rode to the Walker farm and asked Elizabeth if she would go to the fort and ask Wild Cat's uncle to please meet him and Cochise in three days at a nearby lake. They needed to talk to him about his niece who would be returning to him shortly and he would come to no harm. Elizabeth promised to go to the fort the next morning and after breakfast; she rode to the fort and asked to speak with Rip. When she gave him her message, he readily agreed to meet the men at the lake in two days. Elizabeth rode back to her farm where she found Little Bear waiting for her. She told him that Wild Cat's uncle had agreed to meet her adopted father and grandfather at the lake in two days and he rode back to the village with the news.

Two days later, Rip rode out alone and met the two chiefs at the lake. He was suspicious at first but when he realized they were alone and did not mean to harm him, he began to relax. The chiefs greeted him warmly and offered him some of the rabbit they were cooking. He accepted and sat down and began to talk with them. They told him how Cat had found their hunting party and demanded to be taken for a ride and then demanded to be fed when they returned from the ride. Then they told him how she snuck off to go hunting by herself to prove that she was ready to be a warrior. Rip laughed out loud. "Yes, what you describe sounds exactly like something Cat would do. She is not afraid of anything and that worries me because as we all know, there are many things in this world that would harm her. The rest of the family and I hope and pray that she becomes more cautious as she grows older. We love her very much and don't want anything to happen to her."

"We also love her," said Geronimo. I have adopted her as my daughter and Cochise has adopted her as his granddaughter. She is a favorite in our village and we will miss her, but it is almost time for her to return to you. We have taught her almost everything we can for now, but we have a request before we return her to you. We would like her to return to us for two weeks every year so we can teach her more of what she needs to know."

"Why did you decide to adopt her and make her part of your tribe instead of returning her to the fort?" asked Rip.

Cochise replied, "We were going to return her to the fort when she told us her name. Wild Cat. My grandfather spoke of a legend that says, 'A white child with an Indian name will help to bring peace between white and red men.' I do not know if she is the child or not, but I needed to find out. It is still too soon to tell because she is so young, but we will know in time. That is why we would like her to return to us for two weeks every year. If Wild Cat is the child the legend spoke of, she needs to learn to live in both the red and white man's worlds so she can fulfill her destiny."

Rip thought about what he had just been told and replied, "Yes, I agree, she should spend time with you. It is obvious that you love her as much as her family and I do. Even if she is not the child the legend speaks of, it will be good for her to learn from you. I will send a telegram to my brother who is raising her and tell him that she needs to spend time with you as well as her family. I think he will say yes when I tell him it is very important that she do so. She will be starting school soon, so she will only be able to come here when school is not in session. I will send the telegram to my brother as soon as I return to the fort. When I get his reply, I will tell Elizabeth Walker and she can tell you when you visit her and her husband again."

"Thank you Rip Masters. You are an honorable man. If the rest of Wild Cat's white family is as honorable as you are, she is a very fortunate child," said Cochise. "There is one other thing. We gave her a pony and she is very fond of him. We would like her to keep the pony when she returns to your brother's care. I know that she would be very sad if she had to leave him behind."

"I don't think that will be a problem. I will send telegrams and see if some of my nephews will come with me when I take her back to my brother. A pony cannot run behind a stage coach and I cannot take soldiers with me to return my niece to my brother, so some of my nephews will need to help. I do not want to risk her riding off alone and getting lost or hurt."

"Do not worry. We will ask Little Bear to make her promise to stay with you when you take her back to your brother. He is her friend and thinks of her as his sister. He has taught her many things and she listens to him more than she listens to us. Geronimo has to threaten to take her pony away from her in order to get her to stay in the village when she has done something wrong."

"Thank you for that information. My brother will appreciate knowing how to control her. He said he spanked her once and she just laughed at him, so he tries other things like telling her she cannot do something she likes doing. She pouts and stomps her feet, but usually does as she is told so she does not lose a privilege. I wish I could send Little Bear to my brother along with Cat since he seems to be one person she listens to."

Both chiefs laughed. "Even though he is only fourteen, we are thinking of giving Little Bear an eagle feather and making him a chief because he can make Wild Cat listen and do as she is told," said Cochise. "From the way you talk, he may be the only person whom she will listen to."

"There is one other person," said Rip. "My nephew, Joe, is also fourteen and Cat will listen to him. They share a birthday and Joe has always been fond of his younger cousin. She was born on his tenth birthday and they are close. I know that when I send a telegram to my brother in law asking for his two older sons to help take Cat back to Dodge, Joe will want to come along with them. I need to go and send my telegrams to the family. They will be happy to learn that Cat will soon be back with us."

The three men rose and shook hands. Rip returned to the fort to send his telegrams and the chiefs returned to their village to prepare Cat to return to her family. Rip sent his telegrams and the family was very happy to hear that their little Wild Cat would soon be back with them. Matt wasn't happy about letting her spend two weeks a year with the Apaches but since Rip said it was very important, he gave his permission. When Ben received his telegram, he read it aloud to his sons. Adam and Hoss said that they would leave for Arizona the following day. Joe volunteered to go along too. "Let me go Pa. Cat might not listen to Adam and Hoss, but she'll listen to me. She always has."

"You are not going with your brothers young man. You have almost a month of school left and exams to study for. It is too close to the end of the year for you to miss two weeks of school. Your exams are too important and I do not want you to fail them. Cat will listen to Rip, Adam and Hoss." Joe continued to argue with his father when his brothers stepped in and threatened to dump him in the water trough if he didn't stop. The next morning, a very unhappy, frustrated fourteen year old boy watched his older brothers leave for Arizona. His father had to remind him of the consequences of being late for school before he mounted his horse and started for school.

The day after receiving the replies to his telegrams, Rip rode out to the Walker farm where he was warmly greeted by both of them and invited into the house for some coffee. "Hello Michael. Hello Elizabeth. Would you please give a message to the chiefs for me? Please tell them that my brother said that Cat will be allowed to spend two weeks with them every year and that my nephews will be here in four days. I'm sorry that I can't stay for coffee. This business with my niece has put me behind on my work at the fort. I need to get caught up and try to get ahead before taking her back to my brother in Dodge." The Walkers assured him that they would relay his messages to the chiefs as soon as they saw them, which they did.

The meeting was arranged for Cat to go back to her family and five days later, Rip, Adam, Hoss, and the Walkers met the chiefs, Little Bear and Cat at the lake where Rip and the chiefs had met. They shared a meal and although Cat was glad to see her uncle and cousins, she did not want to go back to Dodge with them. "I am not going back to Uncle Matt," she said. I am going to stay here and become a warrior! I love Uncle Matt but I want to stay here! Besides that, Uncle Matt treats me like a baby sometimes."

Before any of the adults could say anything, Little Bear spoke up. "Wild Cat, we have talked about this. You will come to stay with us every year but now you have to go back to your white family. If you do not go with them, I will take your pony and give him to my little brother. He is almost old enough to ride now. If you run away from your white family, I will not be your friend or brother any more. You must promise to stay with them, especially on the journey to your other uncle. Remember what I told you about there being many things that could hurt or kill you and you are not yet strong enough to kill a cougar or a bear. Your uncle and cousins will protect you, but you must stay with them. Your other uncle will not treat you like a baby if you do not act like one. You are almost five years old and are too big to act like a baby."

Cat was sad at Little Bear's words but promised to stay with her uncle and cousins on the trip to Dodge. Little Bear hugged his friend, put her on his horse and took her for one last ride around the lake. When they returned, he hugged her again, put her on her pony and told her to go with her uncle and cousins, which she did. Once they arrived at the fort, Adam and Hoss tried to watch her every minute, which made her angry. "Stop watching me all the time. I am not a baby. I said I would stay with you and I will. If I don't, Little Bear will be very angry with me. Now, go away and stop watching me!" Cat stormed off toward the stables to see her pony. When Adam tried to follow her, she turned around and kicked him. "I told you to stop watching me. I wish that Little Joe had come instead of you. He wouldn't keep watching me because he knows that I would keep my promise. Now leave me alone!"

Hoss watched the interaction between his brother and their cousin and laughed. "She hasn't changed a bit, has she Adam? She's still our little Wild Cat. When she says to leave her alone, she means it. It's a wonder the Apaches put up with her this long. I'm surprised they didn't take her back to Rip as soon as they found out what a handful she is."

"I don't know Hoss. I guess they had their reasons for keeping her as long as they did. It's too bad we can't take the boy, Little Bear with us on the trip to Dodge. He and Joe seem to be the only ones who can handle her. I hope she doesn't give us too much trouble on the way."

"I don't think she will Adam. She promised the boy in front of everyone that she wouldn't run off. It's going to be an interesting trip. I can't wait to find out what she's learned from the Apaches."


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later, Rip, Adam, Hoss and a very reluctant Cat started out for Dodge. Since Cat was riding a pony, the journey was slow but she kept her word and stayed with her uncle and cousins. She amazed them by her hunting and fishing skills and by the fact that she knew what to do with the animals and fish she killed. She was still angry with Adam for following her all over the fort, so whenever she wanted to go hunting or fishing, she asked Hoss to go with her. She ignored Adam as much as she could until after they had been on the trail for three days, Rip said, "Adam, as much as I hate to say it, if we're going to have any peace on this trip, you're going to have to apologize to Cat. She made a promise and you followed her all over the fort, acting like she was going to break that promise the first chance she got. You acted like you didn't trust her and she deeply resents that. She's not used to the adults in her life not trusting her."

"She's a four old child Rip. I shouldn't have to apologize to her."

"I know that Adam, but until you do, there will be no peace on this trip and we still have more than a week to go. I need Cat to know she can trust you to help take care of her in case there is any trouble and right now, she doesn't trust you. You treated her like a baby and that is the one thing she resents most of all. That's one reason she wanted to stay with the Apaches. They didn't treat her like a baby."

"Alright Rip. I'll talk to her when we make camp tonight."

When they made camp that evening, Cat prepared to go hunting. Before she could ask Hoss to go with her, Adam walked up to her and said, "I'd like to go hunting with you today Cat. I need to talk to you about something important."

Cat wasn't happy about Adam going hunting with her, but she just said, "Alright, you can come."

The two of them walked off together and once they were away from the camp, Adam said, "I need to apologize for the way I treated you at the fort. You made a promise and I acted like I didn't trust you enough to keep your promise. I am very sorry I acted like that and treated you like a baby. I promise I'll never do it again. You were a very little girl when your mother took you away and it's hard for me to forget that you're not a baby any more. I need you to know that you can depend on me to protect and take care of you if trouble happens. You are my cousin and I love you very much. I know that you don't remember, but you were born in my bedroom. When your mother started to give birth to you, your Pa carried her upstairs and the only room with an open door was mine, so he took her in there while I rode to town for the doctor. Maybe one day, that bedroom will be yours. It's got a great view of the mountains and the tree outside the window is perfect for climbing. Even though you were very little when you left us, we were friends and I would really like it if we could be friends again."

Cat listened to everything Adam had to say. She was very quiet and thoughtful when he finished. Finally, she spoke. "Yes, we can be friends again. You are my cousin and I don't like being mad at you. Now let's see if we can find some rabbits for supper. I wish I was big enough to kill a deer. Then we could have deer meat for supper."

"It won't be too many more years before you will be able to kill a deer. Both Hoss and I are amazed at what you have learned since you went to live with the Apaches. I am glad that we will be friends again. When you are older and come to the Ponderosa, I will teach you how to climb trees."

The pair continued their hunt and Adam won Cat's heart when he asked her to teach him how to use her bow and arrows. They were, of course, too small for him, but he made her laugh when he tried to shoot a large tree and missed. They got enough rabbits to feed everyone and made their way back to camp where Hoss and Rip had a fire going and offered to clean and cook the rabbits. After supper had been eaten, the little group prepared to go to sleep. Adam and Hoss gathered enough pine needles so their little cousin would have a soft bed to sleep on. She thanked them, hugged everyone goodnight and lay down on her bed of pine needles. Adam covered her with a blanket and a short time later, she was fast asleep.

About half way through their journey, the little family group ran into some trouble. They accidentally got between a bear cub and its mother, who was very angry and charged the group. Rip was afraid that Cat would get hurt and pulled out his gun, intending to kill the female bear, but Cat stopped him. "No, don't kill the momma bear. If you kill the momma bear, her baby will die. She is acting like my Apache mother did when she thought some of the big boys were going to hurt me."

Rip didn't want to upset his niece and risk her running off, so he put his gun away and said, "Follow me." Then he shouted at Adam and Hoss, pointed in a different direction and told them to go that way. Cat followed her uncle and when the little family group reunited, it was discovered that Hoss had been clawed by the female bear. They washed the wound with water and Rip said, "That needs to be looked at by a doctor. There should be a town nearby. We can have a doctor look at that wound and pick up some supplies at the same time."

When they reached the town, the unlikely group got some stares but nobody bothered them. They found the doctor's office and went in. Adam offered to stay with his brother while Rip and Cat bought supplies. While they were in the store, Rip bought some peppermint candy for Cat and she thanked him. Adam and Hoss were waiting for them when they left the store. Hoss said that his wound wasn't very bad and should heal nicely.

Since it was getting late, they decided to spend the night in town. They ate supper at the restaurant and had to walk past the saloon on the way to the hotel. As they passed the saloon, some drunken cowboys started harassing them and saying bad things about Cat because she was dressed in buckskins. Rip, Adam and Hoss ignored the men until one of them tripped Cat and kicked her. Adam picked his cousin up off the ground and handed her to Rip. While he was doing that, Hoss hit the man who hurt Cat. The man's friends joined the fight, so Adam joined his brother while Rip held Cat who hugged his neck tightly, afraid of the fight and the cowboys. The sheriff arrived a few minutes later and broke up the fight, demanding to know what the fight was all about. Rip told him how the cowboys had been saying bad things about Cat and that one of them had tripped and kicked her. Upon learning that a small child had been tripped and kicked, he immediately arrested the cowboys and apologized to the small family group.

When they reached the hotel, Cat was still upset because of what had been done to her, so her uncle and cousins did their best to reassure her they would make sure nothing like that would happen to her again while they were on the way to Dodge. All three of them had to sit in the room with her before she would go to sleep. Once she was asleep, the three men decided that the best thing to do would be to buy extra supplies in the morning and avoid as many towns as possible. They didn't want to risk anything else happen to the precocious four old they loved and were escorting home. The next morning on the way to breakfast, Cat was afraid to walk past the saloon, so Adam picked her up and carried her. After breakfast, Rip and Adam went to buy more supplies while Hoss took Cat to get the horses out of the livery stable. When they got there, Cat made Hoss and the man in charge of the stable laugh over the way she hugged and kissed her pony and told him she was sorry he had to sleep in the stable instead of in her room.

The little party left that town and continued on their journey to Dodge. Although she really wanted to be back with the Apaches, Cat kept her word and stayed with her uncle and cousins. One evening they camped by a river and if it hadn't been for some quick action by Hoss, Cat would have fallen in and been swept downstream. She had been climbing on some rocks, slipped and almost ended up completely submerged. Fortunately, Hoss was with her and grabbed her just in time so all that got wet were her feet and pants legs up to the knees. He gave her a good scolding but all she said was, "That was fun!" and headed back for the rocks. Hoss picked her up and carried her away before she could get into more mischief. Everyone made sure to keep a close eye on her until she finally fell asleep so she wouldn't go back to the rocks and end up in the river.

First thing the next morning, as soon as she woke up, Cat headed right back for the rocks. This time Rip was there and stopped her before she got close to them. "Oh no you don't," he said as he picked her up. "You aren't going anywhere near those rocks or the river." Cat squirmed in his arms, but he held her tight and carried her back to their campsite. Adam and Hoss were already starting to fix breakfast when Rip and Cat got back. He put her down on her blanket and told her to stay there.

"I want to play in the water," she said as she got up and started to run off again.

Hoss grabbed her, put her on her blanket and said, "If you go to the river again, you will not be able to ride your pony any more until we get to Dodge. You will have to ride behind me on my horse." Cat pouted but stayed on her blanket because she loved riding her pony and did not want to ride behind Hoss the rest of the trip.

After breakfast, they continued on their journey. Cat did her best to keep her promise and stay with her family but every time she saw something interesting, she forgot about her promise and went to investigate it, causing her uncle or one of her cousins to have to bring her back. She spotted a cave and decided to explore it. However, Hoss anticipated her actions and put his horse between Cat and the cave, so she was not able to explore it. A few days later, she spotted some vines hanging from a tree. They formed a loop that resembled a rope swing. Like any four year old, Cat wanted to swing. So, Rip decided to allow his nice a few minutes of play time. He tested the vines by putting all of his weight in the loop. When it held, he made her promise not to argue when he said it was time to go. When she agreed, he put her in the loop and allowed her to swing for five minutes. Cat kept her promise and didn't argue when she was told it was time to go. The next day, she saw a hawk flying low and decided to follow it. Hoss had to chase her down and bring her back. Everyone knew that she was just being curious and not trying to run off, but there were too many things that could harm a young child, so every time she rode off and was brought back, she received a good scolding. Cat would promise not to ride off, but as soon as she saw something interesting, she was off again.

One day, near the end of the trip, Cat spotted a pack of wolves with some puppies. She forgot about her uncle and cousins and went riding off in the direction of the wolves, wanting to play with the puppies. This time it was Adam who caught her. He didn't say anything before he picked her up off her pony and put her on his horse. "This is where you will be riding for the rest of the trip," he told her after putting her on his horse. We have spent too much time chasing after you because you want to explore everything. We don't have time for your nonsense any more. Rip has a lot of work to do at the fort and Hoss and I have a lot of work to do on the Ponderosa. Matt was expecting us two days ago and is probably worried that something has happened to you."

Cat cried when Adam told her that she would no longer be allowed to ride her pony. "I wasn't running away. I just want to play with the puppies."

"Those puppies are wild animals and their parents will hurt you if you try to play with them. You are riding right where you are until we get into Dodge and give you to Matt."

Cat kept crying and hit Adam in the back. "I wish Little Joe had come instead of you. He would have let me play with the puppies."

"No, he wouldn't have. He is almost fifteen and much too smart to let you play with wolf puppies when it would get you hurt. Now, if you don't stop hitting me, I will give you a bare bottom spanking and tell Matt not to let you ride your pony for two weeks."

Cat didn't care if her cousin gave her a spanking because she was an Apache warrior and they didn't care about pain. Besides that, the pain would go away in a hurry, but the thought of not being able to ride her pony for two weeks was unbearable, so she stopped hitting Adam, but barely talked to him the rest of the trip.

With Cat riding behind Adam on his horse, they didn't have to worry about her wandering off and made better time. Late in the afternoon two days after Cat tried to play with the wolf puppies the small family group rode into Dodge.

Matt was very happy to see his niece and was not surprised to see her riding behind Adam on his horse. He took her down off Adam's horse and gave her a big hug. She hugged him back and wanted to show him her pony. After he admired her pony, she rode off to show him to Quint who spent several minutes admiring him. Matt greeted his brother and nephews warmly and suggested that they take their horses over to the livery stable and then get rooms in the Dodge House. Then, before going in search of his niece, he decided to go and talk to Ma Smalley and ask if she would feed and watch Cat so he could spend a little bit of time with his brother and nephews. Ma Smalley gladly agreed to watch the girl for him. "You just bring her on over Marshal. I'll be more than happy to look after her. She's a sweet child who has too many men folk in her life and just needs some mothering. I'll look after her and make sure that she gets a good meal, a hot bath and a warm bed. "

Matt thanked Ma Smalley and went in search of his niece. He found her over at the Blacksmith shop showing Quint how she takes care of her pony. He was amazed to see her watching and listening to him as he explained how she could do a better job of taking care of her four legged friend. Quint told her that if it was alright with Matt, she could keep her pony right there at the Blacksmith shop and maybe he would become friends with his horse. Matt said that was just fine with him.

When Cat heard her uncle's voice, she ran to him and he picked her up and gave her a big hug and she hugged him back. "I missed you when you were gone," he told her. "It was very lonely without you here and I am very happy that you are back home again. Tomorrow you can tell me all about your adventures but it's getting late and you need to eat. Ma Smalley is going to take care of you tonight because I want to spend some time with Rip. I haven't spent much time with my brother since you were a baby and that was a long time ago."

Cat thought about what her uncle said for a minute and then said, "Ok. I like Ma Smalley. She's nice and makes good cherry pie."

"Yes, she does make good cherry pie. Maybe she made some today and you will be able to have a piece if you eat all of your supper. Let's go and get some clean clothes for you before we go over to her house." After getting some clean clothes for Cat, Matt took her over to Ma Smalley's. "Thank you again for watching her tonight Ma. I haven't seen my brother since Cat was a baby, so I'm going to enjoy spending some time with him. I also haven't seen my nephews in almost a year and it will be nice to spend some time with them also. I can't wait to hear what the three of them have to tell me about Cat's adventures since she disappeared almost a year ago."

"There's no need to thank me Marshal. I'll gladly look after this little one for you anytime you need me to. Now, you go and spend time with your brother and nephews and let me get this young lady fed, bathed and into bed." Cat took Ma Smalley's hand and willingly went with her into the house.

Matt watched as his niece took Ma Smalley's hand and didn't put up a fuss she was led into the house. He wondered aloud, "Now why doesn't she act like that with the family?" He didn't see Doc standing there until he spoke.

"Why doesn't who act like what with the family?"

"Hi Doc. Cat. I'm wondering why she always puts up a fuss when a family member tells her to do something but not when somebody else does."

"That's easy. Children usually always behave better with others than they do with their own families. Children enjoy visiting others and know that if they misbehave, they won't be allowed to go back. They also know that their families won't turn them out if they misbehave or start testing limits. Cat's almost five and she's a very bright child. Sometimes, instead of just telling her what to do or what not to do, tell her why you want her to do it or why you don't want her to do it. For example, if you tell her not to ride out of town alone on her pony, tell her it's because she could get lost or hurt and that would make you very sad. She'll understand and will be less likely to go riding off alone. Go and talk to the Tanners. With ten children, I know they'll be able to give you some good advice on how to get Cat to cooperate a bit more."

"Thanks Doc. I appreciate the advice. It always helps to look at a problem through somebody else's eyes. I'll ride out and talk to the Tanners first thing in the morning. Right now, I want to spend some time with my brother. We haven't seen much of each other in too many years. I haven't seen my nephews in almost a year and will enjoy spending some time with them also. I can't wait to hear about their adventures in getting Cat back here."

"I can't wait to hear those stories. Go and enjoy spending time with your family. I'll look forward to hearing your stories about Cat's adventures tomorrow. I'm sure Kitty will want to hear them too."

Matt met his brother and nephews for supper at Delmonico's where he was warmly greeted by all three. During supper, Rip told him about Cat's adventures with the Apaches and took turns with Hoss and Adam telling him about their adventures on the way to Dodge. By the time they finished, Matt was laughing so hard there were tears coming out of his eyes. "I can tell that I am going to have my hands full with Cat. I don't suppose I could convince the three of you to stay here and help me raise her, could I? Rip, you could ride out to Fort Dodge in the morning and request a transfer. Adam, Hoss, I'm sure that your father could spare you from the ranch for, oh, say, the next fifteen years."

Rip spoke first. "Matt, you're my brother and I love you and I love our niece. I would love to stay here; however, I'm needed in Arizona. I've been gone for two weeks and taking the stage, it will be another week before I'm back at the fort. I don't even want to think of the mountain of paperwork that will be waiting for me."

"Sorry Matt. Hoss and I can't stay either. There's a lot of work to be done on the Ponderosa and Pa needs our help with it. Also, don't forget, we have a little brother who's almost as wild as Cat is. Joe is always getting into one kind of mischief or another and needs our help getting out of it before he gets in too much trouble with Pa."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay, but I had to ask anyway. If Cat wasn't going to be starting school in the fall, I would send her to Rip for four months and then to the Ponderosa for another four months and I would have her for four months too. That way we could all have her for a small part of the year. Oh well, she'll be starting school in several months and hopefully, that will keep her out of mischief for a little while."

Adam, Hoss and Rip all had a good laugh at Matt's last remark. "Good luck with that brother. Hoss is right. Our niece is as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. She is very strong willed and had a mind of her own. Once it's made up, stopping her from doing something foolish is difficult."

After the four men finished supper, they went over to the Long Branch where they soon had Kitty and Doc laughing at Cat's adventures. "You sure are going to have your hands full Matt," laughed Kitty. "I'll help as much as I can."

"I'll help when I can too," said Doc. "Don't forget what I told you about riding out and asking the Tanners for advice." They all sat in the Long Branch talking for a while when Matt said it was getting late and he had to make his rounds. Rip, Adam and Hoss also said that they needed to get some sleep and start making travel plans to go home, so they said goodnight to Kitty and Doc and went over to the Dodge House where they enjoyed a good night's sleep without having to worry about what mischief Cat was going to get into while they were sleeping.

The next morning Matt picked Cat up from Ma Smalley who told him that she had been as good as gold. Since they had both already eaten breakfast, they walked back to Matt's office where he picked his niece up and sat her on the table. "I'm going to say something very important to you and I want you to listen to me Cat. I know that you love your pony and like to ride him a lot, but I need you to promise me that you will never ride him out of town unless an adult is with you. If you go riding off alone, you could get lost or hurt and that would make me very sad. I love you very much and do not want to lose you. Will you promise me that you won't go riding off alone?"

Cat thought about what her uncle had just asked her and said, "Yes, I promise."

Matt hugged her and said, "Thank you. I don't want to have to spend every day worrying that something bad is going to happen to you. Now, I need to ride out and talk to Mr. and Mrs. Tanner. Would you like to come along?"

"Yes. I like playing with the Tanners. They are fun." Cat jumped up and was so excited she would have fallen off the table if Matt hadn't caught her. As soon as he set her on the floor, she was running out the door. "I'm getting my pony," she called as she ran toward the Blacksmith shop. She got her pony and went back to Matt's office where she got her bow and arrows out from under her bed. Matt told her that he wanted to see how well she could shoot with them before he let her carry them everywhere with her. Surprisingly, she did not argue but put them back under her bed.

Before leaving town, Matt talked to Cat and said, "I need you to stay with me and not ride way ahead. You don't know how to get to the Tanner's house and you could get lost. I will tell you when it's ok for you to ride ahead and how far." Cat promised to stay with him and they rode out of town. Cat kept her word and stayed with her uncle who gave her permission to ride ahead several times. About thirty minutes after leaving Dodge, the two of them rode into the Tanner's yard.

Several of the Tanner children were playing in the yard when Matt and Cat rode in and one of them ran into the house to tell their parents they had company. Elizabeth and John came outside and greeted their guests warmly. They made a big fuss over Cat's pony and invited Matt in for coffee. "Cat can stay out here and play with the children," Elizabeth said. "Cat, you stay and play with the children. Don't wander off and listen to Betsy. She's the eldest and will help you if you need help."

The three adults went into the house. "What brings you out this way Marshal?" asked John.

"I need advice on how to handle Cat and get her to mind," replied Matt. He then proceeded to tell them everything that had happened since Cat disappeared in Arizona. At the end of his story, both Elizabeth and John burst out laughing.

"Yes, I can see that you are going to have your hands full," said Elizabeth. "We'll be more than happy to help all that we can. What have you done so far?"

Matt told her about how he got Cat to promise not to ride off alone and to stay with him on the ride out to their house.

"You've made a good start," said John. Sometimes you have to tell small children why you want them to do something. If they can see the reason why, they're more likely to cooperate.

"Allowing her to ride ahead on the way here was also a good idea," chimed in Elizabeth. "You showed her that you could be trusted to keep your word if she kept hers. You don't always have to tell her why you want her to do something but with little ones like that, you're going to find yourself explaining why or why not more than you ever dreamed you would."

"Remember, the older she gets, the more she's going to understand why she should or shouldn't do something, but for right now, you may have to spend a lot of time explaining the obvious," said John.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean John," said Matt.

"Young children of Cat's age don't always understand obvious things," said John. "For example, she wants to ride her pony but it's pouring rain outside, so you tell her no. She's going to want to know why, so you'll need to tell her that she can't ride her pony because it's raining and if she and her pony get soaking wet, they'll get sick. She won't like it, but she'll understand."

"One other thing," said Elizabeth. "Since she's so headstrong, be prepared for her to do something like try and ride her pony in the rain, even though you told her not to. Be firm but fair. In the case of wanting to ride her pony in the rain, tell her that she'll be able to ride him on a day when it's not raining. She won't like not being able to ride right then and there, but she'll have something to look forward to when it's not raining."

Matt stayed at the Tanner's, talking to them and getting advice on how to raise his niece for about an hour while Cat played with the Tanner children. "Thank you very much for the help. I really appreciate it. I'd love to stay and talk longer but my brother and nephews are leaving tomorrow morning and I really want to spend some time with them. I haven't seen much of my brother since Cat was a baby and I don't know when I'll see him again."

"It was our pleasure Marshal," said Elizabeth. "You and Cat are welcome here anytime. Don't forget, if you're going to be gone for more than one night, bring Cat out here. We'll be more than happy to look after her. Also, it's good for her to have children her own age to play with and our children really seem to enjoy playing with her."

The three adults walked outside and Matt told Cat that it was time to go. She was unhappy and didn't want to but he reminded her that Rip, Adam and Hoss were leaving the next day and waned to spend more time with her. Cat had forgotten all about her uncle and cousins while she was playing with the Tanner children, but as soon as she was reminded, she ran, got on her pony and followed Matt out of the yard.

When they arrived back in town, Matt let Cat go over to the Blacksmith's shop while he met his brother and nephews at the Long Branch. Matt asked them how they wanted to spend their last day in Dodge. Everybody had their own opinion of what they wanted to do when Hoss suggested a picnic near a pond they had seen when they rode into town. Cat could do some fishing and show off her skills with her bow and arrows and Matt could invite Kitty if he wanted to. Everyone thought a picnic was a nice, relaxing way to spend a day and Matt asked Kitty if she would like to join them. Kitty said that she would gladly join them and suggested that since he was half Indian, Quint should come along to supervise Cat with her bow and arrows. She said that Quint would be the best person to teach Cat how to use them safely and when they should be used. Cat would also be less likely to rebel if Quint told her not to carry them around town. The men all agreed that Kitty had a great idea. Kitty said she would talk to Ma Smalley about food for the picnic and Matt said he would talk to Quint about coming too. They all agreed to meet in a hour to leave for the picnic.

After Kitty and Matt left, Hoss reminded Adam and Rip of something they had all forgotten. "We're leaving tomorrow and won't be here for Cat's birthday the week after next. We should spend some time shopping and see if we can find something she'll like. Also, Little Joe's birthday is on the same day as Cat's and we won't have much time for shopping when we get back to Virginia City. We should see if we can find something for him while we're here."

"That's a great idea Hoss. We've been so busy trying to keep our little cousin out of mischief that I forgot about her and Joe's birthdays. Maybe we could give them to each other and let Matt raise both of them," joked Adam.

"Your father and Matt would kill you if you did that, laughed Rip. "My brother is going to have his hands full with Cat as is. If Joe is as wild as you say he is, the pair of them together will drive him crazy. Besides that, just think of how boring things would be on the Ponderosa without your little brother to liven them up. Matt and I have talked, and if your father agrees, starting next year, Cat will be spending part of the summer with you on the ranch."

"Oh no!" said Adam in mock horror. "Both Cat and Joe together on the ranch? The Ponderosa will never be the same. We'll have to drain the lakes and fill in the wells or Cat will have us all soaking wet from pulling her out all the time."

Both Rip and Hoss laughed at Adam's comments. "We'd better get going if we're going to do any shopping. We're going to need time to hide Cat's gifts before we see her," said Hoss. His brother and uncle agreed so the three of them left the Long Branch to go shopping. Hoss bought a pretty blanket for Cat to put on her pony. Rip bought a dress he thought his niece would look beautiful in for a special occasion and Adam bought her a fancy bridle for her pony. Then Hoss and Adam spent some time shopping for birthday gifts to give Little Joe for his birthday. When all of the presents were wrapped and the three of them were heading back to the hotel, Hoss said, "We're leaving tomorrow and not going to be here for Cat's birthday. Why don't we let her open her gifts at the picnic?" Adam and Rip thought that was a very good idea and went over to see what Matt would have to say about it. Matt said that he couldn't think of any reason why they couldn't give Cat her gifts from them at the party, so the packages were put under a blanket in the back of the buggy Matt was going to use to take Kitty to the picnic in.

A little while later, Cat, her uncles and cousins as well as Kitty and Quint started out for the pond where they were going to have the picnic. Kitty got Cat to help her put the blanket on the ground and the picnic baskets on the blanket. After that, everybody watched as Quint had Cat show off her skills with her bow and arrows. She shot four arrows and two of them hit the target he had set up. "Considering that she's not quite five yet, Cat is showing very good skill," he told the others. "The Apaches did a good job of teaching her. She is patient and doesn't hurry when she's shooting. Accuracy will come with practice and age."

Then he sat down on a rock near Cat and told her, "This is very important. I do not want you to carry your bow and arrows around town with you. You are still very young and somebody might try to take them away from you and you could get hurt. I will set up a place in back of my shop where you can practice, but only when an adult is with you. If an adult is with you, nobody will bother you and try to take your bow and arrows away from you. In fact, why don't you leave them with me at my shop and I will take very good care of them for you until you are a little older? When you come over, if I am not busy, I will take you out back and let you practice. When Matt says I can, I will also take you hunting. Will you promise me that you will not carry your bow and arrows around town but leave them with me instead?"

Cat was sad because she wanted to carry her bow and arrows with her everywhere, but Quint did promise to take care of them and take her hunting, so she promised to let him keep them for her. Matt was very relieved and thanked Kitty for suggesting that they include Quint in the picnic. After promising Quint that he could keep her bow and arrows for her, Cat decided that she wanted to go fishing, grabbed a can of worms and her fishing pole and headed for the pond. There were enough fishing poles so everybody else, including Kitty went with Cat and did some fishing. Cat wanted to keep all of the fish they caught but Kitty reminded her that they had brought a big picnic lunch with them and that there was no need to keep all of the fish. It took some convincing but Cat agreed to let all of the fish go.

After everyone had their fill of the food they brought, Rip, Adam and Hoss gave Cat her birthday gifts. Her eyes got as big as saucers when she saw the pretty blanket for her pony from Hoss and the fancy bridle from Adam. She wasn't as thrilled with the dress from Rip but he told her, "I know that you are an Apache warrior, but you are still a cute little girl. This dress is for a special occasion and you will look very pretty in it. When I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you because it is the same color green as your eyes are. Let's take the dress, walk down to the pond and hold it up on you. Then you can see how pretty you will look in it. When we get back to town, we will find a looking glass and then you can see just how it matches your eyes."

Everybody followed as Cat picked up her dress and walked down to the pond with Rip. Kitty held the dress on her and told her to look in the water. Although she really wanted to be an Apache warrior, Cat was still a little girl and when she saw the dress held up on her, she decided that she liked it just as much as the blanket and bridle. She hugged her uncle and cousins and thanked them for the birthday gifts.

It was starting to get late, so Kitty suggested that they start packing up their picnic before it got dark outside. Everyone helped and soon the picnic area was as clean as it was when they got there. By the time they got back to Dodge and took everything out of the buggy, it was almost time for Cat to go to bed. Everyone hugged her and told her goodnight and she thanked Rip, Adam and Hoss for her birthday gifts again. She was so tired that she didn't complain when Matt picked her up and carried her into her bed and it wasn't long before she was sound asleep. Since his brother and nephews were leaving in the morning, as soon as Cat was asleep, Matt walked over to the Long Branch to enjoy spending a little more time with them. The four of them sat and talked for a little while and then Rip, Adam and Hoss said goodnight and walked over to the hotel. The next morning, a very sad Cat hugged her uncle and cousins goodbye as they got on the stage and started for home.


	6. Chapter 6

Cat's fifth birthday was two weeks after she returned to Dodge. Just as she had for Cat's second birthday, Kitty opened the Long Branch late so the party could be held there. Just as when she turned two, Cat was busy running from one end of the Long Branch to the other, playing with the Tanner children, thoroughly enjoying her party and the gifts she was given. Kitty gave her some dresses, the Tanner children gave her some dolls and toys. Mrs. Tanner made a very pretty large blanket for Cat to cover her pony with in the winter and Mr. Tanner gave her some winter boots, a hat and mittens he made from buckskin and lined with rabbit fur. Quint gave her a new bow, arrows and quiver while Festus gave her a saddle for her pony. Before she could say anything about Apache warriors don't use saddles, Quint quietly told her that sometimes it was necessary to use a saddle and she needed to learn to use one. Cat looked at the saddle and was thrilled to see not only her name, but her pony's name on it too. She had named him Spot because she said his patches looked like spots. Matt gave her a warm winter coat and a pretty blanket for her bed and Doc gave her a new fishing pole. When the party was over and she and Matt went back to his office, she was thrilled to see that he had also given her a new bed.

For about a month after her birthday, Cat kept her word about not riding out alone. Matt, Quint, and Festus all made time to go riding with her. They let her take her bow and arrows to practice with and also went fishing with her. One week, nobody had time to play with her. The blacksmith at the fort was sick and the commanding officer asked Quint if he would make sure all of their horses had good shoes on them, so he was extra busy. Some men had tried to rob the bank and Matt was busy chasing them, while Festus was busy hunting. Cat tried to be patient but she was getting tired of being ignored. Finally, on Saturday, she couldn't stand it any more, so she ate at Ma Smalley's, then took some food with her and went over to the blacksmith shop, got her pony, bow, arrows and fishing pole and rode out alone to the pond. She spent most of the day practicing with her bow and arrows and fishing. Since she didn't need to eat them, she threw back all of the fish she caught because her Apache family had taught her to only keep what was necessary to eat and to let the rest live.

Cat was only five and didn't know enough to watch the weather, so she was very surprised when the sky suddenly got dark and it began to thunder. She hurried to pick up her fishing pole and bow and arrows from where they were laying on the ground near the pond and ran over to her pony. "We have to find someplace to stay dry Spot," she said as she mounted him and rode toward the forest. She had no idea where she was going, but rode the pony deeper into the woods, trying to find a place where they could stay dry. As luck would have it, she stumbled across a lean-to a hunter had built sometime in the past. Since she was so young, the Apaches did not teach her how to make a fire, so she had to do without. Fortunately, she had brought both of Spot's blankets, so she covered him with the large one and wrapped the small one around herself and settled in to wait out the storm. Since she had nothing else to do but wait for it to quit raining, Cat decided to take a nap.

The storm struck just as Matt got back to town with his prisoners. After locking them up, he went in search of his niece. His first stop was Ma Smalley who told him she hadn't seen Cat since she had eaten there that morning. Matt's next stop was the blacksmith's shop. Quint told him that he had been out at the fort all day and had just gotten back into town. He went to take care of his horse, noticed that Spot was gone and told Matt. He also noticed that Cat's fishing pole and bow and arrows were gone. Matt started to leave and start looking for his niece, but Quint stopped him. "You'll never find her in this storm Matt. All you'll do is get soaking wet and catch cold. Wait until it stops and I'll help you look for her." Matt saw the wisdom in what Quint was saying, so he went back over to his office to catch up on some neglected paperwork. When he got there, he found Festus had returned from his hunting trip and had made a fresh pot of coffee. When asked if he had seen Cat, Festus replied that he hadn't and then told Matt the same thing Quint had and offered to help look for her when the rain stopped.

Several hours later, the rain stopped and the three men set out in search of the missing five year old. "Where could she have gone?" wondered Matt.

"I think I know," said Quint. "Her fishing pole, bow and arrows are gone, so I'm willing to bet that she went to the pond. I think we should look there first. Cat's smart enough to realize that the forest would provide the best shelter from the storm. She might have even gotten lucky and found a lean-to somebody made."

"I'm going to wring her neck when we find her," said Matt.

Festus and Quint just laughed. "No you ain't Matthew," laughed Festus. "You're gonna take that little wild thing in your arms and hug and kiss her and tell her you're glad she's not hurt. Oh, you might scold her a little bit, which she deserves, but you ain't gonna wring her neck."

"Festus is right Matt," added Quint. "You love that little Wild Cat too much to wring her neck."

"Well, she certainly is going to get a good scolding," said Matt. "And it may be several days before she's allowed to leave my office again."

"Now Matthew, don't go being too hard on that youngin. None of us has had much time for her this week and she probably got bored. There tain't narry a one of us who wouldn't have done the same thing ifin they were in her shoes," said Festus.

"I agree Matt," said Quint. "I've been busy at the fort, you've been chasing bank robbers and Festus has been hunting. Kitty and Doc certainly don't have time to play with Cat. Neither do Ma Smalley or Burke. Personally, I think it's remarkable she waited this long before taking off on her own. I would have expected her to have done that days ago."

"The two of you are right. I should have taken her out to the Tanner's before going after the robbers. But she's still going to get a good scolding and spend tomorrow inside."

"Good luck keeping her in," laughed Quint. "There's a reason she's called Wild Cat and it's not because she looks like one."

Cat woke up from her nap shortly after the rain stopped. She stretched and then got up and checked on Spot. Since he wasn't very big, he had been able to fit under the lean-to with her, so he was dry. Cat looked around and wasn't quite sure exactly where she was. "I don't know where we are Spot and I don't know how to get back home. I don't even remember which way we came from. Do you? I think it's going to be night soon and we need to go home." She mounted her pony, gave him his head and said, "Take us home Spot. See if you can find our way back to town." The pony walked off but Cat wasn't sure if they were going in the right direction or not.

Matt, Festus and Quint arrived at the pond just as Cat was leaving the lean-to. "With all of that rain, we're going to have a hard time tracking her," said Matt.

"I'm sure we'll find tracks once we get into the woods where it's dryer," said Festus. "She probably took that path over yonder, so I think we should follow it for a ways to see if we find any tracks." It didn't take long after the men entered the woods before they came across some pony tracks. They followed the tracks deep into the woods until the pine needles made it almost impossible to see any tracks. Then they looked for other signs to tell them which way Cat went. About thirty minutes after arriving at the pond, the little search party found the lean-to where Cat had waited out the storm.

"I think we had better start calling her," said Quint. Otherwise she won't know we're looking for her and we may not find her before dark. Since she was only four when she was with the Apaches, she doesn't know how to make a fire. Indian children don't usually learn how to make a fire until they're about ten." Matt and Festus agreed with Quint and all three men started calling Cat's name. Quint looked around and found pony tracks leading away from the campsite. The men followed the tracks and kept calling Cat's name.

Meanwhile, Cat and Spot kept going deeper into the forest. After a little while, she stopped the pony to rest a minute. "I don't think we're going the right way Spot. Maybe we should go back where we waited for the rain to stop and go a different way." She turned the pony around and started going back in the direction she thought they came from. Although it wasn't quite the right direction, the route Cat chose to go brought her close enough to the search party to hear them calling her name. Once she heard them, she pointed Spot in the direction of the voices and rode toward them. When she found them, they were all very happy to see her.

All of them hugged her and made sure that she was not hurt. After making sure his niece was safe, he told her, "I am very upset with you. You broke your promise to me."

"No, you did," replied Cat. "I asked every day and all you said was, "I'm busy Cat. Not now Cat. Maybe later Cat. Maybe tomorrow Cat."

"Yes, I was busy," said Matt. "But you still disobeyed me and went riding off on your own. Quint, Festus and I have been searching for you for a long time. When we get back to town, I will tell you what your punishment is going to be. Now, get on your pony. It will be dark soon and it's a long way to town." Cat mounted Spot and followed her uncle, Festus and Quint back to town.

When they reached town, Quint took Cat's fishing pole, bow, arrows and pony back to his shop. Festus took Matt's horse and his mule over to the livery stable and Matt took Cat into his office. He took a chair from under the table and sat it near his desk, close to the wall. "I am very upset with you. You disobeyed me and I am going to have to punish you. You are going to sit in this chair for fifteen minutes. Tomorrow you will stay inside all day and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for two days after tomorrow." He picked the girl up and sat her in the chair.

Cat didn't think it was fair that she was being punished when it was her uncle's fault she rode off alone, so she kept kicking the chair and the wall. Finally, Matt had enough and said, "If you don't stop kicking the chair and the wall, you will have to stay inside for two days and you will not be allowed to ride your pony until Friday. Also, I am not going to start counting your fifteen minutes until you sit still." Cat didn't want to spend two days inside and didn't want to go until Friday without being able to ride Spot, so she sat still for the fifteen minutes. When her time was up, Matt told her, "Go and wash up. It's time for supper." Cat did as she was told and the two of them walked over to Delmonico's where Doc, Kitty, Quint and Festus were waiting for them. Kitty saved a seat next to her for Cat and both she and Doc hugged Cat and told her that they were glad she was safe. Cat was glad that they didn't scold her for riding off alone. She had already been scolded too much as far as she was concerned. When supper was over, Matt took Cat back to his office and told her to get ready for bed. A few minutes later, he went into the little room they shared, kissed and hugged his niece and tucked her into bed.

After breakfast the next morning, Matt reminded Cat that she was to stay inside all day. When Matt left his office, Cat tried to do as she had been told, but it was a nice day and she thought that she had already been punished too much because it wasn't her fault nobody would take her riding. So, she left the office and headed for the Blacksmith shop to get her pony. She hadn't gone ten feet when Matt caught her, picked her up and carried her back into his office. He scolded her for disobeying him and made her sit in the chair again for fifteen minutes. When her time was up, he told her that she had to spend the rest of the day sitting on her bed and she would not be allowed to ride her pony for a week. Matt knew that Cat was probably going to leave the office again as soon as he did so he gave her a stern warning. "If you leave this room without my permission, I will give you a bare bottom spanking and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for three weeks."

That was more than Cat could take and she decided she was going to leave Dodge forever and go, live with Uncle Ben and her cousins, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. She found a bag and started putting all of her clothes and other things into it. She was about half way done when Festus entered the Marshal's office and called her. "I'm in here," she replied.

Festus looked at the bag on the girl's bed and asked, "What're you doing little one? Why are you putting all of your things into that bag?"

"Uncle Matt doesn't love me and he doesn't want me, so I'm going to go and live with Uncle Ben. He loves me and so do Adam, Hoss and Little Joe. They won't treat me like this for something that wasn't my fault. It's not fair that I have to sit in here all day and can't ride my pony for a whole week."

"Now, just hold on a dog gone minute there little one. Matthew loves you very much and he was very worried when he couldn't find you yesterday. It would absilitively kill him ifn anything bad was to happen to you. You should have seen him searching the town for you when he got back yesterday."

"No, he doesn't love me. If he did, he would have taken me riding like he promised to do."

"Now lookee here youg'in, sometimes grown ups get real busy and don't have a lot of time to spend with young'ins. Matthew has a very important job to do and he needed to catch them fellers what tried to rob the bank. He didn't ignore you on purpose, but he had to do his job. Now, you stay here and I'm gonna tell him to come and spend some time with you. You may be in trouble, but he can still spend some time with you. Now, I want you to promise me that you won't go anywhere until I get back here." Cat promised and Festus left to find Matt.

Festus decided that the first place he should look was the Long Branch. He went in there and found Matt sitting at a table talking with Doc, Quint, and Kitty. "Matthew, you had better go on over to your office and spend some time with that there young'in of yourn. She's got it in her head that you don't want her or love her and she's fixin to go off and live with her Uncle Ben."

"Cat is being punished and she can just sit on her bed by herself all day," replied Matt. "If she leaves that room, I will give her a bare bottom spanking and she won't be allowed to ride Spot for three weeks."

"Festus is right Matt," said Doc. "Cat rode out on her own because you ignored her all week. I'm surprised that she waited until yesterday before going off alone. Just because she's in trouble doesn't mean you can't spend some time with her. When was the last time you held her in your lap and read to her? When was the last time you hugged her and told her that you love her? Little children need to hear that a lot. They're not like adults who know that they're loved even if someone doesn't say it all of the time. They need to be constantly reassured that the adults in their lives do love and want them. Remember, this isn't easy for her. First her father was killed in the war. Then her mother moved in with her grandfather and eventually brought her here and left her with an uncle she didn't even know. That little girl has been through more in the past four years than most people go through in a lifetime. And yes, yesterday was partly your fault. You should have taken her to the Tanners before you rode out after the bank robbers. If you had, she would have had other children her own age to play with and she wouldn't have been bored and ridden off alone. Now, go and spend some time with her. Hug her and tell her that you love her. Put her in your lap and read to her or by golly, I'll take her to Ben Cartwright myself!"

Matt was a bit surprised at Doc's words and looked to Kitty for help. "Don't look at me Matt. Doc and Festus are right. You don't pay enough attention to that little girl. There have been many times since she came to live with you when you have left her alone in your office so you could come over here. Cat needs you. Right now, like it or not, you are her mother and her father. The Long Branch won't fall apart and neither will I if you spend less time here and more time with your niece."

Before Matt could say anything, Quint spoke up. "They're all right Matt. I can guarantee that if you don't start spending more time with Cat, one day you're going to wake up, she's going to be gone and you won't be able to find her. There's absolutely nothing to keep her from riding out to live with the Arapahos. They'll welcome her and care for her the way the Apaches did. And they might not bring her back again."

"I surrender," Matt said. "I'll go over to my office just as soon as I finish this beer."

Festus left the Long Branch and walked back over to Matt's office. He found Cat right where he had left her and she was still packing her things. "Thank you for waiting for me Cat. Doc, Kitty, Quint and me all fussed at Matthew and he should be here directly. Now, you be good and stay here even when he's not and I'll talk to him about letting you ride your pony later this week. I'm not gonna promise you that he'll let you, but I will talk to him." Cat hugged Festus around his neck and told him she wished he was her uncle, not Matt. Festus laughed, hugged her back and said, "That's sweet Cat but you're just saying that because you're mad at Matthew. I wish you were my niece but I'm on the move too much. That's no life for a little girl. Matthew loves you and you need to stay here with him. I know that right now, you don't think he loves you but I can guarantee you that he does. He was heartsick when he came back from his brother's without you last year. Even though he knew his brother would send him a telegram when you were found, he was at the telegraph office every other day, sending a telegram to his brother, asking if you had been found. If he didn't have such an important job here, he would have stayed in Arizona to keep looking for you. Now you be good and stay here. I'm going back over to the Long Branch and fuss at him until he comes back here." Cat hugged Festus again and promised to stay where she was, but she continued her packing as soon as he left.

Festus went back over to the Long Branch where he found Matt still sitting at the table, his beer only half gone. "Matthew, you done shoulda finished that beer and been over to your office a while ago. It's no wonder that child thinks you don't love her. Also, you're being too hard on her. It's bad enough that she has to sit on her bed all day but not letting her ride her pony for a whole week is just plain wrong."

Doc, Kitty and Quint were shocked at Festus' words. "You told that little girl that she has to sit on her bed all day and can't ride her pony for a week?" said Doc. "That is wrong Matt. You are being way too hard on a five year old child. After you spend some time with Cat and give her some dinner, take her and go out to the Tanners. Talk to Elizabeth and John about what is appropriate punishment for a five year old. Now finish that beer and go, spend some time with that child."

"I will go out to the Tanner's, but Cat is being punished and will stay here, sitting on her bed for the rest of the day," said Matt.

"No Matt," said Kitty. "Take her with you. She doesn't have to ride her pony, but she should go with you. Making a five year old sit on her bed all day is wrong. Elizabeth and John will be able to help you learn what is and isn't appropriate punishment for a five year old."

Matt decided not to continue arguing with his friends. Instead, he finished his beer, said goodbye to them and walked over to his office. He walked into the little room he shared with his niece and saw the bags she had filled with her belongings. Instead of scolding her, he picked the child up, hugged and kissed her and told her that he loved her. He also apologized for not spending more time with her. He picked up two books from her bed and carried her and the books out into his office. He sat down at his desk with Cat in his lap and read both books to her. When he finished reading, he told her it was time for dinner and they walked over to the hotel to get some food. After dinner, instead of taking her back to his office, he took her over to the livery stable and got his horse. He put her up behind the saddle, mounted and rode off toward the Tanner farm.

When they arrived, both Elizabeth and John were out in the yard. Elizabeth was hanging laundry and John was keeping an eye on his youngest children as they played. When he saw Matt ride into the yard, he got up from where he had been sitting on a porch step, took Cat down and put her on the ground so she could play with his children. "What brings you out here today Marshal?" he asked.

"I need some advice on how to deal with Cat when she misbehaves. I've just been scolded by Doc, Kitty, Festus and Quint who say I'm being too hard on her."

John started to reply when the actions of one of the twins caught his eye. He hurried over to where Peter was heading for the pig pen. "What did I tell you about going in the pig pen, Peter? Those pigs are a lot bigger than you are and you could get hurt. Now, you're going to have to sit on a step for five minutes. Then you will be allowed to play with your brothers and sisters and Cat. If you go back to the pig pen, I will have to spank you and I don't want to do that. Now, go and sit on a step. I will tell you when you can go and play again."

"Sorry Marshal. I don't know why that boy is so fascinated with the pig pen but I can't risk him getting hurt. Now, tell me what that adorable little girl did to get into trouble."

Before Matt could begin talking, Elizabeth joined them. She looked at Peter sitting on the step and didn't have to ask what he had done. Then she asked Matt not to start his story until she went in and got some coffee for the three of them. By the time she returned, Peter was back playing with his siblings and Cat.

"Ok. Marshal, what did that sweet little girl do to get you angry at her?" asked Elizabeth. Matt told her about how Cat had ridden out on her own, gotten lost in the woods and then left his office when she was supposed to be spending the day inside. Both John and Elizabeth laughed when Matt told them about Cat packing her things and deciding to ride her pony to Nevada. "I agree with your friends," Elizabeth said.

"You were definitely being too hard on a five year old," said John. "It's no wonder she thinks you don't want or love her. You made her sit still in a chair for fifteen minutes, took her pony away for three days and then told her she had to stay inside for a whole day. Then the next day, you left her alone in your office and expected her to stay there while you talked with your friends and did your job. When she decided that she had been punished enough and left your office, you made her sit in the chair for fifteen minutes again, took her pony away for a week and told her she had to sit on her bed all day. Cat is five years old, not fifteen Marshal. Your punishment was excessive."

"Five minutes sitting in a chair is all a five year old can take," said Elizabeth. "You'll notice that when Peter started going to the pig pen, John only made him sit on the stair for five minutes. Also, you can't leave a five year old alone inside all day in a small place like your office. If one of our children has to spend a day inside, one of us is in the house with them almost the entire day. If we're not in the house, we're close enough so that if the child needs us, all they have to do is call and we can be inside within two minutes. If Cat had needed you, would you have been able to hear her calling you?" Matt admitted that he wouldn't have been able to hear Cat calling him if she had needed him. "You can't leave a five year old alone all day Marshal. I understand that you can't stay in your office all day, but a child that young just can't be left alone. There are too many things they can get hurt on."

"What am I supposed to do with her when I have to be out of the office? She'll be starting school in the fall, but that's still several months away. There aren't any families who live in town that have children her age and I can't take her into the Long Branch when it's open. A saloon is no place for a child of any age."

"Ask your friends to stay with her," said John. "I'm sure they won't mind spending time with her when she has to stay in. Also, your office is so small; Cat doesn't have much room to play, so you should not make her stay inside for more than a few hours. Our house is large, so even a child who is being made to stay inside all day still has room to play. Also, in the event that something like this past week happens again, teach Cat how to get here and give her permission to come here if you forget to bring her. That way you'll know she's safe and she won't be bored and possibly get into trouble or get hurt. She's very resourceful for a five year old and there's no telling what she'll get into if she's left to her own devices. She needs to know that she has someplace safe she can go to if she's ever left alone like she was. We're only a fifteen minute ride from town and you know she'll be safe here."

"Alright John, when she misbehaves, she'll only spend five minutes sitting in the chair and I'll only take her pony away for one day at a time. I'll show her how to get here and give her permission to come here if I ever have to leave town in a hurry, but I want her to tell Kitty, Doc, Ma Smalley or Burke that she's coming her and I would prefer that she have someone ride with her. As you said, Cat's only five and there are too many things that could hurt her."

Both John and Elizabeth agreed that Cat needed to let an adult know when she was coming out there and that she should have someone ride with her to make sure she arrived safely. "Now we need to tell Cat what has been decided," said Elizabeth. "We also need to make her understand that she cannot ride out here without telling an adult where she is going and that if you're in town, she needs to ask you before she just rides out here."

Elizabeth called Cat over to the porch, picked her up and put her in her lap. "Mr. Tanner and I have talked with your Uncle Matt. If something like last week happens again and he has to leave town in a hurry, you will have permission to come out here. He is going to show you how to get out here. However, you must tell Miss Kitty or Doc or Mr. Burke or another adult that you are coming here and that adult must find someone to ride out here with you. I know that you want to be an Apache warrior and are very brave, but you are still a very little girl and there are many things that can hurt you. That is why we want you to have someone ride with you. Now, I want you to promise me, Mr. Tanner and your Uncle Matt that you will tell an adult before you come out here and that you will not come out here alone."

Cat thought about what Elizabeth had said and promised to tell an adult and not to ride out there alone. Then she went back to playing with the Tanner children. Elizabeth said that she needed to start supper and got up to go in the house. "Why don't you and Cat stay for supper Marshal? As you said, there are no families in town with children Cat's age and she is having fun playing with ours. This way she'll get a good, home cooked meal and will probably drop right off to sleep when she goes to bed." Matt agreed and he and Cat enjoyed a home cooked meal. After supper, Cat helped the Tanner children clear the table. Although the younger children could not reach the sink, they were required to carry their plates, cups and silverware over to it where one of the older children would stack everything to be washed. Cat followed the examples of her hosts and carried her things over to the sink where the oldest of John and Elizabeth's daughters told her thank you and took them from her.

Shortly after supper, Matt noticed that Cat was starting to yawn and said that he needed to get her back to town. They said goodnight to everybody and this time Matt put her on the saddle in front of him in case she fell asleep on the ride back to town. Just before they left the Tanner's, Elizabeth said, "Try and bring her out here at least once a week Marshal. Cat needs somebody her own age to play with and we love having her here. Having children her own age to play with now will make it easier for her to make friends when she starts school in the fall." Matt told Elizabeth that he would do his best to get Cat out there at least once a week, said goodnight again and rode off.

Once they arrived back in Dodge, Matt took his horse over to the livery stable and carried his niece back to his office. He put her down inside the room they shared and told her that she needed to get ready for bed. A few minutes later, he came in, hugged and kissed her goodnight and told her that he loved her. He also told her that if the weather was good and he didn't have too much work to do, they would go riding the next day. Cat gave him a big hug when he told her that and fell asleep shortly after he tucked her in. Once he was certain that Cat was asleep, he went out to make his rounds. He stopped at the Long Branch long enough to tell Kitty that he would tell her, Doc, Quint, and Festus what had been decided at the Tanners, the next day. Then he finished his rounds and went back to his office to do some paperwork before making his rounds one more time and going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day and he wanted to try and get a good night's sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

After breakfast the next morning, Matt took Cat over to Ma Smalley's and asked her to watch the girl. Ma Smalley gladly agreed and asked Cat if she wanted to help make apple pies. Cat thought that was a great idea and readily accompanied the woman into the boarding house. Then Matt went to meet his friends at the Long Branch. He told them what had been decided at the Tanner's the day before and they all agreed that if they couldn't take Cat out there, they would find someone who could. After spending some time with his friends, he went back to his office to get some work done before taking Cat riding and showing her how to get to the Tanner's.

Cat's patience was tested again several weeks later. A trail drive came through town and Matt was busy trying to keep the trail hands from breaking up everything in town. The Long Branch was very busy so Kitty didn't have time for Cat. Quint was busy shoeing the drive's horses and Doc was busy patching up cowboys, taking care of sick people and delivering babies while Festus was out hunting for family members who depended on him to keep them fed. Cat got tired of being ignored and wanted to go out to the Tanner's. She went to Quint who told her, "Not now Cat. I'm very busy here."

Then she went to Doc but he wasn't in his office. She went over to the Long Branch and asked a cowboy to tell Kitty that she wanted her but Kitty told the cowboy to tell her that she didn't have time to play. She went looking for her uncle but he didn't even listen to what she was asking and just said, "I can't take you fishing right now Cat. Maybe tomorrow." Ma Smalley was also busy as was Burke. So, she got her pony and rode out to the Tanner farm by herself.

John was the first one to see the child riding alone on her pony. "Who is with you Cat?" he asked.

"No one."

"Why not? You promised you wouldn't come out her by yourself."

"Nobody listened to me," she replied. "I can't play now Cat, I'm busy Cat, I can't take you fishing right now Cat. Festus isn't in town and Doc wasn't in his office."

John was upset when he heard what Cat had to say. "Well, I should punish you for riding out here by yourself, but you did try to get someone to come with you. I had better send one of the boys into town to tell your uncle where you are. You can go and play with the children."

After Cat ran off to play with the Tanner children, John went in search of one of the older boys and found his namesake hard at work, stacking hay in the barn. "John, please saddle your horse, ride into town and tell the Marshal that Cat is here. He's going to be upset that she rode out here by herself, but she tried to get him to bring her, so he's got nobody but himself to blame and I will tell him that when he comes out here. At least she came here instead of going to the pond again."

When John got to town and told Matt that Cat was at his house, Matt was furious. He rode out to the Tanner's with Michael and practically flew off his horse when he saw Cat playing with some of the Tanner children. He walked over to her, grabbed her arm and told her, "You broke your promise again and rode out here without telling anybody or having anybody ride with you. When I get you back to town, you are going to get a bare bottom spanking, sit in the chair for an hour and spend the rest of the week inside. You will not be allowed to ride your pony for a week."

John walked up as Matt was scolding Cat and said, "No Marshal, you aren't going to punish her. She told me that she tried to tell you and your friends she wanted to come out here but nobody would listen to her. Did you even bother to listen to what she wanted before you told her that you couldn't take her fishing? If you had listened to her, could you have found someone to bring her out here?"

Matt admitted that he hadn't listened to his niece and he could have found someone to ride out to the Tanner's with her. "Just because Cat is only five years old, that doesn't mean that she deserves to be ignored," John said. "Cat tried to do the right thing but when nobody would listen to her, she came out here by herself. Be glad that she came here instead of going to the pond again. I think that you should leave her here until that trail drive is gone and you have time for her again. There is something else you need to think about. I know that you are a very busy man and have a very important job with a lot of responsibilities; however, being a parent is a full time job. The children's needs have to come before your own. Like it or not, that is the responsibility you accepted when you told your sister-in-law that you would take care of your niece. A five year old child needs to be watched and paid attention to all the time; especially when there is a strong possibility that child could become hurt or worse. If you can't be a parent to Cat, maybe you should send her out to live with your brother-in-law on his ranch in Nevada. Cat needs an adult in her life who can meet her needs. It's not fair to her to be cooped up alone in your small office all day while you are doing your job or spending time with your friends at the Long Branch. Children need room to run and play. They need companions their own age to play with otherwise they'll never learn how to get along with others. They need to be able to explore things so they can learn about the world they live in. Cat will be starting school in a little more than a month and will have a hard time adjusting to the change if you don't start preparing her now. Try to bring her out here at least once a week so she'll have more time to play with children her own age. That way she won't have such a hard time working and playing with the other children when she starts school."

Matt said that Cat could stay at the Tanner's until the trail drive left town. He also told John that he would give serious thought to what he said. When he got back to town, he met his friends at the Long Branch and told them what Cat had done and why. He also told them what John had said about being a parent to her. "I've been telling you that ever since Rip brought her back!" said Doc. "You don't spend nearly enough time with her. She gets bored, does something wrong and you overreact. Why don't you hire Festus to be your deputy? That will take some of the weight of your job off your shoulders and give you more time to spend with Cat. I can guarantee you that if you don't start spending more time with her now when she's little, you won't be able to handle her when she gets older and she may even end up in trouble with the law."

"I hadn't thought about that Doc. Alright, when Festus gets back from his hunting trip, I'll ask him to be my deputy. That will give me more time to spend with Cat. John is right; she doesn't get to spend enough time playing with children her own age. There aren't any in town, so she's either on her own all day or surrounded by adults."

Cat spent the next three days with the Tanners and found herself wishing she could live there all the time. She played dolls with the Tanner girls and had wrestling matches with the boys, which were supervised by the old children to make sure they didn't turn into fights, even winning a few. She helped Elizabeth prepare meals by putting vegetables into a pot of water, learned how to set the table for meals and helped clear the table by carrying her dishes to the sink. All of the younger Tanner children got to take turns riding Spot. Even three year old Eric took a turn while being held by his father. John made a target on one of the barn doors and allowed Cat to show off her skill with her bow and arrows. He told her she could shoot ten arrows and everyone was impressed and praised her when she got six of them inside the target. The only trouble that occurred happened when Cat saw Peter heading for the pig pen. She ran and got his father who stopped him and told him to go, sit on a step. He was angry at her for telling his father and pushed her with both hands as he walked by. Peter was her friend, but Cat didn't like being pushed by anybody, so she pushed him back. John was only a few steps behind his son and kept the shoving match from turning into a fight. He gave Peter a swat on his bottom as a reminder of what would happen if he kept going to the pig pen, and told the boy that because he had pushed Cat, he was going to have to sit on the step for ten minutes and when he was done, he was going to have to apologize to her.

"I'm getting very attached to that little girl," Elizabeth told John after the children were in bed on the second night. "I wish we could keep her here with us instead of sending her back to Dodge."

John hugged his wife. "I understand Dear. I feel the same way that you do. I wish that the Marshal would let us adopt her, but she is the only child on his side of the family and the youngest on his sister-in-law's side of the family. So, the best we can do is to be surrogate parents to her and convince the Marshal to let her come out here often, especially once she starts school. She'll need help with her school work and he may not be able to help her with everything. I think I have convinced him how necessary it is that she spends time with children her own age, so hopefully we'll get to see a lot more of her."

When Matt came to get his niece and take her back to Dodge with him, she didn't want to go. Her time with the Tanners was the first time she could remember being with a family and she liked it. She didn't want to go back to living in her uncle's office and sleeping on a cot next to his. She liked having a real bedroom, even if she had to share it. Since most of her meals were eaten at the hotel restaurant or Delmonico's, Cat really enjoyed the home cooked meals. Most of all, she enjoyed having "brothers and sisters" to play with. So, when her uncle told her it was time to go back to town, she started crying and said, "No! I don't want to. I want to stay here! You can't make me go and I'm not going to!"

Matt started to lose his temper when John said, "Let's go outside while Elizabeth talks to Cat. I'd like to talk to you about a few things while Elizabeth gets her settled down." Matt decided to let Elizabeth deal with his niece for the time being and went outside with John.

"Elizabeth and I have been talking and we'd like it a lot if Cat came out here more often. We really enjoy having her here and she's not much trouble at all. She listens about as well as any five year old does and is quick to understand when you explain to her why things have to be done a certain way. She did get into a shoving match with Peter but he started it. He was upset that she told me he was going to play in the pig pen, I still don't understand that boy's fascination with the pig pen, and he pushed her. She pushed him back and I stopped it before it went any further. Peter sat on the step for a while, apologized to Cat, they hugged and went back to playing. School will be starting in a little more than a month and Cat will probably need help with her school work. If you and your friends can't help her, Elizabeth and I would like you to bring her out here so we can help her. Michael and Peter will be our eighth and ninth children that we've put through school and what we don't know, the older children do."

While Matt and John were talking, Elizabeth was trying to calm Cat down. The girl was crying because she didn't want to go back to Dodge. She wanted to stay with the Tanners and be part of their family. "Cat, I know that you want to stay here, but you need to go back to town with your uncle. He loves you very much and is doing the best he can to take care of you. He doesn't like having to live in his office but he has to because of his job. Maybe one day he will be able to buy a small house for the two of you but right now, he has to live in his office, which means you do too. He is your father's brother and your mother wants you to live with him until she comes back for you. Mr. Tanner is talking to him right now about letting you come here a little more often. You will be starting school soon and will need help with your school work and we will be able to help you. That is one thing Mr. Tanner is talking to your uncle about. But we need you to be a big girl, dry your tears and go back to town with your uncle. He won't let you come back out here if you have a temper tantrum every time you have to go back to town with him. Also, if you keep having temper tantrums, he's going to think you're too much of a baby to ride your pony and I know how much you like riding your pony.

Cat thought about what Elizabeth said. She loved being at the Tanner's just as much as she loved riding Spot. "Alright, I'll go back to town with Uncle Matt."

Elizabeth hugged her. "That's my girl. Now, let's get your face washed and see if we can't convince your uncle to stay for supper."

Elizabeth went outside to talk to her husband and Matt. "Marshal, why don't you and Cat stay for supper? It'll be ready in about fifteen minutes. That child doesn't get enough home cooked meals and neither do you."

Matt couldn't argue with Elizabeth because he knew she was right, so he agreed to stay for supper.

Elizabeth called the rest of the children and told them it was time to get ready for supper. It didn't take long before all faces and hands were washed and the girls began to set the table. "Cat, would you please help the girls set the table?" Elizabeth asked. Matt watched, amazed as his niece took a plate and set it on the table in front of a chair. She did that until there was a plate in front of every chair. "Thank you Cat. You were a big help. Alright everybody, it's time for supper." As soon as she finished speaking all eleven children were seated at the table.

Once supper was finished and the table cleared, Matt thanked the Tanners for supper and told Cat it was time to go. She got her things and left without arguing.

The next day, it was obvious to Cat that nothing was going to change. After breakfast, she was left alone to wander the streets of Dodge looking for something to do or someone to play with. She went over to the Blacksmith's shop and watched Quint work for a while but quickly tired of that and went looking for something else to do. Matt, Doc and Kitty were in the Long Branch but Cat wasn't allowed to go in when it was open. Festus hadn't come back to town yet, so there was nobody who wanted to pay attention to the girl. Matt found her around noon and they ate dinner. Then he went back to his office to do some work. He did find some time to read to her, which she enjoyed, but then he went back to work and Cat was left to entertain herself until supper.

This went on for two more days. Finally on the third day, Cat decided that her uncle really didn't want her but the Tanners did, so she was going to go and live with them. She got the bags out from under her bed and put her things in them. Then she walked out the front door of the Marshal's office and down the street to the Blacksmith's shop. Quint wasn't there, so she did the best she could to put Spot's saddle on him by climbing up on a crate. She didn't know how to tighten the cinch the right way, so she just wrapped the loose end around the cinch ring until only a little bit was left. Then she climbed up on the crate again and looped the strings from her bags of things around the saddle horn. Once that was done, she got her fishing pole and bow and quiver of arrows, climbed back up on the crate, mounted Spot and calmly rode out of the shop and right down the middle of Front Street. Nobody paid any attention to the five year old child riding a pony with all of her belongings tied to the saddle horn, down the main street in town and out into the countryside.

The saddle wasn't very tight and Cat knew if it fell off, she would not be able to put it back on the pony, so she rode him at a walk instead of running the way she wanted to. She kept looking back, hoping that someone had missed her and was looking for her, but she didn't see anyone. So, she kept riding toward the Tanner farm. It took her more than an hour to reach the farm and when she did, John Jr. saw her, called his parents and led Spot into the yard. Once they were in the yard, he lifted her down off the saddle. "What are you doing here Cat?" he asked. "Who brought you here and why do you have all of your things with you?" His parents came out of the house just in time to hear Cat's reply.

"Nobody brought me here. Nobody wants me, so I am going to live here now. I looked all the way here but nobody looked for me. I rode slow so Uncle Matt could find me but he didn't even look." There were tears in the girl's eyes as she said those last words. She told John Jr. and his parents about being left on her own for the last three days and said that she never wanted to go back to Dodge because her uncle didn't love or want her.

Elizabeth hugged the girl and looked at her son. "John, would you please take Cat's things up to the girls' room and take care of her pony? Would you also please ride into town and tell the Marshal where she's at? Your father and I need to talk to her and she's not going to like what we have to say." The young man said that he would do the things his mother asked him to and his parents took Cat into the house.

"Cat, you disobeyed again. You were told that you were not to ride out here by yourself, but you did," said John. "Could you have asked someone who was going into the Long Branch to get your uncle for you?" Cat replied that she could have. "Then, why didn't you? I am sure that any cowboy would have gotten him for you. Because you disobeyed, you are going to have to be punished. You are not my child, so I can't spank you even though you deserve one. However, you are going to sit in a chair for ten minutes and you will have to stay in the house until your uncle gets here to take you back to Dodge. I will tell him that I have already punished you so he will not spank you, but he will probably take your pony away from you for a while. What you did was wrong and I will not ask him to not take Spot away from you."

"We love you Cat, but you have to stay with your uncle," said Elizabeth. "You cannot come riding out here by yourself and you know that. You have been told many times before that it is not safe for you to ride out here all by yourself. We would be very sad and so would your uncle if something bad happened to you. Now, go with Mr. Tanner and sit in the chair. Then you can go and play in the girls' room."

Cat wasn't happy, but accepted her punishment and sat quietly in the chair for ten minutes, worrying the entire time about how long she would have to go before being allowed to ride her pony again. Then she was allowed to go upstairs and play with the girls.

Matt didn't even notice that his niece was missing until it was almost suppertime. He thought that maybe she had decided to take a nap but she wasn't in her bed. Then he went looking for her all over town, but couldn't find her anywhere. Everybody he asked said that they had not seen her. He went over to Quint's shop and found that her pony, bow, arrows and fishing pole were gone and assumed that she had gone back to the pond alone. He walked back over to his office and untied his horse from the rail, vowing that this time Cat was going to get a spanking she would not soon forget. He also decided to give her pony away so that she could not go off on her own again. Matt was just about to mount his horse when John Tanner Jr. came riding up.

"Hello Marshal," he said. My parents asked me to come and tell you that Cat is out at our house. She rode out there with all of her things, intending to stay there. I'll let my parents tell you the rest of the story when you get there."

"Thank you John. I have been searching for her for almost an hour now and am plenty worried about her. I am tired of her just riding off on her own whenever she feels like it. This time she is going to get a spanking that she won't forget anytime soon and I am going to give her pony away. That way she won't be able to ride off alone whenever she wants to."

John said nothing but planned on telling his parents what Matt was planning to do. He didn't think it was right for Matt to give Cat's pony away just because she had ridden off on her own again. To his way of thinking, if Matt would spend more time with his niece, she wouldn't want to ride off alone, looking for a new place to live. It wasn't her fault that she was only five, there were no other children her age in town and none of the adults wanted to spend any time with her. He remembered what it was like when he was five and his mother gave birth to his sister. All of a sudden, nobody had any time for him, so he had done things similar to what Cat was doing. The Marshal was making the same mistakes his parents had made back then and they were trying to help him adjust to having to care for a young child. He rode on ahead so he could get home and talk to his parents before Matt got there.

By the time Matt reached the Tanner's, John had been home long enough to tell his parents what Matt had planned for his niece. Matt got off his horse and tied it to the rail in front of the house. John Sr. was on the front porch to greet him when he arrived. "Hello Marshal. I guess you've come to take Cat back to town with you. Before you do, you, Elizabeth and I need to talk. John told us what your plans are for Cat and if you carry through with them, you will lose her forever."

"I am through playing games with her John. It's time I taught her who's in charge and what the consequences are going to be for disobeying."

"Come into the house, sit down, have some coffee and talk with Elizabeth and I. We have been in your shoes and are trying to help keep you from making the same mistakes we did."

Matt was in a hurry to take Cat back to Dodge, but since the Tanners had more experience raising children than he did, he decided to go and talk with them.

"Hello Marshal," said Elizabeth as Matt walked into the kitchen. "Please sit down. I've made a fresh pot of coffee and it will be done in a few minutes. Have you eaten any supper?"

Matt admitted that he hadn't eaten, so Elizabeth fixed a plate of food for him and put the coffee pot on the table. She and John waited until after he had finished his food before talking to him.

"John told us what your plans for Cat were," said Elizabeth. "If you follow through with them, you will lose that little girl forever. We made the same mistake with John when he was five and almost lost him."

"How long was Cat gone before you noticed she was missing? How much time have you spent with her since she left here three days ago?" John asked. "Now, compare that with how much time you have spent in the Long Branch with your friends. If you spent more time with your friends than your niece, you need to change that. Do you know that she rode out here slowly, looking back over her shoulder the entire time, hoping that you were coming to get her?"

"I gave birth to Rebecca when John was five," said Elizabeth. "He went from being the center of attention to being almost totally ignored. Oh, he was fed, bathed and dressed, but other than that, he was left to his own devices because we were focused on the baby and so was everyone who came to visit. Very few people even bothered to say hello to him."

John continued the story. "One day, he got tired of being ignored and decided to find somewhere else to live, just as Cat did today. He packed all of his things and rode off on his pony. We didn't notice that he was missing until suppertime. I searched for him all night and didn't find him until almost noon the next day. Something had spooked his pony in the dark and he was thrown. He landed in the river and was swept away downstream. I thought he was dead when I found him. Thankfully he was still alive, but just barely."

"I couldn't believe the condition he was in when John brought him home. I nursed him night and day for three days before we were certain he would live. We realized how wrong we had been to ignore him in favor of the baby and vowed right then and there it would never happen again. We are trying to keep you from making the same mistake we did."

"I punished Cat when she got here. She is not my child, so I didn't spank her even though she deserved it. However, she had to sit in a chair for ten minutes and was not allowed to play outside. I told her that I would ask you not to spank her but that you would probably take her pony away for several days. Cat is a very intelligent, clever child. If you give her pony away, you will lose her forever. She has already proven that she can adapt to the Indian's lifestyle and if you give Spot away, one day when you are not looking, Cat will run away and may go to live with the Arapahos until she can figure out how to get back to Arizona. How will you explain that to the rest of her family?"

"We know that you were ill prepared to take on a child when Cat's mother showed up with her and we have been trying to help you," said Elizabeth. "If you can't take care of Cat the way she needs to be taken care of, please leave her here with us and we will take care of her until she is old enough to go, live with her uncle in Nevada or her mother comes back for her. We finished supper a while ago and the younger children, including Cat, are already in bed. Why don't you leave her here with us tonight and come back for her after breakfast in the morning. That will give you time to think about what you have heard tonight. We know that you love Cat and want the best for her, but you have some decisions to make. We know that sometimes your job will interfere with the time you need to spend with her and if the three of us explain it to her, she will understand. But, as we have told you before, young children need to know that they are loved. They need to be hugged and kissed and told that they are loved many times a day. You need to decide which is more important to you, your brother's daughter or your friends."

Matt promised that he would give serious thought to what he had been told. He thanked Elizabeth for the food and coffee and said he would leave Cat there and come back for her after breakfast. As he rode back to Dodge, he spent a great deal of time thinking about what John and Elizabeth had said to him. When he got back to town, he saw that the lamps were on in Doc's office, meaning he was in there, so Matt decided to talk to him about what the Tanners had told him. Doc listened as Matt told him everything that Elizabeth and John had told him. "They're right Matt. If you don't start paying more attention to Cat, you're going to lose her. How long did it take you to notice that she was missing?" Matt admitted that he hadn't noticed his nice missing until almost suppertime. "That means she was missing for half a day before you noticed she was gone. She'll be starting school in a few weeks and then you'll have more time for yourself during the day. In the mean time, spend more time with that child before you lose her."

"The problem is that I don't know what to do with her Doc. I don't know how to entertain a five year old child. I've only had to deal with a few children and they were older children who had gotten into some mischief and I kept them in my office until their parents came for them."

"Take her riding Matt. She loves to go fishing also. Take her fishing. Remember, she spent almost a year living with the Apaches. She prefers to do things like hunting and fishing rather than playing with dolls. Take her out to the pond and let her practice shooting arrows at trees. Take her with you when you walk around town during the day and let her look in a different shop every day. Spend time reading to her. Take her out to the Tanner's one day a week. She needs to spend time playing with children her own age. Let her spend a day helping Ma Smalley bake. She enjoys helping Ma and Ma enjoys looking after her. I know that you have work to do, but you need to spend a lot more time with her. Otherwise, you're going to wake up one morning and she will be gone. Cat will become more independent as she grows older, but right now, she needs as much of your attention as you can give her. Trust me, things will get easier. Starting next summer she'll spend two weeks with the Apaches and the rest of the summer with her Uncle Ben on his ranch. But right now, she needs as much attention as you can give her. Talk to John and Elizabeth when you go out there in the morning. Ask them for suggestions on what to do with her."

"Thanks Doc. I appreciate the suggestions on what to do with Cat. I know she doesn't believe it, and it's my fault, but I really do love her. I'm going to make my rounds and go to bed. I have to go and get her from the Tanners after breakfast. She won't be happy, but I'm not going to let her ride her pony back to town. She can ride on my horse with me."

"I agree. A few days of not being allowed to ride her pony won't kill her but they will remind her that there are consequences for misbehavior. Now, go and get some sleep."

The next morning, Matt rode out to the Tanner's to pick up his niece. He talked to Elizabeth and John for a little while and told them the same thing he had told Doc, that he didn't know what to do with Cat to keep her occupied. They said the same things that Doc had said, take her riding and fishing and let her shoot arrows at trees. John showed him the target he had made on the barn door for Cat to shoot arrows at. Matt told them that as soon as Festus returned to town, he would ask him to be his deputy so he could spend more time with Cat. He also said that he would not spank Cat, but she would not be allowed to ride her pony for three days. Both John and Elizabeth agreed with his decision.

After they finished talking, Elizabeth went upstairs to where the girls were playing and told Cat to get her things because her uncle was there to take her back to Dodge. Cat didn't want to go but she knew that the Tanners would be angry with her if she put up a fuss, so she did as she was told. When she got downstairs, Matt picked her up and hugged her. He told her he was sorry for ignoring her He also told her that he would not spank her for riding out to the Tanner's alone but starting today, she would not be allowed to ride her pony for three days. Cat didn't think that was fair, but she didn't dare argue or the Tanner's would be angry with her and her uncle might take Spot away from her for longer than three days.

For the rest of the summer, Matt did his best to spend as much time with Cat as he could. Festus agreed to be his deputy and that gave him more time to spend with Cat. He read to her and took her riding and fishing and let her shoot arrows at trees. He took her with him when he walked around town during the day and let her explore a different store each day. He also took her out to the Tanner's in time for supper on Fridays and let her stay there until after supper on Sunday. She also spent one day a week helping Ma Smalley with her baking. Now that her uncle was paying attention to her, Cat did not run away again that summer.


	8. Chapter 8

While she was at the Tanner's, they started telling her what to expect when she started school in the fall. After hearing what the older Tanner children told her, Cat decided that she wasn't going to like school very much. She didn't want to have to be inside and sit still all day or be punished if she didn't. She decided right then and there that she was not going to go to school no matter what her uncle said.

The first day of school started with an argument between Matt and his niece. He had laid out a pretty dress for her to wear but she refused to wear it. "I won't wear that dress and you can't make me!" Cat said. "Dresses are for Easter and Christmas, not all the time. I'm going to wear my buckskins and you can't stop me!" Matt kept trying to get Cat to change her mind but the more he tried, the louder she yelled.

Kitty walked into Matt's office in the middle of the argument. She had come to help get Cat ready for her first day of school. She walked into the little room Matt and Cat shared and put her hand on his shoulder. "Pick your battles Matt," she said quietly. "You're going to have a hard enough time getting her to even go to school without arguing over what she's going to wear. Right now, you need to convince her that not only does she need to go to school; she has to stay in school and listen to the teacher. We both know that Cat doesn't like to sit still or stay inside any longer than absolutely necessary. You're going to have your hands full just getting her to cooperate with the teacher, so let her wear her buckskins. Go out in your office and let me help her get ready. I'll try and convince her that she's going to have to stay in school and listen to the teacher. I can't guarantee that she'll listen to anything I have to say about the subject, but I will try."

"Thanks Kitty. Maybe you'll have better luck than I've had so far."

After Matt left the room, Kitty sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to her, indicating she wanted Cat to sit down there. When Cat sat down, Kitty put her arms around the girl and hugged her close. "I'm going to help you get ready for school. Don't worry, I'm not going to make you wear a dress, but you are going to wear clean clothes. You've been wearing those clothes for several days now and need to put clean ones on."

Cat didn't argue with Kitty and took some clean clothes out of the drawer under her bed. Kitty helped her take the dirty clothes off and put the clean ones on. For once, Cat didn't protest that she was old enough to put her own clothes on. Once the girl was dressed, Kitty had her sit on the bed and put her arm around her. "We need to talk about what's going to happen today. What I'm going to say is important and I need you to listen to me. Today is going to be a big change for you. I know that you don't like to stay inside or sit still, but those are things you will have to do while you're in school. Also, I know that it makes you angry when someone says something you don't like and you want to hit the person who said it, but you cannot do that when you're in school. If you do, the teacher will punish you and so will Matt."

"You won't have to sit still all day. There will be times when all of the students are allowed to go outside and play and you will be eating dinner outside and will be allowed to play when you are finished eating. Remember, you already have friends in school. Most of the Tanner children have been going to school for years and Peter and Michael will be starting school with you. There will be a lot of other children and you will make some good friends. I want you to promise me that if somebody starts picking on you, that you will find one of the older Tanner children to take care of the problem for you instead of hitting the other person. I also want you to promise me that you will do your best to sit still and listen to the teacher. Also, the teacher will call you Catherine, not Cat. You musn't correct him and say that you want to be called Cat. If you do, he will think that you are talking back and punish you." Cat promised that she would do her best to do what Kitty said she must do. Kitty hugged her and said, "You are a good girl Cat. I know that you will do well in school; you just have to listen to the teacher. Now, let's show Matt that you're ready for school and get some breakfast. You can't learn on an empty stomach."

When they got over to the hotel restaurant, Doc, Quint, and Festus were waiting for them. They all wanted to wish Cat well on her first day of school and each of them had something to give her. Doc gave her two tablets of writing paper, Festus gave her some pencils and a strap to use for carrying her school books, and Doc gave her a slate, chalk and an eraser. Matt and Kitty gave her the school books she would need, some picture books, a shiny new dinner pail and tin cup, and some drawing paper. After breakfast, they all walked Cat to school. Doc, Quint and Festus all gave her a hug and Matt and Kitty took her inside. They expected to see Mr. Pope standing in front of the classroom but instead they saw a young woman who looked like she was about nineteen or twenty years old. She wrote down Cat's name, showed her where to sit and invited Matt and Kitty to join the other parents at the back of the classroom.

At nine o'clock, she walked out from behind her desk and introduced herself to the students and their parents. "I know that you were all expecting to see Mr. Pope today, however, his father died suddenly and his mother is not well, so he accepted a teaching job in Boston, near his mother's house so he can take care of her.'

'My name is Miss Jackson and I am delighted to meet all of you. I see that we have quite a few students who are starting school for the first time today and I am going to assign one of the older students to each of you for the first week or two, until you have learned the routine and become comfortable with it. When those students are not busy with their own schoolwork, they will be allowed to help you with yours. I want everyone to succeed and one of the best ways to do that will be to ensure that our youngest students have all of the help they need, especially in the first two weeks. I have found this a very effective technique to use for helping the youngest students at the beginning of the school year. I understand that our youngest students are not used to sitting still for long periods of time, but they will eventually get used to doing that.'

'I asked your parents to stay for a little while so I could explain the rules. This way there will be no misunderstandings about what I expect. School will begin promptly at nine o'clock every morning and I expect all of my students to be here on time. I will not tolerate tardiness without a good reason. I am aware that some of you live quite a distance from the school and getting her will be difficult once it has snowed. We will deal with that when the time comes. Right now, there is no excuse for being late. I also expect everyone to have their books, and other supplies with them every day. You can leave your slates, chalk and erasers on your desks. When I am teaching you something and you do not understand what I am teaching you or feel that you need extra help, raise your hand and tell me. I cannot help you if I don't know you need it. Anybody who laughs at someone who asks for help will be severely punished. I will not tolerate anyone making fun of one of their classmates who needs extra help.'

'I also will not tolerate anyone teasing or bullying another student for any reason. Fighting, except in self-defense also will not be tolerated. Anybody who starts or teases someone into starting a fight with them will be whipped, sent home, and receive failing grades on all of their assignments for the day. Every time you start a fight or tease someone into starting a fight with you, you will have to stay home an extra day and you will receive failing grades on your assignments for those days also. Anyone who is not allowed to attend school for ten or more days due to fighting will fail the term and have to repeat their current grade level.'

'Any assignment that is turned in late will not receive full credit. Instead, it will receive one grade lower than it would have received. I will make an exception for an emergency or illness. If you are absent, I will allow you an extra week to make up the work you miss. I realize that most of you live on farms and ranches and have chores to do in the morning and evening, so your homework will not be excessive. The purpose of homework is to reinforce what you have learned in school, so it is important that you complete it. If you do not understand the work and nobody at home can help you, come early the next morning and I will help you. I will be here at seven thirty every morning to help students who need extra help with their assignments.'

'Now, before I ask the parents to leave, I am going to tell the older students which of the youngest students they will be helping." Miss Jackson began reading off the names of the older students in alphabetical order and told them which of the youngest students they would be helping. When she got to T, she said, "Rebecca Tanner, you will be helping Catherine Cartwright." Both Cat and Rebecca were thrilled as were Matt, Kitty, John and Elizabeth. After she finished reading the names, Miss Jackson said, "Now, I am going to ask the parents to leave so that we can begin our first day."

All of the parents, as well as Matt and Kitty, left the school house. When they got outside, Matt looked at John and Elizabeth and said, "I'm glad that Rebecca is going to be helping Cat. I just hope she can convince her to pay attention and listen to Miss Jackson. I'd hate to have to punish her because she got in trouble in school."

"I'm sure that she'll be fine," said Elizabeth. "Rebecca will do the best she can to help Cat with her school work and behavior. She'll help her realize that she's getting to be a big girl and will have to start acting like one."

"One way to ensure that Cat goes to school is for you to walk her here every morning and then put her in Rebecca's care," said John. "I can't guarantee that she'll stay here, but if Rebecca knows that Cat is here, she can try to keep an eye on her. Robert can help keep an eye Peter and Michael which will enable Rebecca to try and keep an eye on Cat. I wouldn't be surprised if the three of them either didn't go to school or just up and walked out of it one day. Cat, Peter and Michael are a handful but with a lot of love and discipline, they'll turn out just fine. Right now, they're exploring and testing their boundaries to see what they can get away with. That is completely normal behavior for a five year old and it will continue as they grow older. I also recommend that you or one of your friends picks Cat up after school every day. That way you'll know if she stayed in school or not and also that she'll get back to your office safely. Now, we've got to get back to the farm. There's always a lot of work to be done and with Robert back in school, there's just John and I to do it. We'll be back at three o'clock this afternoon to pick the children up from school." The Tanners climbed back on their wagon and drove back to their farm while Matt walked Kitty back to the Long Branch before returning to his office.

A large part of Cat's first morning of school was spent learning her letters and numbers. She also started learning how to write the letters and numbers. At recess a boy who was several years older than Cat started teasing her about the way she was dressed. "She looks like a squaw," he said as loud as he could. "I shouldn't have to go to school with no dirty, stinkin' squaw," and pushed her.

Cat made a fist and was about to hit the boy when an eight year old girl walked up to her and said, "Don't hit him. He wants you to start a fight. He's always picking on someone younger than him. Mr. Pope was good friends with his Pa and didn't do anything about it. I really hope that Miss Jackson does. My name is Julie and I'm in the third grade."

Cat forgot about the boy and turned to the girl and said, "Hi, my name is Cat. It's really Catherine but everyone calls me Cat."

The two girls walked away from the boy as they talked.

"You're Marshal Dillon's niece, aren't you? I've seen you around town with him."

"Yes, he's my uncle. My father was his brother. He was killed in the war when I was only one."

"Where is your mother?"

"Uncle Matt said my grandfather made her marry a man who made her move to Australia and leave me here."

"I'm sorry that happened to you but I am very happy to meet you. I would like to be your friend."

"I would like that. The Tanners are my only friends except for my uncle's friends but they're all grown ups. Do you live in town?"

"Yes, my mother is the dressmaker. My father was also killed in the war. I'll ask my mother and your uncle if it's ok for you to come over to her shop so I can help you with your school work."

"That would be nice, thank you. The Tanners said they'd help me too but I'm not allowed to ride out to their farm alone and Uncle Matt doesn't always have time to take me."

While the girls were talking, the boy walked up to them and started teasing Cat again. This time Miss Jackson heard him.

"Mark Nelson that is a terrible way to start the first day of a new school year. Apparently you didn't hear me this morning when I told everyone that I would not tolerate teasing. Recess is over for you. Come here and sit on the steps. You are very lucky that Catherine did not hit you. If she had, you would be receiving a whipping and I would have sent you home. I will be talking with your parents after school to let them know about your behavior. They were here this morning when I explained the rules to everyone. I sincerely hope that they will do something about your behavior. Catherine, I am very proud of you for ignoring Mark and not reacting to his comments. I will be sure to tell your uncle what a good job you did today."

Cat was glad she had listened to Julie and thrilled that Miss Jackson had praised her. She liked being praised and decided that she was going to try and stay in school even though she had to sit still for a long time. She and Julie started talking again when Peter and Michael Tanner ran up to them. "Come and play Cat," said Peter.

"There are some open swings," said Michael. "We can get Rebecca and Robert to push us. Who is your friend? Bring her with us."

Cat introduced the boys to Julie and the four children ran off to play on the swings. Peter spotted his older siblings and ran up to them. "Come and push us, Cat and Julie on the swings," he said. "We've been watching some of the other children and it looks like fun, but we need you to push us."

Rebecca and Robert followed their brother over to the swings where Michael, Cat and Julie were waiting. There were only two open swings and since Cat had been talking with Julie and not watching the children on the swings, Rebecca told her to watch as she pushed Peter and Robert pushed Michael. After a few minutes of watching Peter and Michael on the swings and listening to them call, "higher", she decided it looked like fun and wanted to try.

Miss Jackson was about to tell the children that recess was over and it was time to go back into the school when she noticed Cat and Julie waiting for their turns on the swings. She knew that neither girl had been on the swings yet and decided to wait until they had taken their turn. Miss Jackson watched as Rebecca and Robert pushed Cat and Julie on the swings. When the two older children stopped the swings, she called the children and told them that recess was over.

Once all of the children had gotten drinks from the pump and were back in their seats, Miss Jackson called the class to order. "I am very proud of the way everybody played today. There was only one problem and hopefully, his parents will deal with him after school. I am also very proud of the way the older children helped the younger ones today. Our first day of school has gotten off to a very good start and I hope that the rest of the year is just as good. There will be a lot of work to do and some of it will be hard, but if everybody does the best they can, you will all succeed and get very good grades. The harder you work, the better your grades will be. I am also glad to see that our youngest children are making new friends. That is just as important as working hard on your lessons. Now, I would like everybody to continue working on the lessons we began before recess while I work with the older children on their Arithmetic."

Cat worked at writing the letters and numbers she had learned earlier, on her slate. When Miss Jackson finished working with the older children, she walked around looking at everyone else's work. Even if someone had made a mistake, they received praise for working hard. The youngest children received a lot of praise for their efforts at writing the numbers and letters they had learned. Miss Jackson did that for each group of students she worked with. Cat was getting tired of writing the same letters and numbers over and over again. She was getting ready to get up and walk out of the school when Miss Jackson announced that it was time for dinner.

All of the students took their dinner pails and walked out of the building. Cat and Julie ate with the Tanners. After he finished eating his dinner, Mark Nelson looked for Cat and started teasing her again about the way she was dressed. All of the younger Tanner children were about to jump on and start hitting him when Robert grabbed Mark by the back of his shirt and drug him over to where Miss Jackson was sitting. "He was teasing Cat about the way she was dressed," he said. "Even though Cat is the Marshal's niece, we consider her part of our family and will not tolerate anyone making fun of or teasing her. My younger brothers and sisters wanted to jump on Mark and hit him, so I brought him to you."

"Thank you Robert," said Miss Jackson. "This is not the first time today that Mark has teased Catherine and I will be speaking with his father after school. Mark, you will not be allowed to play any more today. It seems to me that all you want to do is cause trouble and I will not allow that to happen. You will sit here on the steps until dinner is over. You will also sit here during recess this afternoon. This is your last warning. I will be speaking with your father after school and if this behavior continues after today, you will receive a whipping and be sent home. I told everyone this morning that this type of behavior would not be tolerated and I meant it."

Robert walked back over to his family and told them, Cat and Julie what Miss Jackson had said. Cat said she was glad Miss Jackson was going to do something about Mark, but she was getting tired of school. All she had done was learn some letters and numbers and write them a whole bunch of times. If things weren't different this afternoon, she was not going to come to school tomorrow. After Uncle Matt dropped her off and left, she was going to leave also. She knew that there were Arapahos living near Dodge and they would teach her things she wanted to learn. Maybe they would even help her get to her Apache family in Arizona. She would put some clothes in a bag after school and hide them in Spot's stall at the Blacksmith's shop. Unless he had a horse that needed shoeing, he usually stayed at the hotel restaurant talking with Doc, Kitty and Uncle Matt in the mornings, so it would be easy to get Spot without being seen. There was an alley right by Quint's shop that led to another street which would enable Cat to get out of town without being seen by her uncle or any of his friends.

While Robert was talking to Miss Jackson, Peter asked Cat, "Do you like school?"

"No, it's boring," was the reply. "All we do is write letters and numbers. If that's all we do after dinner, I might not come tomorrow."

"Me neither," declared Michael. "You're right Cat, school is boring. I don't want to come here any more."

"What will we do and where will we go?" asked Peter. "We'll all be in big trouble if we get caught. Pa will spank us hard and Marshal Dillon will spank Cat hard and then we'll have to sit in chairs for a long time if they find out."

"I don't know," said Cat. "I can take Spot and go to the Arapahos. Maybe they can help me get to my Apache family. I don't know if Spot can carry the three of us, but we can try. Then you can come to the Arapahos with me."

Julie heard the three children talking and said, "Oh no. You musn't skip school. Your parents and uncle will punish you and so will Miss Jackson. School is boring right now, but it will get better. You won't always just be writing letters and numbers. Soon, you'll be adding numbers together to make bigger groups and you'll be learning how to make words from the letters. Promise me that you'll keep coming to school until after you have learned all of the letters and how to make words with them. School will be much better once you learn how to read."

After dinner, Miss Jackson worked with the youngest students on their Arithmetic again. "This morning you learned some numbers, but not what those numbers stand for. Each number stands for a group of things. Those things can be anything, people, books, cattle, anything that can be counted. Now, I'm going to start showing you how to make the groups that the numbers stand for." She walked over to her desk, picked up a small bag and took a small stone out of it. She held up the stone and said, "This is one. It goes with the number one you learned this morning." Then she took another stone out of the bag and held it up with the first one. "This group is called two. I have two stones in my hand. Now, who can tell me what the next group is going to be?" All of the five year olds raised their hands. Miss Jackson looked at the group and realized that Cat was getting bored so she said, "Catherine?"

"Three," Cat responded.

"Yes, that's right" said Miss Jackson, and took another stone out of the bag. She showed the three stones to the students. "This is what a group of three looks like." Then she asked what the next group was going to be and asked Peter Tanner for the answer. After he answered, she took another stone out of the bag and showed the students a group of four. Before taking a fifth stone out of the bag, she asked Michael Tanner to help her and handed him the fifth stone. She handed the sixth stone to Michael also. She called Cat up and handed her the seventh and eighth stones and then handed the ninth stone to a third student. "Now, let's count how many stones we have altogether." She held up one stone and the class said, "One". After all nine stones had been counted, she said, "You have just learned how to count to nine. Now, while I listen to the second grade students read, I want you to write the numbers one through nine and draw a group of circles to show what each number stands for. I know that you're getting tired of writing the numbers, but writing them many times will help you to write them better and also help you to remember what they look like. I predict that by Wednesday, all six of you will be very good at writing the numbers and will be able to count from one to nine without any help at all. Once you can do that, we'll start learning the bigger numbers. It's the same thing with your letters. The more you write them, the better you will become at writing and before too long, you will know the entire alphabet. As soon as you know what all of the letters are, we will begin to learn the sounds they make and how to put them together to make words."

Miss Jackson left the five year olds to write their numbers and draw circles to represent them while she went to listen to the second grade class read. Cat still thought school was boring and was probably not going to attend the next day. Before long, Miss Jackson announced that it was time for afternoon recess. Mark Nelson became angry when she reminded him that he was not allowed to play. On his way from his seat to the door, he pushed the books off every desk he walked by. Miss Jackson watched him but didn't say anything. During recess, Cat and Julie played with the Tanners on the swings and the see saw. Some of the older boys were playing catch with a ball. Once, a boy didn't catch the ball and it landed at Cat's feet. She thought they had thrown it at her and was going to hit the boy who had thrown it. Robert saw what she was about to do and said, "No Cat. They didn't throw the ball at you. David just couldn't catch it. Why don't you pick the ball up and take it back over to them? They're my friends and once they get to know you, they'll protect you from bullies like Mark Nelson."

Cat picked the ball up and walked over to the boys and handed it to David. "Thank you," he said as Cat handed him the ball. "You're Marshal Dillon's niece, aren't you?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, don't worry about Mark Nelson or anyone else picking on you. We're Robert Tanner's friends and we'll take care of you just like he did at dinner. We'll take care of Robert's little brothers and your friend Julie, too. I could see that you were getting bored writing your letters and numbers today. Don't worry, every day isn't going to be like that. Everybody starts out that way the first few days of school. Before long, you'll be writing words and adding numbers together. You just have to be patient and get through the first several days until you learn the numbers and letters."

Cat thanked David for saying he and his friends would take care of her and Julie. Then she walked back over to where the Tanners and Julie were waiting for her. They played on the swings until Miss Jackson told everybody that recess was over. When all of the students had gotten drinks and were waiting at the stairs, she told them, "When you go inside, some of you are going to see that your books are on the floor instead of on your desk. Do not pick them up. The person who put them there is going to pick them up and then he is going to be punished for what he did."

The students walked back into the schoolhouse and sat down. Once everyone was in their seats, Miss Jackson told Mark to pick up all the books he had pushed onto the floor. He refused to do it so she told him to come up to the front of the school. Once again, he refused to do as he was told. She picked up a long rod from where it was leaning against the wall behind her desk, walked over to Mark, grabbed the back of his shirt and made him walk up to the front of the school. "This is my fifth year of teaching and it is the first time that I have had to whip a student on the first day of school. Mark has been teasing some of the younger students and pushed your books onto the floor because he was angry that I told him he would not be allowed to play at recess this afternoon. He refused to pick up the things he pushed onto the floor so I have no choice but to punish him. I am going to give him one more chance to do the right thing before I am forced to punish him." She looked at Mark and said, "You have a choice. You can pick up the things you pushed onto the floor or I can give you a whipping. Which is it going to be?"

"I'm not going to pick that stuff up and you are not going to whip me. Mr. Pope was good friends with my Pa and he let me do whatever I wanted to."

"I am not Mr. Pope and I am not going to let you do whatever you want to. Now either pick up the things you pushed onto the floor or suffer the consequences." When he refused again, she told him to bend over the stool she had placed in front of her desk. When he refused to do that, she asked two of the oldest boys to make him bend over the stool. The five year olds looked on, wide eyed, as the boys made Mark bend over the stool and Miss Jackson hit him on his bottom with the rod several times. They had never seen anybody treated like that before, but they knew Mark was wrong in not doing as he was told. When Miss Jackson finished using the rod on Mark, she told him to go and stand in the corner."

"My Pa's not going to like it that you whipped me," he said. "He's going to whip you when he comes to pick me up. You just wait and see."

"Mark, you have a choice. You can either go, stand in the corner or you can receive another whipping. Which will it be?" Mark decided that he didn't want another whipping and walked toward the corner. "Children, please do not pick your things up off the floor just yet. William, will you please go and see if Mr. Nelson is in town? If he is, please ask him to come here."

William left the school and returned a few minutes later with Mr. Nelson. "Mr. Nelson, thank you for coming over. I appreciate it," said Miss Jackson. "I wanted you to see the mess your son made before it was cleaned up."

"Why is my boy being made to stand in the corner," asked Mr. Nelson. "He's a very good boy and Mr. Pope never punished him. Now I want to know why you are being so mean to my boy!"

"Mark was teasing the youngest students at morning recess and dinner. When I told him he wasn't going to be allowed to play at afternoon recess, he pushed all of those books and things onto the floor. I gave him two chances to do the right thing and pick them up. When he refused, I had no choice but to give him a whipping. This is my fifth year of teaching and it is the first time I've had to punish a child on the first day of school."

"I don't care if he did do those things; you had no call to punish my boy. If you were a man, I'd whip you. I'm calling a meeting of the school board for tonight and I'm going to have you fired." With that, Mr. Nelson took Mark and left the school.

After Mr. Nelson and Mark left, Eric stood up and said, "Don't worry Miss Jackson, the school board isn't going to fire you. My father is the chairman and when I tell him what happened, he won't let them fire you."

"Thank you Eric. I am certain that the school board will agree with my actions when I tell them about Mark's behavior today. Now, school will be over shortly so let me give you your homework assignments. Everybody except the five year olds will do the next page in their Arithmetic books and spend thirty minutes reading. I want my five year olds to write their numbers once and draw circles to show how many are in each group, just like we did after dinner. I also want you to write the capital and small letters you learned today, and I want your families to show you pictures or things that start with those letters. Draw pictures of what you learn and ask a family member to write the word under the picture." Then she walked over to her desk, picked up a book and opened it to the first page. "Before school ends every day, I will read one chapter from this book to you. Listen closely and pay attention because I may ask different students to tell me what has happened in the chapters we already read." With that, she began reading the first chapter of Robin Hood to the class.

Cat liked being read to and enjoyed the story, so she sat very still and listened to Miss Jackson read. After finishing the chapter, Miss Jackson closed the book and said, "It is almost three o'clock. You may gather your belongings and leave. I would like my five year olds to remain in the school until your family comes for you so I can explain your homework to them."

When all of the children except the five year olds were outside, Eric called everyone over to him. "All of us need to attend the school board meeting tonight so we can tell them what really happened today. Otherwise, Mark and his father will say that Miss Jackson punished him for no reason and she will be fired. She's a much better teacher than Mr. Pope was and I want her to stay." Most of the children told Eric that they would attend the meeting.

The families of the five year olds came to pick them up from school and Miss Jackson told them what the homework assignment was. She also told them that the children had worked hard and done their best to sit still. She told Matt about Mark teasing Cat and how she did not hit him. Matt and the Tanners hugged Cat and told her how proud they were of her. Matt said, "I think that this calls for some ice cream. Let's go over to the hotel restaurant and have some."

When they went outside, Cat introduced Julie to the Tanners and her uncle. Matt told her that they were going to get some ice cream and invited her to join them. "We'll stop by your mother's shop on the way to the hotel and ask her permission, I'm sure she'll let you since you helped Cat." They stopped by the dressmaker's shop and Julie's mother gladly gave permission for Julie to join the others for ice cream. She also gave permission for Cat to come by the shop so Julie could help with her school work. On their way to the hotel, the group passed the Long Branch, so Matt went inside, told Kitty about Cat's behavior in school and invited her to join them for ice cream. Kitty thought that was a great idea and when she walked out of the Long Branch, she hugged Cat and told her how proud she was of her. She also hugged Peter and Michael and told them she was glad they had a good first day of school.

The group walked into the Dodge House restaurant where the owner and his wife greeted them. "Hello Matt," said Mr. Davis. "Looking at your group, I'd say that this gathering is to celebrate a good first day of school."

"Hello Peter," said Matt. "Yes, you're right. We're here to celebrate that Cat, Peter and Michael all had a good first day of school."

"Well, that calls for pie and ice cream for everybody. Mary, would you please find out what kind of pie and ice cream everybody likes?" he asked his wife, who got a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down what kind of pie and ice cream everyone wanted. Cat, Peter, Michael and Julie all had cherry pie with chocolate ice cream. When the plates were brought to the table, three of them had extra ice cream and whipped cream on the pie for the three five year olds. When everybody had finished their pie and ice cream, Matt asked Mr. Davis how much he owed. "Don't worry about it Matt. Your celebration is on me. You don't get to celebrate a good first day of school all the time and I'm glad to help with the celebration. Everyone thanked Mr. Davis and left the hotel. The Tanners got in their wagon and started for their farm, Julie walked back to her mother's shop while Matt and Kitty took Cat back to Matt's office to help her with her homework.


	9. Chapter 9

After the children left the school, Miss Jackson straightened up her desk, erased the chalk boards and began to sweep the floor. While she was sweeping, Eric's father walked into the school. "Hello Miss Jackson. How are you?"

"Hello Mr. James. I am fine, thank you for asking."

"I'm afraid that this isn't a social call. David Nelson has requested a school board meeting for tonight. As school board chairman, I'm not supposed to ask you what happened before we meet tonight, but I'm going to any way."

Miss Jackson told him about Mark teasing Cat, pushing all of the books and other things onto the floor and refusing to pick them up."

"I thought it might be something like that," said Mr. James. "That boy gets absolutely no discipline. His father lets him do anything he wants to with no consequences. Eric has told me about Mark's behavior in school before, but no parents complained to the school board, so there was nothing we could do about it. Now, before I leave, please tell me, except for the problem with Mark Nelson, how did your first day go? How did the five year olds do on their first day of school?"

Miss Jackson told him how the day went and said that the five year olds did just fine on their first day.

"I'm glad to hear it. I've got to go now. I have things to do before the meeting tonight. Please be at the meeting house at seven o'clock. Between you, me and these desks, you have nothing to worry about, but David Nelson and his son are going to be in for a rude awakening."

"I'll be there. In fact, if you don't mind, I have a few ideas that I'd like to bring before the school board."

"That's fine. We'll deal with the problem of Mark Nelson and then we'll hear your ideas. I'll see you at seven."

Miss Jackson finished sweeping the school floor and went home to prepare the next day's lessons and eat some supper before the school board meeting. She arrived at the meeting house shortly before seven and walked in. The school board members were there as well as Mark Nelson and his father. "Miss Jackson, thank you for coming," said Mr. James. "Please have a seat here in the front row."

Miss Jackson had no sooner sat down when the door opened and most of the students walked in. Everyone was surprised to see them, especially Mark and his father. Mr. James called the meeting to order and informed everybody why the meeting had been called. He asked Mark Nelson to come up to the front of the room and tell his version of what happened in school. Mark walked up to the front of the room and told everyone that he hadn't done anything and Miss Jackson had punished him for no reason at all. Before Mr. James could ask him any questions, the door opened and Cat walked in. She had heard Rebecca Tanner telling her parents, Uncle Matt and Kitty about what had happened in school and that Mr. Nelson was trying to have Miss Jackson fired. Cat didn't know what it meant to be fired, but she guessed it was something bad. Mr. James looked at her and asked, "Catherine, what are you doing here? Does your uncle know that you are here?"

"No he doesn't," Cat replied. "Mark's Pa said he wanted you to fire Miss Jackson. I don't like school, but I like Miss Jackson. She's nice. You should fire Mark instead. He's mean." Everybody in the room had a hard time keeping a straight face at Cat's comments.

"I'm sure that it's past your bedtime and we need to get you back to your uncle's office, so before someone takes you back, will you please tell us what happened in school today?" asked Mr. James.

"You were talking to my son," yelled Mr. Nelson. "We don't need to hear nothin' that brat has to say."

"Mr. Nelson, I am going to ask you not to yell in this meeting," said Mr. James. We've already heard what your son had to say. Catherine is a five year old child who should be in bed right now. We need to hear what she has to say so we can get her back where she belongs."

"Mark called me a dirty, stinkin' squaw and pushed me. I'm not a squaw. I'm an Apache warrior. I was going to hit him but Julie said not to, so we walked away from him. He followed us and called me a dirty, stinkin' squaw again and Miss Jackson made him sit on the steps. He did the same thing after dinner and the Tanners wanted to jump on him and hit him, so Robert took him to Miss Jackson. When it was time to play outside again, Miss Jackson told Mark he couldn't play, so he pushed a lot of books and things onto the floor. When we came back inside, Miss Jackson told him to pick everything up and he said no, so she told him again and he said no, so she hit him with the long rod."

"You ain't no warrior," yelled Mark. "You're nothing but a dirty, filthy, stinkin' squaw and you should be shot. I'm going to get my rifle and shoot you. Then you'll be dead like a good injun should be."

"Mark Nelson, that is totally unacceptable. Once this meeting is over, I will be telling Marshal Dillon about your threats to his niece. If anything happens to her, you will be in very big trouble. Catherine, thank you for coming here and telling us what happened today," said Mr. James. "Now it's late and we've got to get you back to your uncle's office so you can go to bed. Will somebody please take Catherine back to the Marshal's office?"

"I'll take her," said Mr. Nelson.

"No!" said Cat. "He's mean. He yelled at Miss Jackson today. I don't want him to take me back to Uncle Matt's office. I know the way, I can go by myself."

"You are only five years old and it's dark outside and not safe for a young child to be walking alone. Somebody needs to go with you." Eric and David stood up and said that they would walk Cat back to the Marshal's office.

When they entered Matt's office, he was at his desk doing some paperwork. He looked up and saw the two boys escorting his niece and said, "Cat where were you? You are supposed to be in bed, not out wandering the streets alone. Tomorrow after school, you will stay here instead of going over to Julie's house. If you need help with your homework, she can come here, but you will stay right here."

"I told Eric's Pa what Mark Nelson did today," said Cat.

"What?" asked Matt.

"She came to the school board meeting and told them what happened in school today. Mr. Nelson and Mark were not very happy that she did. "Now, we've got to get back to the meeting. Most of the students are there. We're trying to keep Mr. Nelson from having Miss Jackson fired."

"Thank you for bringing Cat back here boys. I appreciate it. Be careful going back to the meeting and I hope that you are successful in keeping Miss Jackson from being fired. Now Cat, it is long past time for you to be in bed. You have to get up for school in the morning. I'll be in there in five minutes and if you're not in bed, I am going to give you a spanking."

The boys went back to the meeting and since Cat didn't want a spanking, she changed into her nightgown and got in bed. When the boys returned to the meeting house, Miss Jackson was telling the school board what Mark had done in school that day. "I did not see him push Catherine," she said. "If I had, he would have been given a whipping and sent home. I explained the rules to everybody, parents included, this morning, so he knew what the consequences of his actions would be. This is my fifth year of teaching and it's the first time that I've had to punish a child on the first day of school. I gave Mark two chances to pick up the things he pushed onto the floor. When he refused, I had no choice but to punish him."

"She's just a stupid woman. Why are you listening to her and why did you listen to that brat?" yelled Mr. Nelson. "Women and children shouldn't be allowed to say anything about anything important."

"Mr. Nelson, I asked you once before not to yell in this meeting," said Mr. James. "The next time you do so, I will ask you to leave. If you refuse, I will send for Marshal Dillon and have him remove you. Now please sit down and be quiet. Now, most of the students are here, so I am going to ask them, does anybody have anything to say that is different from what Catherine and Miss Jackson said?" The students all shook their heads no. Then Mr. James said, "The school board and I will adjourn to the next room and discuss what we heard tonight. We will return with our decision shortly." He and the school board members walked into another room. "Does anybody here doubt the truth of what Catherine and Miss Jackson said?"

"No," said Mr. White. "Catherine risked severe punishment to come here tonight and tell us what happened. None of the other students contradicted either her or Miss Jackson's statements. I'd say that all we have to decide is what we're going to do about Mark Nelson. He has gotten away with this kind of behavior for far too long. We couldn't do anything before now because Mr. Pope allowed him to do whatever he wanted and no parents complained to us."

The other school board members agreed with Mr. White. "I propose that Mark be excluded from school for the remainder of the week," said Mr. James. "He will still be responsible for completing all of the assignments so that he will not fall behind the rest of his class, however, all of the assignments will receive failing grades. The next time he does something like that, he will be excluded for two weeks. If he does it a third time, he will be excluded for a month, fail the term and have to repeat the fourth grade. Does anybody have any other suggestions?" Everybody shook their heads no, so Mr. James said, "Since everybody agrees with my recommendations, let's go and tell Miss Jackson that her job is safe and inform Mark of his punishment. All of those children need to go home and get to bed so they can get up for school in the morning."

The men walked back into the other room and Mr. James told everyone of their decision. Mr. Nelson was furious and started yelling at the school board members. He said that they and Miss Jackson would regret the day they punished his son. Mr. Jackson said, "Mr. Nelson, this meeting is over; please take your son and leave. The board's decision is final. There is nothing left to discuss with you. Children, thank you for coming and showing support for a teacher you just met this morning. That speaks very highly of your character and I will be sure to let your parents know how proud I am of you. Now, it is getting late and you have school in the morning. Please be careful going home." The students all left the meeting hall.

Miss Jackson stood up and addressed the school board. "Before you adjourn for the evening, I have a few ideas I would like your approval for. As many of you know, I came here to Dodge more than a month ago. I wanted to see what kind of town I would be working in. I have discovered that there are some very talented people living here and I would like to take advantage of their talents. Mrs. White is a very talented musician and I would like to ask her to come to the school one afternoon a week and teach the children about music and play some songs they can sing. There is a piano in the school. I think it needs to be tuned, but it does work. Likewise, Mr. Peterson is a very talented artist. I would like to invite him to come to the school one afternoon a week and teach the children about art and show them how to draw. We might even discover that some of the students have talents for art or music. The students will still get all of the instruction they need in their subjects, and I know that many of them will grow up to be farmers and ranchers, but I believe it is important to expose them to things other than school work, farming and ranching. Perhaps Mr. Samson could come one afternoon and talk to the students about what it takes to publish a newspaper. That will help them to understand why using proper grammar is so important. If any of the older students are interested, maybe he could take them to his shop and show them how to print it. Almost everybody rides horses and sometimes those horses lose their shoes. I think it would be helpful if the blacksmith could come one afternoon and tell the students what to do if they're out riding and their horse loses a shoe."

The school board members listened to what Miss Jackson had to say. When she was finished, Mr. White said, "Those are wonderful ideas Miss Jackson. You are correct; the children do need to be exposed to things other than school work, farming and ranching. I'll speak with my wife when I return home and ask her to speak with you as soon as it's convenient for both of you. I will also ask our banker, Mr. Jones if he could go to the school on occasion and show the students how to keep books. That is something even farmers and ranchers need to know, and it will help the students to know why learning Arithmetic is so important. Maybe you will even be able to convince young Catherine that school isn't as bad as she thinks it is." Other school board members said that they would talk with Mr. Samson and Quint, while still others said that they would talk to other townspeople who owned shops and see if they would be willing to spend part of an afternoon talking to the students about what they do and showing those who were interested, how to do it.

Miss Jackson couldn't believe the response she got and tears came to her eyes. "Thank you so very much gentlemen. I am very grateful for your support. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return home and finish preparing for tomorrow before retiring for the night. I told the students that I would be at the school every morning at seven thirty to help those who had trouble completing their homework assignments."

Mr. Stevens spoke up. "You are very welcome Miss Jackson. My Tommy will be graduating next year and I have never seen him so interested in school and supportive of a teacher before. Now, it is late and some of us should escort you home. It is not always safe for a woman to be out alone this late. Marshal Dillon does an excellent job of keeping Dodge safe, but he can't be everywhere at once and sometimes, bad things happen to people. Please allow at least one of us to escort you home."

Before Miss Jackson could protest that she didn't need an escort, the door opened and Matt walked in. "Good evening everybody. I saw the children leaving and figured the meeting must be over. I've come to walk Miss Jackson home. It's dark out and she shouldn't be walking that far alone."

"That's precisely what I was just telling her," said Mr. Stevens.

"Good then. It's all settled. Walking Miss Jackson home will give me the opportunity to tell her what to expect from my little Wild Cat. Miss Jackson, if you're finished here, please get your wrap and I will escort you home. Good night everyone. Be careful going home."

While Miss Jackson was getting her wrap, Mr. James told Matt about Mark's threat. "Thank you Paul. I appreciate you telling me about the threat to my niece. Since she's so young, I don't allow her to wander around town alone. However, if Mark is serious, he could shoot at her anytime, whether she's alone or not. I'll just have to try and keep her as close to me as possible. I'll have to try and get volunteers to stay with her in my office when I can't be there. Maybe I'll take her out to the Tanners and let her stay with them for a while. I will definitely ride out to the Nelson ranch tomorrow and let Jonah know that if anything happens to Cat, I will be arresting him, not his ten year old son. Ten year olds don't come up with ideas like that on their own. Someone has to teach those ideas to them and that someone is usually one of their parents. The law takes a very dim view of parents teaching their children that it is ok to kill someone just because they don't like that person."

Miss Jackson got her wrap and said, "Marshal, how can you call that sweet little girl 'Wild Cat'?"

"That's because she is wild Miss Jackson. Her older cousin who gave her that nickname likes to say that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. I'll tell you a little about her while I walk you home." As he walked Miss Jackson home, Matt told her about Cat disappearing and living with the Apaches while they were in Arizona.

By the time they reached her house, Miss Jackson was laughing so hard, there were tears in her eyes. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "That little one sure is precocious, isn't she? I'll do the best I can to keep her from becoming bored. Thank you for walking me home Marshal. I'll see you in the morning when you drop Catherine off for school."

After ensuring that Miss Jackson got home safely, Matt made his rounds and stopped by the Long Branch were he found his friends sitting at a table. He told them about Cat's first day at school and how she showed up at the school board meeting and about Mark Nelson's threat to kill Cat. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl," he said. "Today was only the first day of school and, according to Julie, Cat and the Tanner twins are bored and planning on 'escaping' from it as soon as they possibly can. I don't have time to go over to the school every fifteen minutes to make sure that Cat is still there. Also, I fully expect Mark Nelson and his father to make as much trouble as they can. Mark is used to being able to do whatever he wants to and his father swore to get even with the school board and Miss Jackson for punishing the boy, and I am very worried about Mark's threat to kill Cat. I don't think he'll go into my office when I'm not there, but I don't want to take any chances. Festus, Quint, can I count on you to stay in my office with Cat when I can't be there? I'm going to ask Burke and some of the other men also. I just don't want Cat to be alone until something can be done about the Nelsons. I'm not sure what to do about protecting her when she's in school. Mark can hide a gun anywhere near the school and get it when the children are at recess or dinner."

Both Festus and Quint said that they'd be more than happy to stay with Cat while Matt was out doing his job. "Matt, why don't you ask Sam?" Kitty asked. "He loves that little girl as much as the rest of us do. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to sit with her when you're busy." Before Matt could answer, Kitty called Sam over and told him what Matt needed.

"You don't have to ask twice Matt. I love that little wild one as much as if she were my own daughter. That boy who threatened her needs a good thrashing and his father should be horse whipped for teaching his son things like that! In fact, if you'd like me to, I'll go and sit outside the school every day to make sure the boy can't get a gun while the children are out playing.

"Thank you Sam. I don't want anyone outside the school just yet. Cat is too young to realize the danger she's in, but from what I could see last night, I think that Eric James and his friends will do their best to protect Cat. I'm going to talk to Judge Michaels in the morning to see what can be done about having Mark removed from his father's care. After that, I'm going to ride out to the Nelson ranch and tell Jonas that if anything happens to Cat, I will be arresting him, not his ten year old son."

The next morning, Cat reluctantly got ready for school. She didn't want to go but since she went to the school board meeting the previous night, she didn't have time to put any of her things together and hide them near the Blacksmith's shop. After breakfast, Matt walked her to school, hugged and kissed her, and told her to find the Tanners and Julie. He watched her walk off and just as he was getting ready to leave the school, Eric James walked up to him. "Don't worry about Cat, Marshal. My friends and I will look after her while we're at school. We loved her statement last night about being an Apache warrior and think that she's cute. We thought that we'd teach her and her friends how to play ball with us. I think she'll love throwing a ball around."

"Thank you Eric and please thank your friends for me. You have taken a large weight off my shoulders."

"It's our pleasure Marshal. Cat has some real spunk for a five year old. There aren't many ten year olds who would try to hit Mark Nelson, so for a five year old to do it takes real spunk. It's going to be fun watching her grow up and seeing what she's like five years from now." Just then, Miss Jackson rang the bell and Eric said, "I've got to go. If I'm late, my father will kill me."

Eric walked into the school while Matt walked over to Judge Taylor's office. He wanted to ask the judge what could be done to remove Mark Nelson from his father's custody. After speaking with the judge, he planned on riding out to the Nelson ranch and telling Jonah that if anything happened to Cat, he, not his ten year old son, would be arrested. When he arrived, Matt was surprised to see several members of the school board there also. They had also come to ask the judge what could be done about removing Mark Nelson from his father's custody. The judge listened to what the men had to say and said that he would review the law concerning child custody and see what could be done. He also told them that they should not go out to the Nelson ranch and that he would go & tell Mr. Nelson that if anything happened to Cat, he, not Mark would be arrested. "I know that's your job Matt," he said. "However, in this case, you are personally involved and if you go out to the Nelson's, Jonah could say that you threatened to harm him because his son threatened your niece. It will be best for everyone if I go out there myself." Matt agreed to let the judge go out to the Nelson ranch instead of doing it himself.

After Matt and the school board members left the Judge's office, he got his horse and rode out to the Nelson ranch. When he got there, he told Mr. Nelson that if Mark did anything to hurt Cat, he would be arrested and his son sent to a home for wayward boys. He didn't tell him that he was planning to see what the law had to say about removing the boy from his father's custody because of the threat that had been made. "I will be the judge at your trial Jonah and if the jury finds you guilty, I will give you the maximum penalty. Ten year olds don't learn to hate and threaten to kill people they don't like, on their own. Someone has to teach them those things and that someone is usually a parent. Rein in your son or you will both suffer the consequences of his actions." Before Mr. Nelson could say anything, Judge Taylor turned his horse around and rode away from the ranch.

After Matt dropped her off at school, Cat found the Tanners and Julie and told them about going to the school board meeting the previous night. She told them about Mr. Nelson yelling and Mark threatening to shoot her.

"Aren't you scared?" asked Michael.

"No I'm not," replied Cat. "If Mark teases me again today, I'm going to hit him. Even if I get in trouble for it, if he teases me again today, I'm going to hit him." Julie and the older Tanner children tried to convince her that hitting Mark was not going to solve the problem, but she didn't want to listen to them. Just then, Miss Jackson rang the bell and Cat told Michael and Peter, "If school is as boring today as it was yesterday, I'm not going to come tomorrow. I'll put some of my clothes in a bag and hid them near Quint's shop tonight when Uncle Matt goes out to make his rounds. Then when he brings me to school tomorrow and leaves, I'll go, get my things and ride Spot out to the Arapahos and see if they'll help me go to my Apache family."

"No Cat, don't leave," said Peter. "It might get better. Just go somewhere and hide for the day. Then come back when school is over. We'll tell you what the homework is, so you won't get in trouble for not being in school and not doing your homework."

"Maybe we'll come with you," said Michael. "I hate writing numbers and letters all day. It's boring."

Robert thought that Peter, Michael, and Cat were taking too much time getting to the stairs, so he went back to where they were, grabbed each of them by a hand and made them hurry up. When she entered the school, Cat looked for Mark Nelson and was surprised to see that he wasn't there and thought he might be afraid of her. Miss Jackson had decided not to tell the students about her plans until she and the school board had spoken with the people she wanted to teach the students about art, music, and other things. The second day of school for the five year olds was spent learning more numbers and letters and writing them, just as they had the previous day. By dinner time, Cat and the Tanner twins were quite bored and ready to leave school for the rest of the day. Rebecca and Robert must have guessed what they were thinking because they and Julie stayed with Cat and the twins until dinner was over and everyone went back into the school.

During afternoon recess, Rebecca, Robert and Julie stayed close to Cat and the twins when Eric and David walked over to the group. "I thought we'd teach Cat and your brothers how to play ball," said David. That will give them something to do at recess and after eating dinner besides waiting to take a turn on the swings and see saw." The older boys took Cat and the twins far enough away from the other children so that if a ball wasn't caught, it wouldn't hit anyone. They had invited Julie to come also but she said that she wasn't interested in playing ball. First they showed the three younger children how to hold their hands to catch the ball. Then Eric threw it to David, who caught it and threw it back to Eric. Then they showed Cat, Michael and Peter how to throw the ball. After showing the three what to do, Eric told them that he was going to throw the ball to them. First he was going to throw it to Cat, then to Peter and then to Michael. None of the three caught the ball the first time it was thrown to them, which made them upset. David said, "Don't worry. I didn't catch the ball the first ten times my Pa threw it to me. Just like with anything else, it takes time to learn. That's why Miss Jackson is having you write your letters and numbers so much. The more you write them, the sooner you'll know them. Now, Eric is going to throw the ball to you again. Do your best to catch it but don't get upset if you miss. We're a lot older than you and we don't always catch it. Eric threw the ball and this time Peter caught it while his brother and Cat missed. It several more tries, but Cat and Michael finally caught the ball. They were about to have the three younger children start throwing the ball, but Miss Jackson rang the bell, ending recess. As she had done the previous day, Miss Jackson read a chapter from Robin Hood to the class. When she finished, she closed the book, placed it on her desk and told the students that school was dismissed for the day.

While Cat, Peter and Michael waited to be picked up from school, Cat told the twins that she was not going to attend school the next day. "I'm bored and tired of just writing letters and numbers all day. I'm going to put some of my clothes and other things in a bag and hide it in Spot's stall. After Uncle Matt leaves me here tomorrow, I'm going to ride to the Arapahos."

"Don't leave, Cat," said Peter. "We're bored too. If we can get away from Rebecca and Robert, Michael and me will come with you. We can go fishing and then come back here just before school lets out. If we're here when our parents and your uncle come to get us, they won't know that we weren't in school." Cat agreed and the three of them decided to hide in some bushes near the school as soon as they were dropped off in the morning. Little did they know how and why their plans would change the following day.

That night, after Matt kissed and hugged her goodnight, Cat got out of bed and put some of her clothes and other things into one of the bags she had used when she ran away that summer. She waited until she heard her uncle leave to make his rounds. She picked up her bag and started to carry it out into the office. She was going to go out the side door and take the alley to the Blacksmith's shop where she would hide the bag. She started to walk out into the office when she saw Festus sitting at her uncle's desk. She quickly ducked back into the little room she shared with her uncle but not before Festus saw her. She was able to hide the bag under her bed just before Festus walked into the room. "What are you doing out of bed Cat? You should have been asleep a long time ago."

"I have to use the outhouse," she lied.

"Alright young'in, climb up here on my back and I'll give you a ride over there. It's much too late for you to be going over there by yourself."

"Why are you in Uncle Matt's office?" she asked.

"Matthew asked me ifn I wouldn't mind sittin' in there while he was out doin' his job. He doesn't like leaving you alone in case you have a bad dream or need to use the outhouse."

"Have you been doing that for a long time?"

"Oh yes," he lied because Matt didn't want Cat worried about Mark's threat. "I've been doing it ever since you first came to live with Matthew. So has Quint and Sam does sometimes too. Why, even ole Doc has sat in here a time or two just so's you wouldn't be alone at night. This is just the first time you woke up when one of us was here. Now, let's get you over to the outhouse so's you can get back to bed and get some sleep. You have to get up early for school in the morning and you won't learn nothin' ifn you're tired." Cat climbed up on his back and Festus carried her over to the outhouse, back to the Marshal's office and put her back in bed. He hugged and kissed her, pulled the covers up and turned the lamp way down. "Good night Little Cat. Sleep well and have sweet dreams."

When Matt returned to his office, Festus told him about Cat needing to use the outhouse and the lies he had told her. "Thank you Festus. I really appreciate you taking care of Cat for me. I don't want her worrying about Mark Nelson's threat. We'd better tell Doc, Quint and Sam what you told Cat so they will know what to say if she asks them. I hate lying to her, but it's better than having her worry about what Mark might do to her."

"Alright Matthew. I'm a fixin' to head over to the Long Branch. Do you want me to say somethin' to Doc, Quint and Sam or do you want to?"

"I'll do it Festus. I want to wait a little while and make sure that Cat's asleep. I don't think that Mark will try and do anything tonight, so she should be fine for a little while." Fifteen minutes later, Matt checked on his niece and found her to be sound asleep. She had kicked the covers off, so he covered her up again and kissed her cheek. Then he walked over to the Long Branch where he and Festus told Kitty, Doc, Quint and Sam about the lies Festus had told Cat. They all agreed to keep up the lies and Doc said that if nobody else could do it, he would sit in Matt's office with Cat as long as Mark Nelson was a threat.


	10. Chapter 10

When Miss Jackson arrived at school the next morning, she found that the door had been removed from its hinges. She walked up the stairs and looked inside. What she saw made her want to cry. Everything that had been on her desk was on the floor and the desk had been turned on its side. Some student desks had been unbolted from the floor and turned on their sides also and one of the black boards had been split in half with an axe. Mr. White lived closest to the school, so she ran over to his house and knocked on the door. Mrs. White answered the door, took one look at the frightened look on Miss Jackson's face, put her arm around her and brought her inside the house. Then she called her husband. When Mr. White appeared, Miss Jackson told him what she had found at the school. He left the house and hurriedly walked over to the school with his wife and Miss Jackson following close behind. When he saw the mess in the school, he turned to the two women and said, "Go, get Marshal Dillon and bring him here as quickly as you can. Once he is here, I will go and get the other school board members who live in town. We have got to get this school put right as best as we can before the children arrive."

The two women walked over to the Marshal's office and told him what had happened at the school. He said that he would go over there as soon as he got Kitty to look after Cat. She was fussing about not wanting to go to school and Kitty was the one person he was certain could get her to go. Matt walked over to the Long Branch, told Kitty what had happened at the school and asked her to please get Cat ready for school. Then he walked over to the school. "Thank you for coming Marshal," said Mr. White. "Is there any doubt in your mind as to who did this?"

"No," said Matt. "I'll go and talk to Nelson later but right now, let me try and find some men to help get this place fixed up before the children arrive. First, I want Judge Taylor to see this because I want him to ride out with me when I talk to Jonah. That way, he can't say I tried to hurt him or anything like that."

"I'm going to get the other school board members who live in town," said Mr. White.

"That's an excellent idea," replied Matt. The more hands we have, the sooner we'll have this place fixed up. Be sure and tell them to bring some tools."

Both men left the school to get more help. On his way out, Mr. White told his wife to take Miss Jackson back to their house. There was nothing either of them could do and they would just be in the way. Miss Jackson didn't want to leave the school but realized that Mr. White was right so she left with Mrs. White.

Matt walked over to Judge Taylor's house and knocked on the door. Mrs. Taylor answered the door and told her husband that Matt wanted to speak with him. Matt told the judge about the mess at the school house and he got his hat and coat and walked over there to see for himself. Matt left the judge's house and walked over to the Dodge House where Festus, Quint, and Doc were just getting ready to order breakfast.

"Mornin' Matt," said Doc. "Where's your little shadow?"

"She's still over at my office. Kitty's getting her ready for school. Festus, Quint, I need your help. The school was vandalized last night and we've only got a short amount of time to put it right before the children arrive." He went on to tell them what had been done and they both said that they'd get some tools and be at the school in a few minutes. The destroyed black board was a different matter. There was no way to fix it so Mr. White said he would talk to Mr. James and the rest of the school board about buying another one. In the mean time, Miss Jackson would just have to do the best she could with one.

All of the available men showed up at the school with tools and had everything put back where it belonged in less than an hour. Judge Taylor told Matt that he would ride out and tell Mr. Nelson everyone knew he and Mark were the ones who vandalized the school and as soon as it could be proven, he would personally ride out with Matt to have him arrested.

Cat and the Tanner twins had made their plans to leave the school just as soon as Matt dropped Cat off. However, when everyone arrived at the school, they found a bunch of adults there. "There's too many grown ups," Michael said. "If we try to leave now, they'll stop us and then we'll be in real big trouble. I don't know about your uncle, Cat, but our Pa hits hard when he spanks us and I don't want a spanking." Cat said that Matt hit hard too and she didn't want a spanking either, so they had better go to school. If things were still bad today, they wouldn't go to school tomorrow.

A few minutes later, Miss Jackson rang the bell and all of the students went into the school. All of them were shocked to see the black board split in half and wondered what had happened. Mr. White walked up to the front of the classroom and said, "Good morning boys and girls. Last night, some very bad people came into our school and made a big mess. All of the men you see here came over this morning to help make things right. As you can see, the only thing they weren't able to fix was the black board. The school board will be buying a new one for you. Before you ask, we don't know who did this but Marshal Dillon is trying to find out. Now, before Miss Jackson begins your lessons, will you please say "Thank You" to the men who fixed your school for you?" All of the students thanked the men, who then left the school so Miss Jackson could begin the day's lessons.

The five year olds spent the day learning and writing more letters and numbers again. "I know that you're getting tired of writing letters and numbers," Miss Jackson told them. "On Monday, you're going to start learning the sounds the letters make and how to make words with them. You're also going to start learning how to add two numbers together to make a bigger number." Cat, Michael and Peter didn't care. All they wanted to do was get as far away from the school as possible. School was boring and they didn't want to go any more. At morning recess, they managed to get away from the twins' older siblings and Julie to make their plans for the next day.

"I couldn't hide my things last night," Cat said. "I was going to sneak out with them when Uncle Matt went to walk around the town, but Festus was there, so I couldn't sneak out. He saw me out of bed and asked why, so I told him I had to use the outhouse. If I have to leave forever, I might not be able to take any of my things with me because when Uncle Matt isn't in his office at night, someone else is. If I get caught sneaking out, I'll get a spanking."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Michael. "I really hope you don't get caught. Spankings really hurt. We'd better go back by the others before Robert or Rebecca start looking for us. They might figure out what we're going to do. We can talk more after dinner and at recess this afternoon." They walked over to where the other Tanner children and Julie were. "There's an empty swing," Michael said to Robert. "Will you please push us on it?" The children walked over to the swings where they found two empty ones so Rebecca and Robert pushed the younger children on them until Miss Jackson rang the bell to end recess.

After dinner the three five year olds had the opportunity to work on their plans more. "Where are we going to hide tomorrow morning?" asked Peter.

"How about in those big bushes near the outhouse?" asked Michael. "Nobody ever plays over there, so nobody should see us."

"That's great Michael," said Cat. The bushes are close to the trees so we can run and hide in the trees and go out of town that way. Nobody can see us then."

"We can come back that way too," said Peter. We can be with everyone else when school is over and nobody will know that we weren't there all day."

"I wish we could take fishing poles with us," said Michael. "I want to go fishing."

"The Apaches taught me how to make a fishing pole. We can use branches on the ground for poles, but we need to bring string and something to use as hooks," explained Cat.

"Pa's got lots of string around the farm and I know where John has fishing hooks!" exclaimed Peter. "Me and Michael can get them today and put them in our pockets in the morning."

"We should go by Rebecca and Robert before they find out what we're going to do," said Cat. "If they find out, they'll tell Uncle Matt and he might spank me. They'll probably tell your Pa too and he'll spank you too."

"You're right," said the boys together."

"Let's go play ball with the big boys," said Michael. "Then Rebecca and Robert will think we've been with them instead of over here talking." The three of them found David and Eric who gladly included them in their ball game. A few minutes later, Robert Tanner realized that he hadn't seen his brothers or Cat in quite a while, became concerned about where they were and went looking for them. He stopped worrying when he found the three youngsters playing ball with his friends who invited him to join the game. A little while later, Miss Jackson rang the bell and the student went back into the school to begin their afternoon lessons. At afternoon recess, Cat, Peter and Michael had one last opportunity to finalize their plans for the next day.

"As soon as Uncle Matt leaves me here in the morning, I'm going to go over by the outhouse and hide in the bushes," said Cat.

"We'll watch for you and come there just as soon as we can," said Michael.

"I'll get the string and fish hooks and put them under my bed," said Peter. "Me and Michael can put them in our pockets in the morning. Ma never checks our pockets, so if we're careful, she won't know that we've got them. Right now, we had better play ball or on the see saw or ask Robert and Rebecca to push us on the swings before they find out what we're going to do and tell Pa and Marshal Dillon." The three children ran off to ask Rebecca and Robert to push them on the swings.

After Matt dropped her off at school the next morning, Cat ran and hid in the bushes near the outhouse. Peter and Michael joined her in a few minutes. They had string and fish hooks with them. "How are we going to dig for worms?" asked Peter.

"None of us has a shovel so we'll have to use rocks, sticks and our hands," replied Cat. "We'll wash our hands before we come back so nobody will know we were digging for worms."

The three children hid in the bushes until Miss Jackson rang the bell and everyone entered the school. Then they ran off into the woods and headed for the pond where Cat liked to fish. They found fallen tree branches to use for fishing poles and dug for worms with small rocks and their hands. They spent the day fishing and playing catch with stones. Little did they dream of the trouble they were going to be in when they got back to town.

Shortly after the students took their seats, Rebecca noticed that her brothers and Cat were not in school. She raised her hand. "Yes Rebecca?" asked Miss Jackson.

"May I please have permission to go over to Marshal Dillon's office and tell him that Cat and my brothers are not in school?" she asked. "I know that Cat was here because I saw Marshal Dillon drop her off and she went to the outhouse. Peter and Michael were in the wagon when our parents dropped us off at school this morning. They've been saying that school was boring and they didn't like it, so I guess they decided to skip school today. Marshal Dillon can ride out and tell my parents that my brothers aren't here today. I don't know if they'll look for them or just wait until they come home, but they need to know that Peter and Michael aren't here."

"That's too bad," said Miss Jackson. "Yes, you may go and tell Marshal Dillon. Five year old children should not be running around unsupervised. There are too many things that could hurt them."

"Thank you Miss Jackson," Rebecca said as she left the school.

Matt looked up from the papers on his desk when the door opened. He was very surprised to see Rebecca Tanner walk in. "Hello Rebecca. Why aren't you in school?"

"Hello Marshal. Miss Jackson gave me permission to come over here. Cat is not in school today and neither are my brothers. I saw you drop Cat off at school this morning and my brothers were in the wagon when our parents brought us to school today. They've been saying that school is boring and they didn't want to go, so they must have found a way to leave without being seen. Will you please let my parents know? I have to get back to school."

"Thank you for telling me that Cat is not in school. I'll ride out to your farm right away and tell your parents. They can advise me on what to do about Cat. I do know that when I find her, she is going to be in very big trouble, as, I'm sure your brothers will be also."

"Thank you Marshal. I'm sure that my parents will help you deal with Cat. She's a sweet kid, just kind of wild. Now, I have to get back to school. Miss Jackson was kind enough to give me permission to come over here and I can't stay here any longer."

"Go on back to school Rebecca. I'll get my horse and ride out to your farm now." Rebecca went back to school while Matt got his horse and rode out to the Tanner farm. When he got there, he found John Jr. mending the corral fence.

"Hello Marshal. What brings you out here at this time of day?"

"Hello John. Are your parents at home?"

"Yes they are. Ma is in the house and Pa is out working in one of the fields."

"Would you please go and get him for me. I have some news they need to hear and I believe that you will be interested in it also."

"I'll go and get him right away. First, let me tell Ma that you're here. You can have some coffee while you wait for Pa and I to get to the house." John walked to the house, up the stairs and went in. His mother was in the kitchen, preparing to bake some pies. "Marshal Dillon is here Ma," John said. "He says that he's got some news we need to hear. I'm going to go and bring Pa in from the field now."

"Thank you John," said Elizabeth. "Marshal, won't you come in, sit down and have some coffee while we wait for John to return with his father?"

"Thank you Elizabeth. A cup of coffee is always welcome."

Ten minutes later, John Jr. returned with his father. "Hello Marshal," said John Sr. "John says that you've got some important news for us."

"Hello John. Yes, I do have some important news for all of you. Rebecca came over to my office shortly after school started. It seems that Cat, Michael and Peter decided not to attend school today."

Elizabeth started laughing. "Those little rascals! We suspected that they were up to something but couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Rebecca and Robert have done the best they can to watch the three but they can't watch them every second."

"Should I look for them or just wait until school is over and see if they show up?" asked Matt.

"There are too many places they could be Marshal. It's best to just wait and see if they show up at dismissal time otherwise you'll spend all day searching for them and not get any work done. It would also be a good thing to question Cat and see if she lies to you. That's what I plan to do with the boys. This is the age where they start telling lies to avoid being punished for misdeeds. We've been through it with all seven of our older children, now we'll deal with it in the twins and, in a few years, we'll deal with it and Eric too. If Cat tells the truth, just make her sit in a chair for fifteen minutes. If she lies, give her a spanking and make her sit in the chair. Be sure to tell her what the consequences will be the next time she lies and/or skips school. That way, when it happens again, which it most likely will, and you punish her, she can't say that she didn't know what would happen."

"Thank you for the advice John. I appreciate it. Elizabeth, I wish you lived closer to town. If you did, I'd come for coffee more often because you make better coffee than either Festus or I do. I'll see you this afternoon when school is dismissed. Oh yes, before I go, how many days should I take Cat's pony away from her for? She has been going for a ride every day for quite a while now."

"If she doesn't like, take him away from her until Saturday," said John. "If she does lie, take him away from her until Monday. If, and when it happens again, take him away for two more days. Be sure to include the loss of her pony and for how long when you tell her what the consequences will be if she does it again."

"Alright John, I'll take your advice. If Cat doesn't lie about not going to school today, she'll spend fifteen minutes sitting in a chair and won't be allowed to ride Spot until Saturday. If she does lie to me, she'll get a spanking, have to sit in the chair for fifteen minutes and won't be allowed to ride Spot until Monday. Thank you again for the advice and the coffee. I've got to get back to town. I'll see you this afternoon."

When he got back to town, Matt went over to the Long Branch and told his friends and Sam what Cat and the twins had done. They all laughed. "Well," said Kitty. "We knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I didn't think she'd do it this soon. Are you going to go looking for her?" Matt said he wasn't and told them what the Tanners had told him to do. "Alright Matt," replied Kitty. "She won't get any sympathy from me after you punish her. I really do hope that she does not lie about skipping school."

"So do I Kitty," replied Matt. "I'm going to hate having to punish her for skipping school and don't want to have to punish her for lying too."

Michael, Cat and Peter were having a lot of fun and didn't want their day to end. Between the three of them, they caught a lot of fish. Since they didn't want anyone to know that they hadn't gone to school that day, they released all of the fish they caught. It started getting late and Michael said, "I think we better go back to town. I don't know what time it is, but we've been here a long time. If we're not back at school when Miss Jackson lets everyone go home, our parents and Marshal Dillon will know that we didn't go to school and we'll be in lot of trouble."

"I wish our day didn't have to end," sighed Peter. "You're right Mike. If Pa finds out we didn't go to school today, we'll get spanked and have to sit in chairs for fifteen minutes. What should we do with our fishing poles and worms? We can't take them with us."

"Let's put the worms back in the ground and bury them again," said Cat. "We can hide our fishing poles in the woods so they'll be here when we come again."

The three children put the worms back in the hole they had dug and filled it in. Then they found a good spot in the woods to hide their fishing poles. Finally, they rinsed their hands off in the pond and started back for town, arriving at the school about five minutes before the students were dismissed. "I'd better ask Tommy what our \homework is," said Michael. "That way we won't get in trouble for not doing it.

As soon as the rest of the students exited the school, Cat, Michael and Peter joined them. Michael asked Tommy what their homework was and then told his brother and Cat. Rebecca and Robert had told their younger sisters not to say anything to the twins about not being in school because their parents would take care of it.

Matt, John and Elizabeth decided not to tell the twins and Cat that Rebecca was the one who had told Matt they weren't in school, because then they might not listen to her. Instead, they were just going to tell the trio that Miss Jackson had sent an older student to tell Matt that Cat wasn't in school and he had asked if the twins were there. When they arrived at the school, they found Cat, Peter and Michael with the rest of the Tanner children.

Once they were away from the school, Matt asked Cat if she had stayed in school that day.

"Yes," she replied. "It was boring and I don't want to go any more."

"You are in very big trouble young lady!" Matt replied. "I know that you were not in school today. Miss Jackson sent one of the older students to tell me that you weren't there. I am very angry with you. Not only did you skip school today, you just told me a lie. I will not tolerate you skipping school or telling lies. When we get back to my office, you are going to get a spanking and have to sit in a chair for fifteen minutes. If you wiggle or rub your bottom, you will have to sit in the chair longer. Also, you will not be allowed to ride Spot until Monday."

When they reached his office, Matt put Cat over his knees and gave her a good spanking and then told her to sit in the chair that was facing the wall. Then he said, "The next time you skip school, tell me a lie, or both, you are going to get a bare bottom spanking, sit in the chair for twenty minutes and not be allowed to ride Spot for a week. Now, sit in the chair for fifteen minutes, and remember, if you wiggle or rub your bottom, you will have to sit there longer."

Cat thought it wasn't fair that she got a spanking, had to sit in a chair and that it was going to be four days before she was allowed to ride her pony. After all, it wasn't like she had done anything bad, she just didn't go to school because she didn't like school. She thought if she didn't like something, she shouldn't have to do it and shouldn't be punished for not doing it and planned to run away to the Arapahos as soon as Matt left to make his rounds that night.

When Cat's fifteen minutes in the chair were over, Matt asked her if she had asked one of the other students what the homework was for that day. "Yes, Michael asked Tommy what it was."

"Good. Now go over to the table and start on your homework. I need to go and walk around the town. If you leave this office while I am gone, I will give you another spanking and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for two more days."

Cat started doing her homework while Matt made his rounds and then stopped by the Long Branch. He told Kitty that Cat had lied to him and asked Sam if he would stay with Cat when he made his rounds after she went to bed. "She's very upset that I punished her and won't let her ride her pony until Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to sneak out of my office and run away again. I'll make sure she uses the outhouse before bed, so she won't have that excuse for leaving the office."

"I'll be more than happy to Matt," Sam replied. "Don't worry. She won't leave the office and if she really does need to use the outhouse, I'll carry her over there and back again. Maybe I'll even have a little talk with her about why it's important to stay in school and not tell lies."

"Thank you Sam. I appreciate your help."

"You're welcome Matt. Remember, I love her too and will do everything in my power to keep her safe."

Before going back to his office, Matt asked Kitty if she would like to join them for supper at Delmonico's. Kitty said that she'd love to join them for supper. Matt said he'd stop by Doc's office and Quint's shop to see if the two of them would also like to join them for supper. Both men said that they would enjoy eating supper with Matt, Kitty and Cat.

When he returned to his office, Matt checked to see if Cat had finished her homework. She had most of it done but needed help finding pictures for the last seven letters in the alphabet. Since she had skipped school today, Matt had to tell her what the letters were. He also had to tell her what the numbers were that she had written. He was going to scold her about her messy handwriting when he remembered that she was just learning how to write, so he just helped her look in books to find pictures she could draw that started with the letters she had written. When they found a picture, Matt told Cat what it was and wrote the word under the picture she drew. Then he asked her what the letters were that he had written. Once her homework was finished, Matt read a book to her and then told her to wash up for supper. They enjoyed a nice supper with Kitty, Doc and Quint who all told Cat how important it was to stay in school and tell the truth. After supper, Matt read her another story and told her to get ready for bed. Before tucking her in, he put her in his lap and said, "I'm sorry I had to punish you for skipping school and lying, but it is important that you go to school and always tell the truth. Many people who end up in my jail started by skipping school and telling lies. When they didn't face consequences for doing those things, they started doing bad things, like stealing. Eventually they did so many bad things that they got arrested and had to go to jail. I love you very much and don't ever want that to happen to you." Then he hugged and kissed her good night and tucked her into bed.

The next morning at school, Peter and Michael told Cat that they had also lied about not going to school and had received the same punishment as her. Rebecca, Robert, their friends and Julie all kept a close eye on the trio to try and keep them from skipping school again. Even though they didn't like it, the three youngsters stayed in school for the rest of September and most of October.

The weather started getting cooler and then Indian summer happened. The warm weather was too much for Cat and the twins to resist, so one day they hid in the bushes near the school outhouse again and went fishing. This time Robert went over to Matt's office to tell him that Cat and the twins had skipped school again. When they were confronted by the adults in their lives about staying in school, they lied again. Matt reminded Cat of what he had told her would happen if she skipped school again, lied to him, or both. Matt gave her a bare bottom spanking, made her sit in a chair for twenty minutes and told her that she wasn't allowed to ride her pony for a whole week. "The next time you skip school, lie to me, or both, I will use my belt on your bare bottom, you will have to sit in a chair for thirty minutes and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for two weeks," he warned her. Cat planned to run away, but couldn't because somebody was always in Matt's office while he was making his rounds after she went to bed.

There was one more warm day about a week before Thanksgiving and Cat, Peter and Michael decided to go fishing one more time before it got cold. After the second time Cat had skipped school and lied about it, Matt asked the Tanners what he should do if she did it again. They told him and when Cat lied to him about staying in school, he used his belt on her bare bottom, told her she wasn't allowed to ride her pony for two weeks and that she was going to have to sit in a chair for thirty minutes. This time, instead of having Cat sit in a chair near his desk, he carried it into a cell and put it so it was facing the wall. After instructing Cat to sit in it, he walked out, closed the door and pretended to lock it. He also pretended to lock the outer door. Cat was devastated. She had never been treated like that before and she felt all alone and abandoned as tears began to roll down her cheeks. When her thirty minutes were up, Matt told her that the next time, he would use his belt on her bare bottom again, she would have to sit in a chair in a cell for an hour and wouldn't be allowed to ride her pony for a month. That was too much to bear and she vowed to never tell a lie again.

She still didn't like school and kept trying to think of ways to skip it without getting in trouble when at supper a few days after Thanksgiving, Matt asked her, "How would you like to spend Christmas on the Ponderosa with your Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe? I received a letter from your Uncle Ben today and he would like you to spend Christmas with him and your cousins."

Everybody in Delmonico's laughed when Cat got up, danced a little jig and hugged her uncle's neck. "Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "Can I really go to the Ponderosa for Christmas?"

"Yes you may. However, if you skip school again, you will not be allowed to go to the Ponderosa and will have to stay here." Cat promised not to skip school and that night, after Cat went to bed, Matt wrote to Ben and told him that their niece could spend Christmas on the Ponderosa. He also told Ben that someone would have to come and get her because he never knew if he was going to be in town or out chasing criminals at any given time.

Cat was so excited that she couldn't wait to tell her friends about her good news. The days seemed to drag and even though she liked school a little more now that she was learning how to read, Cat could hardly wait for the school days to end so she could see if Uncle Ben had come yet. One day a little more than a week before Christmas, Cat walked out of school to find another man waiting for her instead of Matt. It only took a second for her to realize who was standing there, waiting for her. "Uncle Ben!" she squealed with delight. She ran up to her uncle, jumped into his arms and hugged his neck. "When are we going to the Ponderosa? Can we leave tonight? I want to go right now."

Ben laughed, hugged and kissed his niece and said, "Not yet little one. You still have two more days of school before Christmas vacation. We will leave the day after school lets out for Christmas vacation. Now tell me, have you been a good girl?"

"Well, mostly," came the reply. "I don't like going to school. It's not fun."

"Not everything in life is fun Kitten. Everybody has to do things that they don't like doing. Adam and Hoss don't like mending fences but they do it because otherwise the cattle and horses will get out and some of them could get hurt or killed. I don't like doing the books but I do it because I have to make sure all of the hands get paid and that there is enough money to keep the ranch running. Little Joe doesn't like doing his chores but he does them because if the wood boxes aren't filled, Hop Sing won't be able to cook and the house will be cold at night and in the winter. If he doesn't gather eggs and milk the cow, there won't be any food for breakfast."

"Oh. Well, I still don't like school."

"You don't have to like it little one. You just have to go and learn everything you possibly can. You'll understand why when you're older. Right now, I want to see this pony I've heard so much about."

Cat took Ben over to the Blacksmith's shop where he admired Spot and told Cat what a good job she was doing taking care of him. "Can he come to the Ponderosa for Christmas too?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid not Sweetheart. The stagecoach goes very fast and Spot won't be able to keep up with the big horses because he is so small. He'll be here waiting for you when you come home after Christmas."

Cat wasn't happy but she was afraid that if she argued with her uncle, he wouldn't let her go to the Ponderosa for Christmas.

The next morning, Ben walked Cat to school and met Miss Jackson. He told her that Cat wouldn't be skipping school any more because if she did, she wouldn't be allowed to visit the Ponderosa at Easter vacation, in the summer or at Christmas vacation.

To Cat, the next two days at school seemed to go on forever. She thought school would never let out for Christmas vacation. Finally, on the second afternoon after Ben arrived, Miss Jackson dismissed the children for the remainder of the year. Cat practically flew out of the schoolhouse door and into Ben's arms. "Can we go to the Ponderosa now?" she asked. "I don't have to go back to school for a long time."

"Not right now Kitten." Ben laughed at his niece's eagerness. "We'll leave on the stage tomorrow. Right now, we need to get your things packed. Then we'll eat supper with Uncle Matt and his friends and then you'll need to go to bed early because we have a long trip to make."

Since Cat wouldn't be there for Christmas, supper with Matt's friends was a Christmas party. Everyone gave her a gift and Matt gave her a new winter hat, coat and mittens so she would not catch cold while she was in Nevada. Finally around ten o'clock the next morning, Ben and Cat boarded the stage coach that would take them to Virginia City where one of her cousins would meet them with the buggy and take them to the Ponderosa.


	11. Chapter 11

When it was time to go and meet their father and cousin in Virginia City, Adam, Hoss and Joe all wanted to go, and kept arguing about just who was going to go. Finally, Hop Sing couldn't stand it anymore, so he stormed into the living room where the brothers were arguing and scolded them. "You stop alguing! I tell you fathel when he come home. Little Joe no go last time, so he go this time! Little Joe no baby. You stop calling him that Adam. You fathel no like it when you call Little Joe a baby! Adam, Hoss, you got work to do, go do it. Little Joe, you get buggy and go get you fathel and Missy Cat."

Adam started to protest that he was the eldest and should be the one to get their father and Cat when Hoss said, "Hop Sing is right Adam. Joe couldn't go with us when we took Cat back to Dodge from Arizona, so he should be the one to go now. We'd better get our work done before Joe gets back with Pa and Cat. Pa's going to be angry enough when Hop Sing tells him we were arguing and that you called Joe a baby. He'll skin us alive if the barn isn't cleaned out and all that wood cut and stacked." Adam knew that Hoss was right so he didn't argue with his brother. All three brothers grabbed their hats and coats and headed out the door. Joe got the buggy hitched up and started for town while Adam started cleaning the barn and Hoss started cutting and stacking wood.

Joe timed his arrival in town so that he would be there about fifteen minutes before the stage arrived. That way the horses wouldn't be standing out in the cold winter air for too long. When the stage still hadn't arrived thirty minutes after he got to town, he decided to take the horses over to the livery stable. Since they wouldn't be at the stable for very long, Dave wouldn't charge him anything to keep them and would also help him hitch them up when the stage finally did arrive.

When the stage finally showed up, two hours late, Joe was glad he had taken the horses to the stable. Dave told him to go and meet the stage while he hitched the team up. When the stage stopped, the driver opened the door so the passengers could get out. Ben had a hard time keeping Cat from climbing through one of the windows while they waited their turn to exit. He got off the stage and helped Cat to get off. As soon as he set her on the ground, she saw Joe and ran to him. "Little Joe!" she squealed with delight. "I hoped you would come and get me."

Joe picked his cousin up, hugged her and said, "Hi Squirt. Of course I came to get you. I missed you lots and just had to be the one to come and get you. I can't believe how big you've gotten. Now, I've got to see if Pa needs help getting your things from the stage, so I'm going to have to put you down for a little while when we walk over there." Joe kept Cat in his arms until they walked back over to the stage where he set her on the ground and told her to stay right by him. "Hi Pa. Do you need help with all of Cat's things?"

"Hello Joe. Thank you but I only packed one bag for her. She's only going to be here for two weeks and didn't need to bring a lot with her. Where is the buggy?"

"It's over at the livery stable. I didn't want the horses standing around in the cold air for too long, so when the stage was late, I took the buggy over to the stable. Dave said it was ok to keep the horses there until the stage got in."

"That's very good thinking son. I'm proud of you. Although, I must admit that I am surprised to see you. I didn't think that Adam would let you come. How did you get him to let you?"

"You'll have to ask Hop Sing about it. Adam will kill me if I tell you, but I am getting real tired of him calling me a baby."

"Alright son. I won't say anything to Adam until after I talk to Hop Sing. However, I do plan on having a long talk with him about calling you a baby. You're going to be sixteen on your next birthday and it's time he started acting like it. I'm also going to have a long talk with him about riding you hard every time he gets caught being mean to you or calling you a baby. He may be almost eleven years older than you but if he's going to act like a spoiled child, I'll treat him like one. Let's go and put the bags into the buggy. We've had a long ride and it's still a long time until supper, so I think we'll get a little something to eat while we're in town. I know from experience that hungry five year olds are grumpy five year olds."

The three of them started to walk over to the livery stable when Roy Coffee spotted them and walked over. "Welcome home Ben." Then he picked Cat up, gave her a hug and said, "Well, if it isn't my favorite Cartwright. I've missed you a lot and I'm glad that you've come to spend Christmas here with your Uncle Ben and cousins."

Cat hugged him back. "Hi Sheriff Roy. I missed you too. Uncle Ben, I have to use the outhouse."

"I'll take her Ben," said Roy. "I've already got her in my arms, so I may as well keep her for a few more minutes."

"Thank you Roy," said Ben.

After Roy walked off with Cat, Joe said, "I wish that Cat was going to be here longer than two weeks."

"So do I son. I didn't want to say anything in front of Cat, but it won't be too many more years before she comes to live with us permanently. Matt and I had a talk while I was in Dodge and he pointed out that it won't be much longer before she's too old to share that little room with him. He plans to send her here to live with us and let me adopt her."

"What about Aunt Kate?" asked Joe. "Can you adopt Cat while her mother is alive?"

"I talked to the judge while I was in Dodge and he said that since it's been more than three years since anyone has heard from Kate, there won't be any problem with me adopting Cat. All I need to do is have Jarrod draw up the papers asking the court to say that Kate has abandoned her daughter and give me permission to adopt her. He said that no judge would deny the request and if they did, to come back to him and he would sign the papers. Don't say anything to Cat about what I just told you. I don't want her getting all excited, thinking she's going to be staying here forever and then be upset when I take her back to Dodge in two weeks."

"Don't worry Pa. I won't say anything to her."

"Thank you son. I knew I could count on you. Here comes Roy with Cat. Now we can get a little bit to eat and then head for the Ponderosa."

Roy walked up to Ben and Joe, still holding Cat in his arms. "I could get used to this, you know. If you're not careful, I'm liable to steal this little one right out from under your nose."

Ben just laughed. "I'd be willing to bet that with her antics, you would be bringing her back in less than a week. We're on our way to get a little bit to eat before heading home. It's still several hours until supper and I know that Cat is getting hungry. A light meal won't spoil her appetite. Would you like to join us?"

"Don't mind if I do. Thank you. With this little one in town, I may just invite myself out to the Ponderosa for supper a lot in the next two weeks."

Ben laughed at his friend. "You know that you're welcome any time. I think that Hop Sing is planning a special supper in honor of Cat's homecoming. Why don't you join us tonight too?"

"As long as I can sit next to my favorite Cartwright, consider it a date."

Ben and Joe laughed at Roy. "That's fine Roy. I'll make sure you sit next to Cat. Why don't you come out around five thirty? I think Hop Sing is planning supper for six o'clock and you know how much he hates it when anyone is late."

Before Roy could reply, Cat piped up, "I'm hungry Uncle Ben. When can we eat?"

"We'll go and get something right now Kitten. Remember, Hop Sing is making a very special supper for you, so we can't eat a lot right now."

"Ok, I'll try not to eat a lot, but I'm real hungry."

"I know little one but Hop Sing will be very sad if you don't eat the special meal he's fixing just for you. We'll get you enough food so that you're not real hungry any more but will still be able to eat supper."

The four of them walked over to the hotel restaurant with Roy insisting on carrying Cat. They had a light meal and then Roy walked back to his office while Ben, Joe and Cat went to the livery stable to get the buggy and head for the Ponderosa.

Meanwhile, Adam was fuming that Joe wasn't back yet with their father and cousin. "I told you he couldn't be trusted," he said to Hoss. "He's still a baby and can't be depended on to do anything right. He probably got lost on his way to town."

"Adam, you're just mad because Joe got to go and pick up Pa and Cat instead of you. Joe's going to be sixteen on his next birthday and that's hardly a baby. You'd better not let Pa hear you calling Joe a baby. You may be almost eleven years older than Joe, but that won't stop Pa from using a razor strop on you if he catches you calling Joe a baby. You know as well as I do that Joe didn't get lost. The stage was probably late and they probably stayed in town to get a quick bite to eat."

"Now why would they do that when Pa knows that Hop Sing is planning a big supper?"

"Because Cat is only five years old. It was a long trip and she's probably hungry. It's only two o'clock and supper is planned for six. You know as well as I do that's way too long for a little tyke like Cat to go without food. It hasn't been that long since we took her from Arizona to Dodge. In case you've forgotten, we were stopping every four hours so Cat could eat. You're just sore because you didn't get your way and you can't push me around the way you do Joe. You'd better get that burr out from under your saddle before I do it for you. And you'd better figure out how to make Pa believe you didn't mean it when you called Joe a baby 'cause you know that Hop Sing is going to tell him about the argument and you calling Joe a baby if Joe hasn't already."

"If Joe said anything to Pa, I'll make him regret the day he was born. I'll ride him so hard he'll wish he was living in Dodge with Uncle Matt and Cat. If he even sneezes funny, I'll have him bottom side up across my knees."

Before Hoss could answer his brother, Hop Sing walked in. "Adam, when you fathel get home, I going to tell him what you plan to do to Little Joe. You act like spoiled child because Joe get to take buggy to get Missy Cat. Little Joe no baby. He be a man soon. You already man but act like little boy. It time you start acting like man instead of little boy. You oldest boy and should take care of little brothers, not be mean to them and treat like babies. Only reason you no treat Hoss like baby is because he bigger than you. Mr. Ben no going to be happy with you when Hop Sing tell him what you say you going to do! Wood box in kitchen almost empty. Hop Sing need more wood to cook supper for Missy Cat. You go and get wood for kitchen!" Adam knew better than to argue with Hop Sing, so he filled the kitchen wood box.

Ben, Joe and Cat arrived at the ranch about an hour after leaving town. Cat eagerly greeted and hugged her cousins but the biggest hug was reserved for Hop Sing who looked at the girl and began fussing. "Missy Cat too skinny. Why Mr. Matt no feed her enough? She need to stay here where Hop Sing fatten her up. I make big meals for her when she here. Make her fatter before she go back to Mr. Matt." Then he went back to the kitchen to finish making his welcome home supper for Cat.

The family laughed at their cook's rant. Before following Hop Sing into the kitchen, Ben told Adam to take care of the team and buggy and Joe to take Cat upstairs and show her the room she was going to be sleeping in. Adam was still in a bad mood and said, "Why can't Little Joe do it? He didn't have any problems hitching the team up, so he shouldn't have any problems unhitching them and putting them up."

"I didn't say that he would have a problem," replied Ben. "I told you to do it and I expect to be obeyed. You are setting a very bad example for your cousin. Cat is at a very impressionable age and if she sees you acting like a spoiled child, how do you think she is going to act when she is told to do something? You and I are going to have a long talk later. I don't like your attitude toward Joe lately and I aim to put a stop to it now. And, yes, I know that you have been calling him a baby and that is going to stop right here and now. Before you go taking it out on him, he didn't tell me. Hop Sing did just before I left to go to Dodge. I just didn't have time to do anything about it then but I have the time now and I will do something about it. Now go and take care of the team and buggy. They've been standing out in the cold far too long."

Adam went to take care of the team and buggy while Ben started to go into the kitchen to talk to Hop Sing. Just then, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen. "Little Joe, I need mole wood in kitchen so I can finish making big supper. You please bling me mole wood?"

"Sure Hop Sing. Give me a minute to get Cat settled with a picture book and then I'll fill the wood box for you."

"I want to go with you," said Cat.

"I'm not going anywhere Cat," replied Joe. I'm just going to bring in some wood for Hop Sing."

"I want to come with you. I can help. I'm not a baby any more."

"Ok. You can come with me. Let's get your hat and coat on. It's cold outside and I don't want you to get cold." Joe got Cat bundled up in her hat and coat and then they went outside to bring wood into the kitchen.

Ben was in the kitchen when Joe and Cat came in. Both he and Hop Sing laughed at the sight of Cat struggling to carry one piece of wood. "Thank you Missy Cat. Thank you Little Joe. Now I can finish cooking supper. I have big surprise for Missy Cat for dessert."

"I may as well do the rest of my chores now. That way I won't have to worry about them later," said Joe. "Come on Cat. You can help me if you want to."

After Joe and Cat walked out, Hop Sing told Ben everything that had happened since he left to get Cat. "Thank you Hop Sing. I am going to have a very long talk with Adam tonight. I don't know what is wrong with him lately, however, if he doesn't stop acting like a spoiled child, I am going to treat him like one." Meanwhile, Cat helped Joe finish his chores. Ben was still in the kitchen and he and Hop Sing both had another good laugh at the sight of five year old Cat helping Joe carry the pail of milk. "I wish I had a way to get a picture of that," Ben told Hop Sing. "That is a memory I would like to keep forever."

"Me too Mr. Cartlight, me too," said Hop Sing.

Five thirty rolled around and Roy Coffee knocked on the Cartwright's front door. Hoss answered it and told Roy to come in, hang his coat with the others and join the family in the living room. Soon Hop Sing told everyone that supper was ready. He had prepared a meal fit for a king. There was steak, potatoes and gravy, vegetables, and fresh baked bread. He even prepared a small steak for Cat so she wouldn't have to eat a piece cut from someone else's. Roy got to sit next to Cat. After everyone finished eating, Hop Sing brought out his surprise dessert for Cat. He had made a large chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and gave her the first piece. She was so excited that she got up from her chair and gave him a big hug. She insisted that he join them for dessert and Ben told Hoss to get a chair for him.

After everyone was finished eating, Roy said, "That was delicious Hop Sing. You outdid yourself tonight. It's a good thing I don't eat like that every night or my poor horse wouldn't be able to carry me. Ben, thank you for the invitation. This was the best meal I've had in a long time. Unfortunately, it's time for me to head back to town. If I don't leave now, I'll be too tempted to just move in so I can spend all of my time playing with Cat and eating Hop Sing's cooking." Everyone walked to the door with him where he bent over, picked Cat up and gave her a big hug. "I'll see you soon Sweetheart. You be good and have fun while you're here." Cat hugged him back, told him goodnight and said that she would be good.

Since it was already eight thirty, Ben told Cat that it was time for her to get ready for bed. "Say goodnight to the boys. I'll be up to tuck you in and read you a story in a few minutes." Cat hugged her cousins goodnight and walked up the stairs to the bedroom she would be using. A few minutes later, he walked up the stairs, read a story to Cat, kissed and hugged her goodnight, tucked her in and blew out the lamp. Once he was back downstairs, he told Adam and Hoss what he had already told Joe about Cat coming to live there permanently in a few years. "Besides the fact that I miss her a lot, that's the main reason she's going to be spending school holidays here. It will make the transition a lot easier when she does move in." Adam asked the same question Joe did about Cat's mother and Ben told him what the judge had said.

Hoss and Joe knew that their father wanted to talk to Adam alone, so after they discussed Cat's future living arrangements for a little while, they excused themselves and went up to bed. Once Hoss and Joe were gone, Ben told Adam, "It's time you and I had a long talk about your attitude toward Joe lately. I never thought I'd see the day when one of my sons was afraid to come to me with his problems out of fear for what one of his brothers would do to him. Joe isn't a baby anymore and hasn't been for a long time. He's going to be sixteen on his next birthday and doesn't deserve to have you calling him a baby and threatening him at every turn. If you continue to act like a spoiled brat, I will start treating you like one. You may have turned twenty six just before Thanksgiving, but if you don't stop bullying Joe and calling him a baby, I will use a razor strop on you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Because the next time we need to have this discussion, it will be in the barn. Now, I am going to bed. It's been a long several days and I'm exhausted. Think about what I said. Start acting like you're twenty six because I don't want to have to treat you like you're six. Goodnight son. And remember, even though I'm angry at you, you are still my son and I love you very much." With that, Ben walked upstairs, leaving Adam alone with his thoughts.

Cat got up early the next morning and helped Joe with his chores. She held the basket for him while he gathered eggs and she helped him fill the wood boxes and carry the milk pail into the kitchen. Cat had never decorated a Christmas tree before, so Ben and the boys had decided not to do it until she was there. Ben asked Adam to ride into town and invite Roy out to help decorate the tree. Roy gladly accepted the invitation and rode out to the ranch with Adam. Cat insisted that Hop Sing help decorate the tree too, which he gladly did. When the tree was all decorated, Hoss picked up the angel that went on top, handed it to Cat, picked her up and stood her on his shoulders. "Put it all the way up top Cat," he told her. "The angel always goes on the very top of the tree." Then Adam took out his guitar and everyone sang carols.

Christmas vacation on the Ponderosa was a lot of fun for Cat. She helped Joe with his chores every day and went for long horseback and sleigh rides with her uncle and cousins. When it snowed, Joe showed her how to make snowballs and everyone, Ben included, had a snowball fight. When they went back into the house, they found that Hop Sing had made a big pot of hot cocoa and some cookies for everyone. Every night after supper, they all gathered around the Christmas tree where Hop Sing laid out hot cocoa and cookies and Adam played his guitar and everyone sang carols.

A few days before Christmas, Ben had some business to take care of in town, so he took Cat with him. While they were there, they ran into Mrs. Michaels, the lady who taught the children's Sunday school class. Ben introduced Cat to Mrs. Michaels, who thought she was precious. "Would you like to be in our Sunday School Christmas play in church?" she asked Cat. "You can be an angel with the other young children. I know that we have an extra costume that will fit you perfectly."

Cat looked at Ben who nodded. "Yes please," said Cat. "But I don't know how."

"That's easy," said Mrs. Michaels. "You'll stand with the other young children and when it's time, all of you will say, 'Glory to God in the highest and peace among men with whom He is well pleased.' I'm sure that your uncle and cousins will help you remember what to say. We're going to be rehearsing in the church tomorrow afternoon at three. Ben, why don't you bring her then so she can meet the other children and we can get a costume for her?" Ben agreed and Mrs. Michaels said, "Good then. It's all settled. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at three."

Cat was so excited she could hardly contain herself. When she saw Roy, she ran up to him and said, "I'm going to be an angel Sheriff Roy. Mrs. Michaels just asked me." Roy picked her up, hugged her and said he was very glad for her and he would be sure to be in church on Christmas Eve to see her. When she and Ben got back to the Ponderosa, she ran up to her cousins and Hop Sing and told them what she had told Roy. They all hugged her and told her they were very happy for her. Hop Sing even said that he would go to church to see her in her angel costume. That night after supper, before singing carols around the Christmas tree, Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe all helped Cat remember the line she was supposed to say with the other children. Before long, she could say it without any help.

After they finished singing Christmas carols, Adam said, "It's a beautiful night and the moon is shining brightly. Why don't we take Cat on a moonlight sleigh ride around the Ponderosa? She's never seen it by moonlight before." Everyone thought that was a great idea. Hoss volunteered to hitch up the sleigh. Cat was so excited and wiggled so much; it took both Adam and Joe to get her hat, coat and mittens on her. A few minutes later, Hoss came in the house and said that the sleigh was ready and everyone went outside. Ben brought some extra blankets to make sure that no one, especially Cat, got cold. Adam surprised everyone and told Joe to drive. He went back into the house and emerged a few minutes later with his guitar. "There's no reason we can't sing Christmas carols while we're out for a sleigh ride. It's Cat's first real Christmas since she was a baby and she's only going to be here for a few weeks, so we may as well let her have as much fun as possible."

Just before they started out, Adam whispered something to Joe who nodded in agreement. About thirty minutes into their ride, Joe stopped the sleigh in the middle of a large meadow. Adam leaned forward and told Cat to look up. She did as she was told and her mouth opened in amazement. The sky was full of more stars than she had ever seen in her life. Adam told her that some groups of stars appeared to draw pictures. They were called constellations and had names. He pointed out the dippers to her and told her what they were called. She looked at the stars and said that they did kind of look like water dippers. Cat was having a lot of fun and didn't want the ride to end. "I wish we could do this all night," she told her uncle and cousins.

"I know Sweetheart," said Ben. "We'll stay out a little while longer and then we need to get you home and into bed. If the weather stays nice, we'll take the sleigh to church on Christmas Eve and go for another long ride on the way home." They stayed out for another hour and then Ben told Joe it was time to head for home. When they got home, they found that Hop Sing was waiting for them with hot cocoa and Cat asked if he could go on the next sleigh ride with them. "Sure Kitten," replied Ben. "Hop Sing is more than welcome to come with us if he wants to. Now, it's way past your bed time so drink your hot cocoa and get ready for bed."

"Ok Uncle Ben," came the reply. Ten minutes later, Hoss found Cat asleep on the floor in front of the fireplace. He got the rest of the family and Hop Sing and they all laughed at the sleeping child who had wanted to stay on the sleigh ride all night. Ben picked her up, carried her upstairs and put her to bed.

The next afternoon, he took her to town so she could rehearse the Christmas play with the other children. Mrs. Michaels found a costume for her and introduced Cat to the other children, including two sisters, the younger of which would eventually become her best friend. Ben greeted the girls' parents. "Hello Charles, hello Caroline. It's a pleasure to see you again. Your girls sure are getting big. How old are they now?"

"Hello Ben," replied Charles. "Mary is seven now and Laura is five. Is that your niece, the one who lives in Dodge? She sure is cute. How old is she?"

"Yes, that's my niece, Catherine. We call her Cat. Hoss nicknamed her Wild Cat when she was two. She's five now, just like your Laura. Yes, right now, she lives in Dodge but sometime between now and her tenth birthday, she'll be coming to live with me permanently and I'll adopt her. With your permission, I'd like to bring her to your house after Christmas and let her spend a few hours playing with your girls. She needs to spend time with girls her own age."

"That's fine Mr. Cartwright," said Caroline. "We would love to have Catherine spend some time with our girls."

"Thank you. Will the day after Christmas be good for the two of you? I don't want to inconvenience you."

"That will be just fine," said Caroline. "Why don't you bring her over around ten and she can eat dinner with the girls."

The children finished rehearsing the play and Cat walked up to her uncle. "Cat, this is Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls. They are the parents of the two girls you were talking to. I'm going to take you to their house on the day after Christmas so you can spend a little bit of time playing with children your own age."

"That will be fun," said Cat. I like Mary and Laura. They're nice." Just then, Mary and Laura walked up to their parents. "Guess what?" said Cat. "Your Ma and Pa said I can come over and play with you the day after Christmas."

"That will be fun," said Mary.

"I wish it was the day after Christmas," said Laura.

The adults laughed at the three girls and Ben was glad that Cat wanted to spend time with girls her own age. The adults and girls said goodbye to each other and left the church. "How would you like to invite Sheriff Roy to supper on Christmas night?" Ben asked Cat. Cat practically ran all the way to Roy's office. When they got there, Roy stopped doing his work, picked Cat up and gave her a big hug.

"Hello Sheriff Roy. Come to supper on Christmas."

Roy and Ben both laughed at Cat's invitation. "I would love to come to supper on Christmas Day," said Roy as he hugged Cat again and kissed her cheek. "What time should I be there?"

"Why don't you come around four?" said Ben. "I'm not sure what time Hop Sing is planning supper for, but I'm sure that Cat is going to want to show you everything Santa brings her."

"That's great. Four it is. I'll be there with bells on."

"Fine," said Ben. "I'll see you in church tomorrow night and at the house on Christmas Day. Now, I've got to get that wild thing in your arms home. It's almost supper time and Hop Sing hates it when anyone is late for a meal."

"Uncle Ben, when is Santa Claus coming?" Cat asked at supper.

"He's coming tomorrow night," Ben answered.

"Will he know I'm here instead of with Uncle Matt?" she worried.

"Don't worry Kitten," he reassured her. "Santa Claus knows where all children are all the time. He will bring your presents here, but when we get home after church tomorrow night, you are going to have to go straight to bed or he won't come."

"Ok Uncle Ben, I will, but what about the sleigh ride?"

"We'll be home from our sleigh ride in enough time for you to be in bed asleep before Santa comes. Now, finish your supper. Hop Sing will be upset if you don't eat and you won't get any hot cocoa and cookies."

Cat finished her supper and after Christmas carols, hot cocoa and cookies it was time for a story and bed. Cat found herself wishing that Christmas vacation would never end so she wouldn't have to go back to Dodge.

The next day was Christmas Eve and Cat was so excited she could hardly eat breakfast. Nobody could figure out if she was more excited about the play at church or Santa coming. After breakfast, everyone went for a ride. Before anyone else could, Adam picked Cat up and put her on his horse. They rode out to a place high above Lake Tahoe so Cat could see the whole lake. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of the big lake and the land around it. "All of the land from the middle of the sides and back this way belongs to the Ponderosa," he told her.

"Can I go fishing there?" Cat asked.

"I'll take you in the Spring when you come for Easter," Adam told her.

"When I grow up, I'm going to live here forever," said Cat.

"Of course you are," said Adam. "We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Right now, it's time to head home for dinner," said Ben. "Then I want you to rest for a little while before supper. I know that you don't want to be sleepy in church tonight. You don't have to nap," he said before Cat could protest. "I just want you to rest. Maybe Adam will read a story to you. Then after supper it will be time to go to church."

The church was packed for the Christmas Eve service and all of the children were excited about their play. Cat was glad to see her new friends again and they were glad to see her too. The play went off with no mistakes and even the little angels said their line on time. After church, all of the children got hugs. Roy picked Cat up and told Ben that he was going to steal her. "You couldn't afford to feed her Roy," teased Adam. "She eats almost as much as Hoss does." Everybody, including Hop Sing, had a good laugh at Adam's comment. Roy carried Cat out to the sleigh, put her in and wrapped a blanket around her.

Since he rarely went out with the family, Hop Sing was given a seat in the front of the sleigh with Ben and Cat. They enjoyed a leisurely ride around the Ponderosa and Ben stopped at Lake Tahoe so Cat and Hop Sing could see the moon and stars reflected in its waters. When they arrived back at the house Hop Sing said, "Missy Cat go take off pretty dress and get ready for bed. Hop Sing make hot cocoa for everyone." A little while later, Cat came downstairs dressed in her night clothes and Hop Sing brought hot cocoa and cookies into the living room.

"Uncle Ben, can we take Laura and Mary for a sleigh ride?" asked Cat.

"I'll have to ask their parents, but I think they would enjoy a sleigh ride."

"Can we go ask them now?"

"No Sweetheart, not now," laughed Ben. "It's time you were in bed. Remember, Santa Claus comes tonight and he won't stop here if you're not in bed asleep." Now finish your hot cocoa, say goodnight to the boys and go upstairs. I'll be up to tuck you in shortly." Cat wanted Santa to come, so she finished her hot cocoa, hugged her cousins goodnight and ran up the stairs. She was sound asleep shortly after Ben tucked her in and blew out the lamp.

Once they were certain Cat was asleep, Ben and the boys began getting her presents from Santa out of their hiding places. There were so many gifts that there wasn't enough room for all of them under the Christmas tree. "Would anyone care to make a wager as to what time our little Wild Cat wakes up tomorrow morning?" asked Hoss.

"What are the stakes?" asked Joe.

"The loser does the winner's chores the day after Christmas," answered Hoss.

They all agreed to the little game and Ben wrote down the time everyone, including himself, thought Cat would wake up in the morning. Christmas Day dawned bright and clear and Cat was up before the sun was above the horizon. She ran downstairs to see if Santa had come and her eyes grew wide with excitement when she saw all of the gifts under the Christmas tree. She ran back upstairs and into Ben's room where she jumped onto his bed. "Uncle Ben, come see! Santa Claus came last night! Come see!"

Ben rolled over and looked at the clock next to his bed. "Five o'clock," he mumbled. "It looks like Joe won. I had forgotten how early little kids get up on Christmas morning."

"Come see Uncle Ben! Santa Claus came!"

"Alright Cat. I'm coming. Go and wake your cousins up."

Cat ran to each of her cousins' rooms hopped on their bed and told them the same thing she had told their father. They all got up and walked downstairs where they discovered that Hop Sing had anticipated Cat getting up very early and already had a pot of coffee waiting for them. He also had some hot cocoa ready for Cat. Then Ben started handing out the gifts to Cat and his sons. Cat got dolls, clothes, toys, and a new bow and quiver for her arrows. There was also a new saddle, blanket and bridle for her. Ben asked Adam and Joe to get a large gift out from behind the tree and give it to Cat. It was a doll house and dolls that had been carved by hand and brightly painted. "Your father, Adam, Hoss and Joe made that for you right after you were born," Ben said. "We thought you'd like to have it now that you're not a baby any more. We'll put it upstairs in the room you're using now and that will be your bedroom whenever you come here." Cat hugged her uncle and cousins tightly.

"There is one more gift for you," said Adam. "But we need to have shoes on before you see it because it's outside." Before he could suggest that they wait until after breakfast, Cat ran upstairs to get her moccasins.

One she was out of earshot, Ben said good naturedly, "Well Joe, it seems that I will be doing your chores tomorrow. You hit the nail on the head. She woke me up at five o'clock. I was sure that she'd sleep until six thirty. It's been so long since you boys were that little, I'd forgotten how excited little kids get on Christmas morning." Cat reappeared and was dismayed to find that her uncle and cousins did not have their boots on yet. Ben laughed at the expression on her face. "Alright, alright, we'll get our boots on." As soon as all three of them had their boots on, Cat started to run out the door. "Hold it right there little one," Ben said. "You're not going outside without your coat, hat and mittens on." She reluctantly allowed her cousins to help her into her things and ran out the door.

Hoss caught her before she got far, picked her up and put her on his shoulders. "You can't go running through the snow in your night clothes Cat. You'll get sick if you do. So, you just stay right there on ol' Hoss's shoulders and I'll take you to where we're going." They walked out to the barn and he set her down inside the door. The others arrived at the same time and together they walked inside. There, in a stall between Cochise and Sport, was a grey pony.

"His name is Dusty," said Joe.

"He's yours to ride whenever you're here," said Adam.

"Now, when we go riding, you won't always have to ride with one of us," said Ben.

Cat hugged her uncle and cousins tightly. Then she hugged Dusty and started to lead him out of the stall. "Where are you going?" asked Ben.

"I'm going for a ride on Dusty."

"Not in your night clothes, you aren't," replied her uncle. "We'll all go for a ride later. Right now, we need to get dressed, do chores and eat breakfast." Cat was disappointed but didn't argue. After breakfast, Adam saddled Dusty for Cat and the whole family went for a ride.

Roy arrived for supper at four and Cat showed him all of her presents and took him out to the barn to see Dusty. Roy admired all of her gifts and said that he thought Dusty was a very nice pony. After he brought the food out of the kitchen, Hop Sing was also invited to join the family for supper. Afterward, everyone went into the living room, sat around the Christmas tree and sang carols one more time. Then Ben invited Roy and Hop Sing to join the family on a moonlight Christmas sleigh ride. They all had a good time and when Ben noticed Cat yawning, he turned the sleigh and headed for the house. After some hot cocoa, Roy said he had to go back to town and Ben said it was time Cat was in bed. Roy hugged Cat and said goodnight and Merry Christmas to everyone. After he left, Ben carried Cat upstairs and put her to bed.


	12. Chapter 12

The morning after Christmas, Cat went to help Joe with his chores only to find her uncle waiting for her. "Where's Little Joe?" she asked. "Why are you doing his chores?"

"We played a game on Christmas Eve night and the loser had to do the winner's chores today. Little Joe won and I lost, so I'm doing his chores today. Are you going to help me the way you've been helping Joe?"

"Yes. Little Joe says I'm a big help, so I can help you too. Do you want to know what he does?"

Ben found it hard to keep from laughing at his niece. "Of course I do Kitten. That's why I asked if you were going to help me."

"Ok. First he fills the wood box in the kitchen so Hop Sing can cook. Then he fills the wood box by the fireplace so the house doesn't get cold. I help him carry the wood."

"That's fine. We'll start by filling the wood box in the kitchen. Joe is right. Hop Sing has to have wood if he's going to cook and we need wood for the fireplace to keep the house from getting cold. Let's go and get those done." After making sure Cat would be warm, the two of them headed out the door to the wood pile. "Now let's get those wood boxes full so Hop Sing can make breakfast." Once the wood boxes were full, Ben asked, "What does Joe do next?"

"He gets the eggs from the chickens. I hold the basket and he puts them in."

"Ok. Where is the basket so I can put the eggs in it?"

"It's in the kitchen hanging on a wall but it's so high, I can't reach it."

"Don't worry about that. I can get it down. You just need to show me where it is."

They walked into the kitchen and Cat pointed to a basket hanging from a hook on one of the walls. Ben took it down, handed it to Cat and then they went out to the chicken coop to get eggs. Once the eggs were in the house, Ben asked, "What does Joe do after he brings the eggs into the house?"

"He milks the cow. The pail is in the barn near the cow. I help him carry the milk into the kitchen."

"Ok. Let's go to the barn and you can show me where the milk pail is." Adam, Hoss and Joe all had a good laugh at their five year old cousin telling their father how to do Joe's chores. Once the cow was milked and the pail of milk brought into the kitchen, Ben asked, "What does Joe do now?"

"He waits for Hop Sing to say that it's time to eat," replied Cat.

"That sounds like a very good idea. Let's go into the living room with the boys and wait for Hop Sing to say it's time to eat."

After breakfast, Ben saddled Dusty for Cat and allowed her to ride him around the yard for a while. Then he said, "It's almost time for you to go to Laura and Mary's house. Let's put Dusty back in the barn."

"Can't I ride him over there?"

"Not today. You're going to be there for several hours and he'll have to wait outside in the cold for you. That's not good for him. I'll take you there and then I'll pick you up and bring you home again."

Ben took her to the Ingalls' farm and stayed long enough to drink a cup of coffee. "Thank you for letting Cat come over and play with your girls," he told Charles and Caroline. "I want her to spend some time playing with children her own age and I think that your girls will help to keep her from being so wild."

"You're welcome Mr. Cartwright," said Caroline. "Catherine will be fine. Why don't you come back and pick her up around two?"

"Alright, I'll pick her up around two." He hugged Cat, told her to have fun and headed for home.

The girls played with dolls and other toys. Just before noon, Caroline called the girls and told them it was time to get ready for dinner. Laura and Mary began to set the table and Cat surprised everyone by putting the plates out as she had been taught by the Tanners. When everyone was finished eating, Cat said, "That was good. Thank you," and helped to clear the table. After the table had been cleared, the girls played for a little while longer. Then Charles took out his fiddle and began to play it. The girls laughed and danced for close to an hour. Before long, it was time for Ben to pick Cat up. She didn't want to leave but she didn't argue. She said thank you to Charles and Caroline and said that she had fun. "Ben, if you don't already have plans, why don't you bring Cat back the day after tomorrow? We enjoyed having her visit today." Ben said that Cat could come back and visit, which she did.

The week flew by and soon it was New Year's Eve. Ben was in his favorite chair near the fireplace, picked Cat up and put her in his lap. "How would you like to surprise Mary, Laura, and their parents tomorrow? We'll take the sleigh over there and take the whole family for a sleigh ride."

Cat thought that was a great idea. "I wish it was tomorrow already," she said and Ben laughed.

After breakfast the next day, Hoss got the sleigh hitched up while Adam and Joe tried to keep Cat from wiggling long enough to get her hat, coat and mittens on. Ben got several blankets and put them in the sleigh. He let Cat sit in his lap and help him drive the team to the Ingalls' farm. Once there, he helped Cat out of the sleigh and knocked on the door. Charles answered the knock. "Ben, Cat, what a nice surprise. Please come in."

"We're here to take your entire family for a sleigh ride and my little boss says that I'm not allowed to take no for an answer."

Charles laughed. "Do come in while I tell Caroline and the girls. I know that they'll be pleased with the invitation."

Soon everyone was in the sleigh and enjoyed a very long ride. When it was over, Caroline invited Ben and Cat into the house for hot cocoa. Then it was time go head back to the Ponderosa.

The rest of the week flew by and soon it was time for Cat to go back to Dodge. The day before Ben was supposed to take her back; he gathered his sons and said, "Boys, I have a very big favor to ask of you." All three were surprised as their father rarely asked favors of them. "I have to take Cat back to Dodge tomorrow. I would like you to tell her that if she skips school even once, between now and Easter, she won't be allowed to come here for her Easter Vacation. I think it will mean more coming from the three of you."

"Alright Pa, we'll tell her," said Adam.

The three of them talked and eventually decided that Joe should be the one to tell Cat, so they looked for her and found her in the kitchen, watching Hop Sing make cookies. Hoss picked her up and sat her on the table. "We have something we need to talk to you about," he said.

"We have been told that you skipped school three times since you started and are very disappointed that you did," said Adam. "School isn't fun, but you have to attend. You need to learn how to read, write and do Arithmetic."

Then Joe spoke up. "The three of us talked about it and we decided that if you even skip school once, between now and Easter, you will not be allowed to come here for Easter. If you even skip school once between Easter and summer vacation, you will not be allowed to come here for summer vacation and we will give Dusty to a family whose children go to school. So, since we want you to come and visit us and to be able to ride Dusty, we would like you to promise us that you will go to school every day unless you are sick."

Even Hop Sing added his voice to Joe's. "Missy Cat go to school. If no go to school, Missy Cat no come to Pondelosa and Hop Sing not make any cookies and cake for her."

Cat was shocked and her eyes grew as big as saucers at Joe's words. She hated school but loved the Ponderosa. She had already decided that she wasn't going to go to school, even if she got a hundred spankings, but this was different. Skipping school meant not being able to visit the Ponderosa. That was worse than a million spankings, so she reluctantly promised her cousins and Hop Sing that she would not skip school. They all hugged her and said that they were glad because they loved her and wanted her to be able to visit the Ponderosa when she had a school vacation.

It snowed during the night, so after breakfast, the family had one last snowball fight. When it was time to leave, Ben decided to give Cat one last sleigh ride, so they drove the sleigh to town. She said goodbye to Roy who also made her promise to go to school. When the stage arrived, he carried her one more time and put her in. Once it left, Adam and Joe told Hoss to drive. The ride home was silent because they were all missing their little cousin.

Once they reached Dodge, before it was time for him to return home, Ben reminded Cat of her promise to stay in school. Matt knew that she was missing her cousins, so he got his horse, then helped her saddle Spot and the two of them rode out to the Tanner's house. She told Peter and Michael that she couldn't skip school any more or she would not be allowed to visit the Ponderosa on school vacations.

Days turned turned into months. Cat stayed in school and visited the Ponderosa on her Easter vacation. By then, everyone had forgotten about Mark Nelson's threat to shoot Cat. One day when she was standing outside the Blacksmith's shop with Quint, a shot rang out that barely missed her. Fortunately, Mr. Burke was right near where the shot came from and grabbed Mark by the back of his shirt before he ran away. Mr. Burke took Mark to the judge to ask what he wanted to do. The judge gave Mark a good scolding and then told Mr. Burke, "Take him over to the jail and have Marshal Dillon put him in a cell for now. I'll ride out to his father's ranch and see if I can find him. He's got a lot of explaining to do and some consequences to face for his son's actions. Please ask Marshal Dillon to meet me here in ten minutes. Festus can keep an eye on the boy." Matt met the judge at his office and they rode out to look for Mr. Nelson, but he wasn't home. When they got back to town, the judge said, "I think it would be best if your niece stayed with the Tanners until we find Jonas. I don't think he'd hurt a child, but I don't want to take any chances. Also, I think it would be best if she didn't know that Mark was in jail." Matt agreed and a happy Cat set out with her uncle to stay with the Tanners for a while.

Matt and the judge kept searching for Mr. Nelson but were unable to find him. Two nights later, Mr. and Mrs. Samson were returning from supper at the Black's house when they saw a light in the school. "I know that Miss Jackson isn't in the school because she was also at supper and Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were going to escort her home," said Mr. Samson. "You had better go and get the Marshal while I wait here.

Matt wasn't in his office, but Festus was. "You stay here Mrs. Samson whilst I go over yonder to the school and have a look see at just who is in there. He walked over to the school drew his gun and walked in the door. There he found Mr. Nelson vandalizing the school and arrested him. When they got to the jail, Mr. Nelson was surprised to find his eight year old son sitting in a cell.

The next morning, the judge went over to talk to Mr. Nelson. "Jonas, you are in big trouble and you know it. Your son shot at the Marshal's niece, barely missing her and you vandalized the school twice. I need to know if you have any family members who can take care of your son." Your trial is going to be the day after tomorrow and if the jury finds you guilty, you are going to prison for a long time. An eight year old cannot stay by himself. If you don't have any family who can take care of him, I will have to send him to a home for wayward boys. The boys don't get any nurturing and are severely punished for even bending a rule. I know you don't want that for your son."

"I have a brother. His name is David and he lives in Wichita."

"Thank you Jonas. I'll have Marshal Dillon send him a telegram right away. I'll postpone your trial until he gets here. I don't want to leave Mark sitting in a jail cell but I'm afraid that he'll run away if I sent him to Ma Smalley's. Hopefully your brother will be able to rein him in and undo the damage you've done by letting him run wild."

Mr. Nelson's brother arrived two days later and the trial was held the following day. The jury found Mr. Nelson guilty of vandalizing the school twice and teaching his son to shoot at people he didn't like. Because Mark had shot at Cat and almost hit her, the judge sentenced Mr. Nelson to five years in prison. His brother took over the ranch and began to discipline Mark and teach him right from wrong.

Summer arrived. Cat celebrated her sixth birthday, stayed with the Apaches for two weeks and then spent the rest of the summer on the Ponderosa. She went for long rides with her uncle and cousins and played with Mary and Laura. Several times, she was allowed to ride Dusty over to the Ingalls where all three girls took turns riding him. Laura and Mary also spent time playing with Cat at the Ponderosa. One day when they were visiting Cat, Adam and Joe surprised them. Hop Sing packed a big picnic lunch, Adam hitched up the buggy, put fishing poles and the picnic basket in it. Then he and Joe took the girls to Lake Tahoe for a picnic. Mary didn't like fishing, so she just watched while her sister and Cat fished. They were catching a lot of fish, so Adam and Joe decided to do some fishing also. By the time they were finished, they had caught enough fish for supper. When they returned to the house, the girls took the fish to Hop Sing while Joe saddled Cochise and rode over to ask permission for Mary and Laura to stay for supper.

The summer flew by and before long it was time for Cat to go back to Dodge. Hop Sing fixed a special supper and the Ingalls family was invited to join the Cartwrights for supper. When supper was over, Laura and Mary said a tearful goodbye to their friend and said they'd see her at Christmas. The next day, Ben and Cat left for Dodge. He didn't want to leave her there because he knew it would still be another four years before she could move to the Ponderosa permanently and he could adopt her. But, he and Matt had agreed that she would continue to live in Dodge until she was ten so he reluctantly left her there.

School started again and Cat was pleased to see that Miss Jackson was still the teacher. She grew to love reading and thoroughly enjoyed the music and art lessons as well as the special speakers but she did not like Arithmetic. There were several times before Christmas when Cat was tempted to skip school but knowing it would cost her Christmas on the Ponderosa, she stayed in school. The days, weeks and months flew by with Cat spending her school vacations on the Ponderosa. Before Matt knew it, she celebrated her eighth birthday. He couldn't believe that it had been more than seven years since Kate had left her daughter with him.

About a month before Cat's ninth birthday, Matt received the telegram from Cat's mother saying that she and her husband were in the country and would be in Dodge in four days. He sent his telegrams off to the rest of the family as well as Cat's Godfathers and waited for a reply from Jarrod as to what his grandfather's will said about Cat.

He received his reply from Jarrod about two hours after sending the telegram. The will stated that Cat could not be taken out of the country against her will and if she was, any money she stood to inherit would be split between her cousins. He would get on the next stage and bring a copy of the will with him. Matt breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Cat would never agree to go to Australia with people she didn't know, even if one of them was her mother. Stephen Jacobs' entire motive for coming to get Cat was to get his hands on the money she would inherit and the terms of her grandfather's will would keep him from doing that.

When Cat got back to his office after school, Matt told her to sit down in the chair near his desk. He sat in his chair, looked at his niece and said, "I received a telegram this morning. Your mother and her husband are in the country and will be here in four days. They are going to want you to go back to Australia with them, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Your grandfather's will says that you cannot be forced to leave the country."

"My mother hasn't written to me since she left me here. Why is she coming here now? Why hasn't she written to me? I barely remember her and I am not going to go to Australia with her and her husband. I don't know them and don't want to go anywhere with them. I want to stay here and on the Ponderosa with Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe."

"I'm glad that you want to stay here. Now, just because you don't have to go with them, doesn't mean that you don't have to be polite. I want you to spend time with your mother when you're not in school. I know that you would rather be hunting, fishing or spending time with your friends, but she is your mother and it's important for you to spend some time with her."

"Ok Uncle Matt. I'll be polite and spend some time with my mother and her husband, but I am not going to go with them to Australia."

"That's fine Cat. Now, how much homework do you have?"

"Not too much, mostly Arithmetic. I know what Doc said this morning, but I still don't like it."

Matt laughed at his niece. "I understand, but you still have to do the work."

The next day, Matt received a telegram from Jarrod. He had been unavoidably detained and had sent a copy of the will in the mail. Matt received it two days later.

Four days after Matt received the telegram from Kate, she and her husband, Stephen Jacobs were on the stage when it pulled into town. After getting a room at the Dodge House, they walked over to Matt's office. "Hello Matt," said Kate. "Where is Catherine?"

"Hello Kate. Cat is in school where she belongs."

"Go and get her so we can get on the next stage out of here," demanded Jacobs.

"No!" said Matt. "She isn't going anywhere with you."

"She's my wife's daughter. We can take her anytime we want to."

"No, you can't. Kate's father's will prevents her from being taken out of the country against her will."

"I want to see that will," said Jacobs.

"Judge Taylor has it. I'm sure he will be more than happy to let you look at it."

"We just got here and I'm sick of this town already. Kate, pack the child's things. I'm going to get her from the school," growled Jacobs.

"If you do, I'll arrest you for kidnapping," said Matt. "I don't know what things are like in Australia, but around here, we take a very dim view of people forcing other people's children to go anywhere with them. Your reputation has preceded you. Kate's father wrote a lengthy letter to go with his will that describes how your previous wives disappeared after you got your hands on their money. Judge Taylor also has a copy of that letter. Why don't you go over to his office and ask him to see it and the will?" Jacobs stormed out of Matt's office and down to Judge Taylor's office where he demanded to see Kate's father's will and the letter that went with it. The judge regarded him with contempt, slowly walked over to a filing cabinet, opened a drawer and took two documents out of it. Before handing them to Jacobs, the judge told him that he had several other copies of them and the originals and more copies were in San Francisco. He also told him that destroying legal documents was against the law and he would go to prison if he attempted to or destroyed them.

After her husband left his office, Matt walked over to his safe, opened it and took out an envelope. "It's from your father," he said, handing her the letter. "He sent it to me just before he died; asking me to ensure you got it."

Kate read the letter and tears filled her eyes. "He apologized for making me marry Stephen and asked me to forgive him. He said that when he learned of his reputation and what happened to his other wives; he changed his will to protect me and Cat. Stephen's an evil man, Matt and when he reads father's will, he will be furious. I'm certain that if father weren't already dead, Stephen would force him to change his will and then kill him. He has a very bad temper and I'm afraid of him. I want to leave him but I don't know how. He'll beat me if he even thinks I'm trying to leave him. The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm his ticket to getting Cat's inheritance."

"Kate, if you're serious, I will help you. First, you have to pretend to try and get Cat to go with you, so you'll have an excuse to stay here longer. I'll talk with Mr. James about drawing up divorce papers under the pretense of challenging your father's will and I'll let Judge Taylor know what's going on also. I know that he'll want to help."

"I'll do it your way this time Matt. I should have listened to you when Cat was still a baby. I wouldn't be in this mess if I had. Here, put this back in your safe," Kate said, handing Matt her father's letter. "If Stephen sees it, he'll destroy it. Now, before he comes back, tell me about Michael's and my daughter. What is she like?"

"She's a lot like you were when you were younger Kate. She's also a lot like Michael." Matt told Kate all about her daughter, including how she lived with the Apaches, ran away when she wasn't getting enough attention, skipped school and spent her school vacations on the Ponderosa.

"I can't wait to meet her Matt. I wish school was out already."

Jacobs came storming back into Matt's office. "I looked at the will. He's right," he said pointing at Matt. "Your father's will says she can't be taken out of the country against her will or she won't inherit a dime. You are going to have to either convince her to come with us or find a way to break your father's will. I don't care how you do it, but I am not leaving here without that child."

"Alright Stephen. I'll talk to Catherine and go see the lawyer later. Right now, I'm tired from our long trip and want to take a nap."

"You'll go talk to the lawyer now, if you know what's good for you!" he threatened.

Matt took a step toward him. "If you lay one hand on her, I'll throw you in jail for assault. We don't favor men beating up on women any more than we favor people forcing other people's children to go with them. Kate, the lawyer is out of town and won't be back for several days. You can talk to him when he returns. In the mean time, why don't you spend these several days getting to know your daughter? I guarantee you won't regret it. School doesn't get out for several hours yet. Why don't you take your nap? That way you'll be well rested when you see Cat."

Jacobs wasn't happy that the lawyer was out of town but there was nothing he could do. So Kate went over to the hotel to take a nap while Jacobs went over to the Long Branch. Matt went over to Mr. James' office and talked to him about helping Kate divorce her husband while pretending to help her fight her father's will. He agreed to help. Then he went over and talked with Judge Taylor about Kate. The judge said based on what he read in Kate's father's will and letter, he would gladly grant the divorce.

Kate was in Matt's office when Cat returned from school. As soon as she walked in the door, it was obvious that she had been in another fight. Matt sighed. "Who did you fight with this time and why?"

"Mark Nelson. He knocked my books out of my hands and tried to rip up my Arithmetic test. I got a good grade on it for once and I wasn't about to let him destroy it. His uncle made him tell the truth about why we were fighting, so I think he's going to be in big trouble." She handed her math test to her uncle.

"You're right; this is a very good grade. You've been working hard and I'm very proud of you. We'll talk about your getting into fights later. Right now, there's someone here you need to get to know." Matt introduced Cat to her mother and Cat eyed her suspiciously.

"Hello Cat. I can't believe how much you've grown up since I left you with your uncle. He doesn't know it, but you're a lot like me. I used to get into fights when I was in school also. I can't wait to get to know you."

"Hello Mother," said Cat. "It's been eight years since you left me here and you haven't even written to me. Why are you here now?"

"Cat," warned Matt.

"It's ok Matt," said Kate. "She has every right to ask that question. I'm sorry that I never wrote to you. The reason why is a long story that I hope you'll understand when you're older. Right now, I'd like to spend some time getting to know you. I know that you probably have school work to do, but maybe Matt will let you wait until later to do it."

Matt agreed to let Cat do her school work after supper. Just as Cat and her mother were about to go for a walk, the door opened and Stephen Jacobs walked in. Kate introduced him to Cat and told her that they wanted her to come to Australia with them."

"No!" Cat said. "I am not going with you and you can't make me."

"You had better convince her to come with us," Jacobs said to Kate.

"Stephen, I just met the daughter I left behind eight years ago. She doesn't know us. I can't expect her to just agree to leave everything she knows and go with total strangers. I'm going to need to spend time with her so that she'll get to know me and want to go with us. Now, I am going to go for a walk with my daughter." They went for a walk and Kate spent the time trying to get to know her daughter.

Several days later, Kate went to see Mr. James about divorcing her husband. That night, Cat ate supper at Delmonico's with her mother and Jacobs. As they were walking toward Matt's office after supper, two shots rang out and Kate and Stephen Jacobs fell to the ground. For a few moments, Cat stood there in shock and then got down on her knees and begged her mother to get up and started crying. Matt and Doc heard the shots and came running. Matt picked the crying girl up off the ground and held her close. Doc said there was nothing he could do for Kate or Jacobs. Cat was hysterical and kept saying it was all her fault. "Take her to Ma Smalley's Matt. I'll give her something to help her sleep and Ma can watch her while you try to find whoever did this." Then he told some men standing nearby to carry the bodies to the undertaker. Matt took Cat over to Ma Smalley who said she'd be more than happy to look after her. Matt searched most of the night but was unable to find the shooter.

The next morning, Ma Smalley went to check on Cat and found her gone with a note on the bed saying it was all her fault he mother had been killed and to give Spot to the Tanners. She hurried over to Matt's office, told him Cat was gone and handed him the note. He started searching the town. A few minutes later, Quint found him and said that Spot was gone. Matt and Quint got their horses and rode out to the pond to see if Cat was there.

While Matt and Quint rode out to the pond, two young cowboys were riding into town from a different direction. They came across Spot, standing quietly near the edge of a very steep embankment. "What's a child's pony doing out here all alone at this time of day?" asked the older of the two.

"I don't know Joshua, but I'm going to look around and see what I can find," said the younger.

"Just be careful Thaddeus. I don't need you getting hurt."

Thaddeus started looking around. When he looked down the embankment toward the river, he saw Cat laying unconscious at the bottom with only her head and shoulders out of the water. "Joshua, quick, give me your rope and tie it off to your saddle. There's a child down there and if someone doesn't pull him out, he'll drown." Joshua tied one end of his rope to his saddle and handed the other end to his brother who tied it around his waist and made his way down the embankment. He reached Cat, turned her over and was surprised to discover that the boy was actually a girl. "It's a girl and she's hurt bad Joshua. Pull me up quick. We've got to get her to a doctor." He picked Cat up and his brother pulled him up. He handed Spot's reins to Joshua, put Cat in his saddle and rode for Dodge as fast as his horse would go. Once he reached town, Thaddeus rushed up the stairs to Doc's office with Cat in his arms.

Doc took one look at the girl and said, "Oh my God, Cat. What happened to you?" Then he yelled out his door at some men in the street and told them to get Matt. He told Thaddeus to set Cat down on his exam bed where he gave her a thorough going over. Then he told Joshua and Thaddeus that everyone had been searching for her all morning and asked where they found her. They told him. "Thank God you did. If she had stayed out there much longer, I don't know if she would still be alive."

Just then Matt came rushing into Doc's office. "How is she Doc? Is she still alive? What happened to her?"

"Yes Matt, she's still alive but she's badly injured. She has no broken bones. She spent a lot of time in the river and nearly drowned. If it hadn't been for these two young men, she would not be here with us now. Fortunately, she's young and strong. It will take time, but she should make a complete recovery. However, it will be a lot longer before she recovers from what happened last night."

Matt turned to Joshua and Thaddeus and said, "I can't thank you enough for saving my niece. She experienced a great loss last night and has been missing since early this morning. Please tell me your names. If there's anything I can do to help you, please tell me and I will do my utmost to get it done."

"I'm Joshua Daniels and this is my brother, Thaddeus. He's the one who pulled your niece out of the river. We're just glad we came along when we did and saw her pony. Please tell us her name and why she was in the river."

"Her name is Catherine. We call her Cat. What happened to her is a long story, but last night, she was with her mother and her mother's husband when they were murdered. I'll tell you more later, but right now I've got to let the rest of the family know that her mother is dead and she's seriously injured."

Before Matt left to send his telegrams, Thaddeus spoke up. "Marshal, would you mind if I sat with her for a while? I can't explain it but I felt some kind of connection to her when I saw her lying in that river." Matt gave his permission and Doc told Thaddeus to carry Cat into the other room. Thaddeus sat with Cat for a while. Then he and Joshua went to talk to Matt. "We're looking for work Marshal. Joshua and I aren't afraid of hard work and are willing to do almost anything."

"Cat's mother's brother has a large ranch near Virginia City, Nevada. Cat will be going to live there now. We're taking her mother there to bury her next to Cat's father. I'm sure that Ben will be able to give you jobs. Why don't you come with us? Cat will want to get to know you." Two days later, with Kate's coffin on top of the stage, Matt, Kitty, Cat, Joshua and Thaddeus set out for Virginia City. Doc gave Kitty a bottle of medicine to give Cat if she was in a lot of pain and told her not to give more than two drops in a cup of water every six hours. Before they left, Matt told Quint to take Spot out to the Tanners and leave him there.

When they arrived in Virginia City, Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe were waiting for them with the buckboard and buggy. Joe had ridden Cochise and brought Dusty with him saying that it might help Cat feel better if she got to ride her pony. Once they reached the Ponderosa, Ben carried Cat up to her bedroom and Kitty got her into bed. Matt introduced Joshua and Thaddeus to Ben who gladly gave them jobs. He said that the rest of the family including Lucas and Mark McCain and Cat's Godfathers would be there the next day and the funeral would be the day after.

A little while later while everyone was sitting around the table talking, Cat walked into the dining room. "Uncle Ben, what's going to happen to me now that I don't have a mamma or a papa? Am I going to have to live in an orphanage?"

"No Kitten. You're going to live right here with me, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe. You were born here and this is where you belong. Instead of coming to visit us in the summer, you'll go and visit Uncle Matt."

"Really Uncle Ben?"

"Really Kitten. You're going to live here from now on. Now, let's see if Hop Sing has any food for you. I know that you haven't eaten in a long time and you're not going to get well if you're hungry." He carried her into the kitchen where Hop Sing fussed over her and made some chicken soup for her.

"Missy Cat live here now Mr. Cartlight?" Hop Sing asked.

"Yes Hop Sing. Cat is going to live here now. I am going to adopt her and she will be my daughter. Jarrod is bringing some papers with him and we'll see the judge the day after the funeral to start the adoption process."

"Vely good. Hop Sing sad that Missy Kate dead but very happy that Missy Cat going to live here now. I no like it when she have to go back to Mr. Matt."

"She'll be spending her summers with Matt. He's raised her from when she was only a year old until now and deserves to have her with him part of the year."

"That ok. She go visit Mr. Matt, but she live her now. I go see if she need more soup. She need lots of soup to get well again. I tell you when she done eating so she can get more sleep. She need lots of sleep too."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I appreciate you helping to look after Cat right now. These next few days are going to be very hard on her and she's going to need a lot of looking after."

"You no worry. Hop Sing take very good care of Missy Cat. She get well, stay strong and be happy. I no like it when she sad."

A little while later, he brought Cat out into the dining room and put a cup of hot cocoa and a plate with some cookies on the table for her. While Cat was eating her cookies, she asked, "Uncle Matt, what's going to happen to Spot now that I'm going to live here?"

Before Matt could answer, Kitty spoke up. "Why don't you let him go and live at the Tanners? He'll get lots of love and attention and you can visit him when you come to Dodge in the summer. I'll take him out there myself, the day after I get back home."

"Ok Miss Kitty. Spot will be happy at the Tanners. Thank you for saying you'd take him there for me."

When Cat finished her cookies and hot cocoa, Ben told her that she needed to go back to bed so she could get well. Adam, Hoss and Joe made her laugh by pretending to fight over who was going to take her upstairs and put her back to bed. Matt settled the matter by picking his niece up and carrying her upstairs. "I've been doing this for a lot of years now so I may as well do it while I can." He sat with her and read a story to her before kissing and hugging her goodnight and tucking her into bed. When he came back downstairs he thanked his nephews for making Cat laugh. "That's the first time I've seen her smile since her mother and Jacobs came to Dodge. These next few days are going to be very hard on her and I appreciate you making her laugh."

Ben remarked that it was getting late and everyone should think about getting some sleep. Adam, Hoss and Joe walked Thaddeus and Joshua to the bunk house. Adam knocked on the door and their foreman, Pete, opened the door. Before Adam could introduce Joshua and Thaddeus, the men all gathered around wanting to know how Cat was. "She's banged up and bruised but nothing's broken. She's going to be fine. These next few days are going to be very hard on her and she's going to need all of the help and support she can get."

"I think I can safely speak for all of the men when I tell you that all of us will do everything we can to help Miss Cat until she recovers from everything that's happened to her," said Pete. All of the men agreed with him.

"Thank you kindly boys," said Hoss. "We'll let her know in the morning. I'm sure she'll be grateful for your help."

"In the mean time," said Joe, "We'd like to introduce you to two new hands. This is Joshua Daniels and his brother, Thaddeus."

"Are they the men who found Miss Cat?" asked Pete.

"Yes, they are," said Adam.

"Well then, they're more than welcome here," said Mike. "We're all real fond of Miss Cat and anyone who helps her is a good person to have around." The rest of the men agreed with him and showed Joshua and Thaddeus where to put their things. After introductions were made, Pete told everyone they had a long day's work ahead and everyone needed to get some sleep.

When Adam, Hoss and Joe walked back into the house their father wanted to know if there were any problems with the men. When Adam said no, Ben suggested that everyone get some sleep. They still had a ranch to run and the rest of the family was due in the next day.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, as she had done since she started spending school vacations on the Ponderosa, Cat got up early to help Joe with his chores. Considering everything she had been through, he expected her to sleep late and was surprised to see her. "What are you doing up so early Cat?"

"I'm going to help you just like I have been since I was five."

"You don't have to do that. You've been through a lot in the last week and need to rest so you can recover from your injuries."

"I'm ok Joe. I need to help you."

"Alright, let's get the wood boxes filled. Hop Sing needs wood if he's going to fix breakfast for us. He also needs eggs to cook." The two of them headed out the door to do Joe's chores.

By the time Matt and Kitty came downstairs, Ben was at the breakfast table with a pot of coffee on the table and a cup in front of him. "Where's Cat?" asked Matt. "I looked in her room and she's not in bed."

"I suppose that she's helping Joe with his chores. She's been doing that ever since she was five. I'm sure that Joe tried to talk her out of it, but if that's what she wants to do, I'm not going to stop her. Sit down and have some coffee. Breakfast will be ready soon."

At breakfast, Matt told Cat that Miss Jackson had sent her exams with him and that Adam could help her if she needed it. Cat wasn't very happy at the thought of having to do exams right then, but Adam said, "That's a good idea. I'm sure that school exams are the last thing on your mind right now, but they still need to be done. Since I know that you really don't like Arithmetic, why don't we do it right after breakfast? That way you won't have to worry about it again. I'll correct it when you're done and you'll know right away how well you did. Then I'll let you pick which exam you want to do this afternoon."

"I wanted to go for a ride on Dusty this morning," said Cat.

"I understand, but your exams are important," Adam replied. "Let's get your Arithmetic exam done and then I'll go for a ride with you and, I'll bet that if we ask real nice, Hoss and Joe will go with us."

"Ok Adam. I'll do the Arithmetic exam after breakfast as long as I can ride Dusty when I'm done." Cat did her exam and only had questions about two problems, which Adam answered for her. When she was finished, he corrected the exam and told her that she had only gotten two problems wrong. He picked her up, gave her a big hug and said, "I'm very proud of you Cat and everyone else will be too. I'll have to ask Pa, but I don't even think I did that well when I was your age. Let's go and tell everyone how well you did and then see if Hoss and Joe want to go for a ride with us. I think you had better go and show your exam to Hop Sing. He'll want to know how well you did also."

Before Adam could show her exam to everyone else, Cat grabbed it from him and ran into the kitchen. "I finished my Arithmetic exam Hop Sing and look, I only got two problems wrong. That's the best I've ever done on an Arithmetic exam."

Hop Sing looked at the paper and hugged Cat tightly. "Hop Sing vely proud of Missy Cat. She work vely hard and get good grade. Make special dessert for Missy Cat for supper. Now, go show papel to family so they know how good you do." Cat hugged him and ran off to show her exam to the rest of the family. She received lots of praise, especially from Matt and Kitty who knew how much she struggled with Arithmetic.

Cat asked Hoss and Joe if they wanted to go for a ride with her and Adam and they said yes. As everyone was saddling their horses, Cat had an idea and asked if Kitty could come along on the ride. Her cousins said yes, so she ran back into the house. "Miss Kitty, do you want to come for a ride too?" she asked.

"Yes I would," came the reply. "Let me go upstairs and change into riding clothes and then I'll meet you at the barn."

Cat ran back out to the barn and told her cousins that Kitty was going to come with them. Hoss picked out a horse and saddled it for her. Once everyone left on their ride, Joshua and Thaddeus went to talk to Ben and Matt. "I'm afraid that we weren't completely honest when we met Marshal Dillon in Dodge," said Joshua. "Thaddeus and I talked last night and decide that you have been so kind to us, we owe you the truth. Our last name isn't really Daniels. That was our mother's name before she married our father. Our last name is really Wiley and there's a chance that we're wanted in Wyoming."

"Any relation to the outlaw?" asked Matt.

"Yes, said Thaddeus. He's our older brother. We rode with him and his gang for about a month but didn't like the things he was doing. That's why we may be wanted in Wyoming. When our mother got sick, we had a good excuse to leave the gang for a while. She begged us not to go back to our brother's gang and we told her that we had already planned to leave it. Since nobody crosses our brother and lives to tell about it, when Mother died, we took her last name and got as far away from Wyoming as we possibly could."

"You may not be wanted," said Matt. "Did you participate in any of your brother's raids?"

"Only one," said Joshua. "And we stayed as far away from what was going on as we possibly could. That's when we decided that we had to get away from him."

"Well, if what you're telling us is true and you only went on one raid and didn't participate in it, there's an excellent chance that you're not wanted."

"Thank you for telling us," said Ben. "We appreciate your honesty. As far as I'm concerned, your last name is Daniels and you still have jobs here."

"I've never seen any wanted posters with your names on them, so I agree with Ben. Your last name is Daniels and you saved our niece's life."

"Thank you," said Thaddeus. "I was afraid you were going to send us away. I'm glad that didn't happen because we like it here. As I told Marshal Dillon when we first met him, I can't explain it, but I felt a connection to your niece when I pulled her out of that river. I had a chance to get to know her a little better on the trip here and she's a really sweet little girl. I'm sorry that her mother was killed but I'm glad that I got to meet her."

Both Matt and Ben laughed at Thaddeus' comment about Cat being a sweet little girl. "Wait until you get to know Cat," laughed Ben. "There's a reason we call her Wild Cat. Hoss isn't too far from the truth when he says that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame."

"Even though we didn't know Miss Cat's mother, we have gotten to know her a little bit. With your permission, we'd like to attend her mother's funeral tomorrow. It may not mean much to someone her age, but at least she'll know we care," said Joshua.

"Yes, of course you can attend the funeral if you want to. I'll let David know that any of the men who want to attend are welcome to do so," replied Ben. Joshua and Thaddeus thanked him and went back to their jobs.

Ben looked at his watch and told Matt that he needed to get the buggy hitched up if he was going to meet Victoria and her family when the stage got in. "You're welcome to come along if you want to Matt. I'd like the company. I'd better take some horses along too. Luke and Mark McCain are due in shortly after Victoria's stage gets in and there won't be enough room in the buggy for everyone and their bags. I'll take three horses. I know that Victoria and Audra will ride in the buggy. Jarrod probably will too. I'm sure that Nick will want a horse but I'm not sure about Heath, Luke and Mark." Matt said that he'd enjoy the ride so the two men set off for town to pick up Ben's sister and her family.

When they arrived in town, Ben saw Roy Coffee and introduced him to Matt. They had enough time to get a beer before the stage arrived, so Ben invited Roy to join them at the Cattlemen's Association. While they were there, Ben received many condolences for his sister's death and Roy asked what time the funeral was going to be. "It's going to be at one o'clock," replied Ben. "We're burying her next to Michael. Why don't you come at eleven thirty and have dinner with us?"

"I'll be there," said Roy. "I always liked Kate and I adore her daughter."

"Thank you Roy. I know that Cat will be glad you're there. She likes you a lot too. I think that Hop Sing is planning supper after the funeral, so please plan on staying for that meal also."

"I'll be more than happy to stay. I think Cat would be heartbroken if I didn't. Now, if you're going to meet that stage, you'd better get moving. It should be here within the next ten minutes."

The three men left the Cattlemen's Association and the stage arrived less then ten minutes later. Ben greeted his sister and her family. She was surprised to only see Ben and Matt. "Where is my niece?" she asked. "Why didn't you make her come with you?"

" **Our** niece and Kitty are out riding with Adam, Hoss, and Joe," replied Ben. "She's been though a lot in the past week and still has a lot to go through. Tomorrow is going to be very hard on her. Right now, we're trying to keep things as normal as possible and give her time to heal."

"Why are you so concerned about Cat all of a sudden Victoria?" asked Matt. "She's been with me for eight years now and you haven't bothered to even write to her all this time. Jarrod, Nick, and Heath have all visited Dodge and spent time with her in the past eight years but you have ignored her. So, why are you so concerned about her now? Or are you just concerned that people will talk about the fact that an eight year old child didn't meet the stage carrying an aunt she doesn't even know?"

Victoria ignored Matt's questions. Nick spoke up. "Good, I'm glad that she's taking an interest in life again. We were all very worried when we got your telegram. How bad were her injuries?"

"They weren't as bad as they could have been," replied Matt. "She was pretty banged up but fortunately, there were no broken bones. She's still got some bruises, but they'll heal in time. I'm concerned about how she's going to react to the funeral tomorrow. She still blames herself for Kate's death even though I've told her that the reason her mother stayed in Dodge was to divorce Jacobs, not take her back to Australia."

"The buggy is loaded. Why are we still sitting here?" asked Victoria.

"We're waiting for the next stage. Luke and Mark McCain are on it. It should be here shortly. While we're waiting for it, why don't we go over to the hotel and get something cool to drink? I know that you've had a long trip and must be thirsty," said Ben.

Everyone agreed that was a good idea. After drinking some cold lemonade, Victoria's mood improved and she apologized for being rude earlier. The stage arrived with Luke and Mark McCain on board. "Where's Cat?" asked Mark. "I hoped she'd be here to meet the stage."

"She, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe took Miss Kitty for a ride around the Ponderosa," said Ben. "Miss Kitty hasn't spent much time visiting the Ponderosa and wanted to see some of it while she was here. Everyone should be back at the house and Hop Sing should have dinner ready by the time we get there. Since there isn't enough room in the buggy for everyone, I brought three horses. You can decide amongst yourselves who will ride in the buggy." Everyone talked and it was decided that Victoria, Audra, Jarrod and Heath would ride in the buggy with Ben and Matt. Once everyone was settled in the buggy and on horseback, they started out for the ranch. On the drive, Matt told everyone that they were trying to keep Cat distracted so she wouldn't get upset thinking about her mother's funeral the next day. The family agreed to do their part.

When they arrived back at the ranch, everyone had returned from their ride and Hop Sing said that dinner would be served in about fifteen minutes. Cat greeted everyone but Victoria and Audra warmly. As she hadn't seen them since she was a baby, she was a little suspicious of her aunt and cousin. Ben introduced her to his sister and her daughter and Victoria said, "Hello Cat. I know that you don't know me and that's my fault. I should have come to visit you when you were in Dodge. I can't fix the past but I can do better in the future and I would really like to get to know you. I am very sorry that you have to go through all of this at such a young age. I can't even begin to imagine what you are feeling, but I want you to know that I am here for you just as Miss Kitty has been and still is. Now, why don't you show Audra and I to our room so we can wash up before dinner?" Cat did as she was asked and dinner was served shortly after Victoria and Audra came back downstairs.

During dinner Adam talked to Cat about her school exams. "Why don't you do your Reading exam after dinner? I've looked at it. You're a very good reader and I don't think it will take you more than thirty minutes to complete. Your Grammar and History exams aren't very long and you should finish them in no time at all, so we can wait a few days before we do those. I just want to get your Arithmetic and Reading exams out of the way today so you won't have to worry about them."

Adam was right; Cat did enjoy reading, so she agreed to do her exam after dinner. She was unsure of the definition of one word, which Adam gladly provided her. Once Adam scored the exam, he told her that she had gotten a perfect score. She grabbed the paper and ran into the kitchen to tell Hop Sing, who heaped a lot of praise and hugs on her. Then she told the rest of the family who also gave her a lot of praise and hugs. Then Victoria suggested that the two of them go for a ride. Cat wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. She looked at her aunt's dress in a funny way and Victoria laughed. "I know what you're thinking and, believe it or not, I have been riding horses since I was about three or four years old. Why don't you go and pick out a good one for me and I'll change into riding clothes?"

Nick was curious as to which horse his eight year old cousin would select for his mother, so he followed Cat out to the barn. She looked at the horses, trying to decide which one to select when she saw her cousin. "Nick, how good a rider is your Ma? I need to know so I know which horse to give her."

"She's an excellent rider Cat. As she said, she's been riding most of her life. Sometimes she likes to tease me and tell me that she was out riding when I was born."

"That's silly. I guess I'll give her Ginger. She's got a smooth gate and plenty of spirit."

"Now, how do you know so much about the horses here when you've been living in Dodge?"

"Don't forget, I've been spending all of my school vacations here ever since I was five. I wish I had a horse to ride. I love Dusty but I'm too old to ride a pony."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot. Yes, you are getting a little old to be riding a pony. Maybe Uncle Ben will let you ride Ginger once you get settled in."

"That would be nice."

Nick watched, amazed as eight year old Cat saddled Ginger and then saddled Dusty. "You are just full of surprises aren't you?" he asked. "Since you're so good with horses, why don't you move in with us and I'll give you a job when you get older? We can always use someone who is good with horses."

"You're silly Nick. I'm going to live here on the Ponderosa. Uncle Ben said so."

"Why is Nick silly?" asked Victoria as she walked up.

"He said I should go and live with you and he would give me a job working with the horses. Here's your horse. Her name is Ginger."

"Thank you. You're right, Nick is silly, but that's ok."

"Well then, I was going to offer to escort you on your ride, however, since both of you seem to think I'm silly, I guess I'll just go and drink some more of Hop Sing's coffee. You ladies have a nice ride," said Nick as he left the barn and went back to the house.

While Cat and Victoria were out riding, Ben and Matt began to talk to Jarrod about Ben adopting Cat. They both agreed that Cat would continue to spend two weeks in the summer with the Apaches and then spend the rest of it in Dodge with Matt. Then Lucas spoke up. "Now that Cat's getting older, how about letting her spend a week with me and Mark? I'd love to have her visit and I'm sure that Mark feels the same. He's only a few months older than Cat, so they'll be good company for each other."

"I don't see why not," said Ben. "Do you have any objections Matt?"

"No, I don't. In fact, I think it's a very good idea. Lucas and Michael were best friends and Margaret and Kate were also very close. It's only natural that their children should spend some time together."

"How about letting her come out to Stockton at Easter?" asked Heath. "I know that Mother would be delighted if she did."

"Let me ask Cat and see how she feels about it," said Ben. "I don't want to force her into it, but if she agrees, I'll be more than happy to let her spend Easter with your family."

"All of this doesn't need to be decided right now," said Jarrod. "Right now, we need to concentrate on getting Cat through tomorrow. From what I've seen, everyone's done a good job at keeping her distracted so far, but tomorrow is going to bring last week's events rushing back to her. I don't like the fact that she thinks it's her fault her mother was killed and we've got to do everything we can to change her thinking without letting her know the danger she was in. I think she's still too young to understand, so Ben can tell her when she's older."

While they were talking, there was a knock at the door. Ben opened and saw Rip standing there and a rental horse tied to the hitching post. "Rip, come in. Why didn't you let me know when you were going to arrive? Someone could have met you with a horse or the buggy."

"Thank you Ben, but I have to leave right after the funeral, so a horse from the livery stable is just fine. Where is Cat?

"She's out riding with Victoria. They should be back soon. Sam, Bill, Phil, and their wives should be here in a few hours. That will give you a little bit of time to spend with Matt before things really get crazy around here."

"Good. I don't see nearly enough of my brother. I wish he'd move to Arizona."

"I wish you'd take a post at Fort Dodge," came a voice from behind Ben.

Rip laughed, greeted his brother warmly and the two men walked into the living room.

A few minutes later, Cat and Victoria returned from their ride. They had talked about a great deal of things and decided that the next time they went for a ride, they would ask Audra if she wanted to go with them. About two hours after Cat and Victoria returned, a large carriage with a cavalry escort drove into the yard and Cat's Godfathers and their wives emerged from it. "Cat, I think your Godfathers are here," said Ben. "Why don't we go and say hello to them?"

Cat was out the door before he finished speaking. She spotted President and Mrs. Grant first and launched herself into his arms and hugged his neck tightly, almost knocking him off balance. Then she reached over and hugged Mrs. Grant. She did the same thing to Generals Sherman, Sheridan and their wives. Before General Sherman could tell the captain of the escort to find somewhere to bivouac, Ben said, "Bill, why don't your men use the extra bunk house while you're here? We only use it when we hire extra hands for the round up. There's plenty of room in the barn for all of your horses. The wood pile is over by the barn. Your men can help themselves to however much they need." The captain thanked Ben and told his men to take care of their horses and then they could go to the bunk house.

Ben invited his guests into the house where they greeted the rest of the family. The ladies wanted to wash up after their trip and Cat was given the job of showing them to their rooms while Adam, Hoss and Joe carried their bags upstairs. Mark McCain was awestruck at meeting the President, First Lady and the two most famous generals in the country and their wives. Once Cat was out of earshot, the President asked, "How is Cat holding up? We've all been very worried about her and we'd like to meet those young men who saved her life."

"We've managed to keep her distracted so far," replied Ben. "But tomorrow is going to be rough on her. I'll introduce you to the two men who saved her after supper. It's almost ready and Hop Sing gets very upset when anyone is late for meals."

"I certainly don't want to upset Hop Sing," said the President. "I'd travel a million miles to eat one of his meals and would steal him from you if I could."

Ben laughed. "With Cat coming to live her, you couldn't get him to leave, even if you offered to pay him one hundred dollars a day." Then he called upstairs, "Cat, supper is almost ready and we have a lot of guests. Why don't you come downstairs and help Hop Sing set the table."

Cat came flying down the stairs and her uncle stopped her at the bottom. "How many times have I told you not to run in the house? Now, go back upstairs and walk down. You're injuries are healing and the last thing I want is for you to fall downstairs and get hurt again."

Cat did as she was told, helped Hop Sing set the table and everyone sat down to a large supper. When it was over, Hop Sing brought out a large chocolate cake with chocolate icing on it as Cat's reward for doing well on her Arithmetic and Reading exams. After supper, Adam played his guitar and everyone sang. Then Ben noticed that Cat and Mark had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. Matt picked her up, carried her upstairs and put her to bed while Luke did the same thing with Mark.

When they came downstairs, everyone talked for a little while and Matt asked General Sherman why Rip had to leave right after the funeral. Both generals and President Grant were surprised at Matt's words and told Rip that he did not have to leave right after the funeral and they would go back to Arizona with him and hold a surprise inspection at the fort. Then, knowing that they had an unpleasant task to do the next afternoon, everyone went to bed.

The next morning, Cat helped Joe with his chores and she and Mark went for a ride after breakfast. She rode Ginger and Mark rode Tex. "I wish this afternoon was already over," Cat told Mark. I don't want to go to my mother's funeral. I wish she had stayed in Australia. Then she wouldn't be dead."

"I know how you feel. I didn't want to go to my mother's funeral either. I wish we would have left Oklahoma before she got sick and died. I'll stand right next to you this afternoon and if it gets too bad squeeze my hand and we'll both leave until it's over. We're only eight, so we won't get in trouble like we would if we were eleven or twelve."

"Thank you Mark. You are a good friend. I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time together. Let's ride a little while longer and then we have to go back to the house. Hop Sing is planning an early dinner and then we have to get ready for the funeral. I know that Aunt Victoria and everyone else is going to want me to ride in the buggy but I'm going to ride Ginger. If they say I can't ride Ginger, I'll ride Dusty. I don't care how much trouble I get into, I don't want to ride in the buggy."

"You probably won't get into trouble. Just remember to be polite and say that you want to ride Ginger. You will get into trouble if you're rude."

"I know Mark. Thanks for reminding me though. I wonder how much trouble I'd get into if I didn't go to the funeral."

"You'd probably get in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, you're right, but I still don't want to go to the funeral. It's my fault that my mother is dead and I don't want to go to her funeral."

"I know it's not your fault Cat. Maybe she just stayed in Dodge to try and get to know you. Remember, she hadn't seen you since you were a baby."

"You could be right. I don't know. Anyway, we had better head back to the house. Hop Sing will kill us if we're late for dinner."

"Well, I don't want to be late for dinner anyway. Hop Sing is a good cook and I wish we lived closer. Pa does a pretty good job of cooking, but Hop Sing is a whole lot better."

"Let's go then," laughed Cat. "I wouldn't want you to miss a good meal." The two children rode back to the house. When they arrived, they found that Roy Coffee had already arrived and Cat introduced Mark to him.

After dinner everybody got dressed for the funeral. Kitty helped Cat get into the black dress that had been bought for her before they left Dodge. "I don't want to wear a dress Miss Kitty and I really don't want to wear a black one. Why can't I just wear my buckskins like I always do?"

"You have to wear a dress because this is your mother's funeral. Everybody is wearing good clothes, including Mark McCain. It's customary for people to wear black to a funeral as a sign of respect for the dead person."

"Ok, I'll wear the dress but I'm not going to ride in the buggy. I'm going to ride Ginger instead."

"That will be up to your uncles sweetheart, but you really should ride in the buggy. Female family members of the dead person almost always ride in buggies for the funeral."

"I don't want to ride in the buggy. If I have to, I won't go to the funeral and nobody can make me!"

"Do you want to ride in the big carriage with your godfathers and their wives?"

"No, I want to ride Ginger or Dusty. I don't want to ride in the buggy or the carriage."

"Ok. I'll talk to your uncles but it's their decision. Right now, let's get you into the dress and rebraid your hair."

A short time later, Kitty and Cat came downstairs and went outside to join the rest of the family. Cat walked over to where she and Mark had tied their horses and started to untie Ginger.

"Cat, you have to ride in the buggy with Kitty, your Aunt Victoria and Audra," said Ben.

"No, I'm not going to ride in the buggy. I'm going to ride Ginger!"

"Catherine Michael, you are going to ride in the buggy! It's the proper thing for a girl to do for a family funeral."

"I'm going to ride Ginger. I don't want to go to the funeral and if I have to ride in the buggy, I won't go!"

Ben started to walk over to Cat to pick her up and put her in the buggy when Roy put his hand on his shoulder. "Pick your battles Ben. This is already very hard on her. It will be worse if you force her to ride in the buggy. You and I both know that she can easily mount that horse and ride off in a totally different direction. The important thing is that she attends her mother's funeral, not if she rides in a buggy."

Before Ben could answer Roy, Adam said, "Let her ride the horse Pa. As Roy said, if she gets too upset now, she'll mount that horse, ride off and we may not see her for days. Mark told me that despite being told otherwise, she's still saying it's her fault that Kate is dead. Do you really want to make it worse by forcing her to ride in the buggy?"

Ben shook his head. "Alright, I give up. Cat can ride Ginger."

Roy and Adam walked over to Cat. "When a lady is wearing a dress, a gentleman should always help her mount her horse. Will you allow us to help you?" asked Roy.

Cat giggled a little. "Yes, you can help me." Roy and Adam helped her into the saddle and Adam handed her the reins.

The preacher showed up a few minutes later and everyone set off for where Kate would be buried. Cat cried but did her best to stand still and listen to the preacher's words. Mark stood next to her with his hand in hers. Adam and Joe stood behind her, each with a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. When the coffin was lowered into the ground and everybody started to shovel dirt into the grave, it was more than eight year old Cat could stand. She squeezed Marks's hand hard and ran off. Mark went after her. Ben started to go too but Matt said, "No Ben. Let Mark go after her. Right now, the thing she needs most is someone her own age. It's only been two years since Lucas buried Margaret, so Mark knows what Cat is going through." Ben stayed where he was and they finished burying his sister.

Mark found Cat a short distance away, hiding in some rocks and crying. "It's all my fault Mark," she cried. "If I had gone to Australia with my mother, she would still be alive."

"No Cat, it's not your fault. Uncle Matt said that your mother was only pretending to try and get you to leave with her. She stayed in Dodge because she was going to divorce her husband. He was not a nice man and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. She was going to divorce him and come back here to live with you."

"Are you sure Mark?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Miss Kitty said the same thing. They also said that they told you several times, but I guess you were too sad to listen. She and Uncle Matt wouldn't lie about something that important."

"I guess not. Maybe we should go back now."

"That's a good idea. Everyone is worried about you."

Before the two could start back to the family, they heard a strange noise. "What's that?" asked Mark.

"I don't know. Maybe we should find out."

The two of them ran toward the sound and stopped when they saw a very young colt trying to defend its dead mother from a cougar. "We've got to do something," said Cat. "If we don't, that cougar will kill the colt."

"What should we do?"

"I don't know. I don't have my bow and arrows with me and I don't know if I'm strong enough to kill a cougar if I did have them."

"I know. There are lots of rocks here. Let's throw rocks at the cat. If we hit it enough, maybe it will run away." They started throwing rocks at the cougar and hit it with several, causing it to run away. "Come on. That cat won't stay gone for long. Let's get the colt and go back to everyone else."

They ran over to the colt and gently forced it away from its mother. A few minutes later, everyone was surprised to see Cat and Mark walking toward them with a small black colt between them. "What happened?" asked Ben. "Where did that colt come from and where is his mother?"

"A cougar killed her," said Cat. "It would have killed him too if we hadn't scared it away."

"How did you scare it away?" asked General Sherman. "Neither of you has a weapon."

"We threw rocks at it," said Mark. "We hit it a couple of times and it ran away. I guess it didn't like being hit with rocks. I know I wouldn't."

"Well, doesn't that beat all?" said President Grant. "Two young children playing like David and Goliath with a cougar. You've got to hand it to these two. They know how to keep their wits about them in an emergency. If they weren't so young, I would give them jobs in my administration. They could teach the people who work for me what to do in a tight spot."

Before anyone could answer him, Cat asked, "Can I keep him Uncle Ben? He's an orphan just like me and he needs me. I'll take real good care of him and he can even sleep in my bed."

Everyone had a hard time not laughing at the last remark. "Yes you can keep him Kitten. But you have to promise me that you'll take very good care of him."

"Oh yes, I will Uncle Ben. I'll even stay home from school to take care of him and keep him from being lonely." Once again, the adults had all they could do to keep from laughing.

"You don't need to stay home from school to take care of him," said Hoss. "We'll find a mare to adopt him and she can feed him and take care of him while you're in school. He does need a name though. What are you going to call him?"

Cat thought and finally said, "I don't know. I didn't think about naming him. I just wanted to get him away from that mean ol' cougar."

"How about Fury?" asked Mark. "He sure was full of it when he tried to keep that cat away from his mother."

"That's a good name Mark. His name is Fury." Then she said, "I'm sorry I ran away from my mother's funeral but it hurt too much to watch her get buried."

"That's alright Cat," said Victoria. "Your mother was my sister and even though I'm grown up, it hurt too much for me to watch her get buried too. We didn't always get along but she was my sister and I loved her. I wanted to run away too, but adults can't run away from things they don't like."

"Would you two please show me where you found the mare and colt?" Ben asked Mark and Cat. "I need to know who Fury's mother is so I can put it in the books that she's gone and why."

"I can't take Fury back there Uncle Ben," said Cat. "He might get scared and run away if the cougar is back."

"I'll watch him for you Miss Cat," said Thaddeus. "I'll stand right where you are and pet him and tell him how lucky he is that he's going to have a special little girl like you to take care of him."

Cat looked at him with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you Thaddeus. I didn't want Fury to see his mamma like that again."

"You're welcome. Now, I'll look after Fury while you and your cousin take your uncle and show him the mare."

Mark and Cat took Ben to where they found the mare and colt. Ben looked at her and said, "Her name was Duchess. She was one of my best mares and would have had many fine foals. However, she does have a fine son and when he grows up, he will be the father to many fine foals. Now we had better get back to the house and find a mare to take care of Fury. He's not very old and needs to eat often."


	14. Chapter 14

While everyone was waiting for Ben and the children to come back from where they had found the mare and colt, President Grant and the two generals walked up to where Thaddeus was taking care of Fury. "Young man," said the President, "We can't thank you enough for saving our Goddaughter's life. She means a lot to us and we are very fond of her. I don't know what we would have done if there had been two funerals today instead of just one. If there's ever anything even one of us can do for you and your brother, don't hesitate to let us know. We are forever in your debt."

"Thank you Mr. President. Hopefully, Joshua and I will never need to ask you for help, but I'll remember your words if we ever do need it."

"Thaddeus, Julia and I were talking about you last night. She can't explain it, but she has the feeling that you are destined to become part of this family. So, whenever we're in a family situation, feel free to call me Sam and you can call my wife Julia. You can call them Bill and Phil," he said, pointing at the two generals. "Bill's wife's name is Ellen and Phil's wife's name is Irene. If you ever come to Washington while I am President, you and your brother have an open invitation to visit the White House."

"Thank you Mr…er… Sam. That is very kind of you. Would one of you please answer a question that's been bothering me for the last week? Why on Earth do you call that sweet little girl, 'Wild Cat'? She's not wild at all."

The President and both generals burst out laughing. "Wait until you get to know her," said Sherman. "You've only known her for a week. We've known her for her entire life. She's still in shock from the events of the last week and is on her best behavior. She'll be back to normal in a few weeks and then you'll know why we call her 'Wild Cat'."

Just then, Ben, Cat and Mark returned and everyone went back to the house. When they got there, Cat started to take Fury inside. "Where are you taking that colt?" asked Ben.

"I'm taking him up to my room. He can sleep in my bed." She was so serious; everyone had to fight hard to keep from laughing.

Just then, Thaddeus spoke up. "I know you mean well Miss Cat, but Fury wouldn't be happy in your bedroom and after a little while, you wouldn't be happy with him in there."

"I don't understand. Why not?

"Well, for one thing a colt his age needs to eat a lot. You would not get much sleep because you would have to feed him every two hours. Also, you would have to take him outside right after he eats, even in the middle of the night. You would even have to take him outside if it was raining or snowing. He has very hard, sharp feet that will hurt your back if he sleeps in your bed. He's little now, but as he gets bigger, he's going to need room to run so his legs will grow strong. There isn't a bedroom in the world big enough for a horse to run in. Why don't you let your cousins find a nice mare to adopt him and be his mamma? He'll be a lot happier that way. You'll still be able to spend lots of time with him, especially if you're going to train him, but he'll be where he belongs and you won't have a horse sharing your bed."

Cat thought about what Thaddeus said and told Hoss he could find a mare to be Fury's mother. "Thank you Cat," said Hoss. Now, let's go and look at the mares and see if we can find one to adopt that little feller." Mark accompanied them as they took Fury and walked over to a pasture that contained several mares, some of which had foals. Hoss walked up to a sorrel mare and told Cat to bring Fury over. Hoss didn't seem surprised when the mare allowed the strange colt to start nursing from her. "That's Lady," he explained. "She has raised several foals and I was hoping she'd adopt Fury. He has a mamma now and you won't have to worry about him. Now, let's go and fix up a big stall for the two of them. Right now she's in a small one but she'll need more room if she's going to take care of Fury."

As they were walking to the barn, Joe walked up and asked if they had found a mare. "Yes," replied Hoss. "Lady adopted him. Right now, we're going to fix up a bigger stall to move her and the colt into."

"I'm glad Lady adopted him. He sure is a cute little guy. Since it's getting close to suppertime, I'll help you fix up the stall. It will go faster if the four of us do it." They walked into the barn and Joe opened the door to a large stall. "This should do just fine. It hasn't been used in a while, so it will need to be swept out. Cat and Mark, why don't you sweep it out? Then Hoss and I can put straw down and fill the hayrack and water bucket. Once the stall is ready, we'll bring Lady and Fury in and get them bedded down. Supper should be ready by the time we're done."

The four got busy and the stall was ready for the mare and colt in no time at all. Then Joe handed a lead rope to Cat and they all walked out to the pasture. Joe told Cat to put the lead rope on Lady and lead her into the barn. When she worried about Fury being left behind, Joe told her, "Don't worry. He'll follow his new mamma. Foals always follow their mothers. Believe it or not, you're already starting to train him to be led. You're leading his mother and by following her, he will learn to allow you to lead him. Once a day, you need to come out to the pasture and lead Lady around. In about a month, you will be able to lead Fury without any problems. You won't be able to start riding him until he's a year old, but you can start training him right away. Adam, Hoss and I will help you."

Mark walked alongside Cat as she led the mare and colt into their new stall. Lady started eating the hay while Fury explored his new surroundings and then started to nurse. Once the horses were settled in, Hoss, Joe, Cat and Mark went into the house and washed up for supper. Since they had just buried a loved one, nobody felt like talking so supper was relatively quiet. After supper, Mark and Cat read books in front of the fireplace while everyone else sat around the table. When it was time for bed, Cat insisted on going out to the barn to say goodnight to Fury first. She didn't want to leave him, but Adam picked her up and carried her into the house and up to her room.

Two hours later, Hop Sing went upstairs to check on Cat and came back downstairs very upset. "Missy Cat no in her bed! Hop Sing go to check on her but she not there!"

Everyone but Joe became very upset and was about to start searching the house when Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. "I have five dollars here that says I know where she's at."

"What are you going to do with all that money if you're right?" asked Mrs. Grant.

"I'm going to buy her something nice for her birthday next week. I don't know exactly what it will be, but it will be something very nice."

"Ok son," said Ben. "Where is she?"

"Follow me," was the reply and everyone followed Joe out to the barn. He walked over to Lady's stall and opened the door. There, sound asleep on the straw with her arms wrapped around Fury's neck, was Cat. The sight made everyone smile.

"What are you going to do Ben?" asked Rip.

"She's been through so much in this last week that I'm going to leave her where she is. I haven't got the heart to disturb her. Will somebody please go into the house and bring a blanket out for her? Even though it's warm outside, the barn is drafty and I don't want her to get chilled." Joe ran back into the house, came out with a blanket and covered his cousin with it. Ben told everyone that he would come back out and check on Cat just before going to bed.

Everyone left the barn and went back into the house and gave their five dollars to Joe. He counted the money and said, "There's one hundred dollars here. That's an awful lot to spend just on birthday gifts. How about if I save half of it to spend on Christmas gifts? Also, since I have no idea what to get Cat, I would appreciate suggestions or even help shopping." Everyone thought Joe's plan to save half the money for Christmas was excellent and decided that they would go shopping with him the next day. "That's great. I appreciate the help but there's just one problem. If all of us go to town, Cat will want to go with us and that will spoil our surprise."

Everyone started talking at once, making suggestions on what to do when Adam spoke up. "I know what to do with Cat. She and Mark can go out to Lake Tahoe and spend the day fishing. I'm sure that Hop Sing will be more than happy to fix food they can take with them. Then we'll be able to go shopping for Cat's birthday gifts."

"That's a great idea son," said Ben. "We'll tell her at breakfast." Then he addressed his guests. "I know that you all have important things to get back to but I was wondering if any of you will be able to stay until after Cat's birthday. Because we're in mourning, we won't be able to have a big celebration but we have to do something for her. Young children don't understand about birthday celebrations needing to be cancelled due to a death in the family."

"I'd love to stay Ben," said Rip. "Unfortunately, Major Bush is new to the frontier and has no idea what he's doing. We haven't had any problems with the Apaches since before Major Stone was promoted and left, but Major Bush is totally convinced that they're going to attack the fort at any time. I'm lucky I was allowed to come here for Kate's funeral. He wasn't going to let me but I told him that my brother's daughter was now an orphan because her father was killed in the war, serving under General Sherman and that the General had been my brother's friend, would be at the funeral and wonder why I wasn't there. The major said I could attend the funeral but had to return immediately afterwards."

"That is utter nonsense," said President Grant. "We told you yesterday that you will ride back to the fort with us and we are going to stay for our Goddaughter's birthday. Bill, when we go to town tomorrow, send a telegram to this Major Bush and tell him that Lt. Masters is on an assignment for me and will not be returning for more than a week."

"Mark and I will stay Ben," said Lucas McCain. "Those two children would never forgive me if Mark was forced to leave before Cat's birthday."

"I don't know about the rest of the family," said Jarrod. "But I was already planning to stay and try to get the adoption completed as soon as possible."

"Of course we're going to stay," said Victoria. "It's my fault that our niece doesn't know me or Audra and we want to spend time getting to know her."

"Kitty and I will also stay," said Matt. "Festus and Quint can take care of things in Dodge for Me and Sam is perfectly capable of running the Long Branch in Kitty's absence."

"I've got to be getting back to town," said Roy. "But two herds of wild horses couldn't keep me away from that little girl's birthday celebration."

"Thank you everyone, for staying to give Cat a good birthday," said Ben. "Roy, it's awfully late, why don't you spend the night and go back to town after breakfast? I'm sure your deputy can take care of things for the night. Now, I'm gong to go out to the barn and check on Cat. Then I suggest we all get a good night's sleep." Everyone followed Ben out to the barn where they found Cat still asleep with her arms around Fury. They marveled at the sleeping child as Ben pulled the blanket up over her and then went back to the house and to bed.

The next morning, Joe was surprised to see both Cat and Mark waiting to help with his chores. "Why don't you two fill the wood box in the kitchen and I'll fill the one by the fireplace? Then you can gather the eggs while I milk the cow. With three of us working, we'll be done in no time and you'll have a little bit of time to spend with Fury before breakfast is ready." Joe walked into the kitchen and got the egg basket down for Cat and Mark then all of them went outside to do his chores.

The wood boxes were full in no time at all and Joe went to milk the cow while Mark and Cat went to gather eggs. While they were doing that, Mark said, "You know Cat, you didn't say goodbye to your mother yesterday. I think we should go to her grave today and put flowers on it. Then you can say goodbye."

"But I don't want to say goodbye."

"I didn't want to say goodbye to my mother either, but Pa said it was important and I would never feel right if I didn't. He was right. I tried not to do it, but I had to and you do too. We don't have to stay there long, but you really do need to say goodbye."

"Alright. If you're sure, we'll find some flowers and I'll tell Uncle Ben at breakfast that I want to put them on my mother's grave."

At breakfast, Cat surprised everyone when she said she wanted to put flowers on her mother's grave. Lucas gave Mark a questioning look, Mark nodded his head and his father smiled at him. Ben asked Cat if she was sure that's what she wanted to do and she said yes. Mark nudged her and whispered something in her ear. She whispered back to him and said that they'd have to find more flowers. Since everyone knew that Mark was doing his best to help Cat through a difficult time, nobody scolded the pair for whispering at the table.

After breakfast, Hoss told Cat to lead Lady and Fury out into the pasture and walk them around it once. Then Adam said, "We've got a surprise for the two of you. Since Sam, Bill and Phil have business to take care of in town, the ladies want to go shopping, Jarrod has work to do, Pa, Hoss, Joe and I also have work to do on the ranch and Nick and Heath want to look at some of our cattle and horses, we thought that you would like to spend the day fishing. I'm sure that Hop Sing will fix some food for you to take with you. That way you can go all the way to Lake Tahoe and won't have to worry about being home in time for dinner."

"You can leave as soon as we return from putting flowers on Cat's mother's grave. Just be sure that you're home in time for supper. You know how upset Hop Sing gets when somebody is late for a meal and I don't want him upset," said Ben.

"Ok Uncle Ben, Mark and me will be home in time for supper. Maybe we'll even catch enough fish to feed everyone," said Cat.

"That's Mark and I," replied Ben. "I don't know how you're going to pass your grammar exam if you can't use proper grammar when you speak. If you do catch enough fish to feed everyone, you and Mark will have to help Hop Sing clean them."

"Ok Uncle Ben. We'll help Hop Sing clean the fish if we catch enough. Mark said that I should put flowers on my father's grave too, so after I lead Lady and Fury around the pasture, I'm going to get some more flowers."

"That's a fine idea Sweetheart. You go, take care of that colt and get your flowers. We'll leave whenever you're ready."

Cat and Mark went out to the barn where she put a lead rope on Lady, led her out to the pasture and then led her around it once before taking the lead rope off and hanging it on the fence. Then they dug more flowers for Cat to put on her father's grave and started back to the house. On the way, they were stopped by Joe who had found the lead rope on the fence. "Cat, why didn't you put the lead rope back in the barn when you were through with it? You've spent enough school vacations here to know we don't just leave equipment lying around everywhere. Now, go and put this back in the barn where it belongs and the next time I find it hanging on the fence instead of in the barn, I will be warming your backside with my hand. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"Good because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. You're almost nine so you've got to start taking care of things. Even little things like lead ropes. I hope you do not leave it lying around again because I do not want to have to warm your backside. I will be letting Pa, Adam and Hoss know about our little talk so you won't be able to say you didn't know if it ever happens again. Now get going, put that lead rope where it belongs, ask Hop Sing to pack food to take fishing with you and get your flowers so we can get going."

Cat walked toward the barn and Mark stayed to talk to Joe. "You were awful hard on Cat, Joe. She didn't grow up on a ranch like we did and doesn't know everything that needs to be done."

"That's true, but she's been here enough to know that we don't leave stuff just lying around anywhere. What would your Pa have done if you had left a lead rope just hanging on a fence?"

"He would have scolded me but not the day after we buried my mother! I don't even think your Pa, Adam or Nick would have yelled at her like you did and threaten to spank her the day after her mother's funeral. Yes, I'm only nine and you can tell my Pa that I back talked you, but you know I'm right."

Ben walked out to the barn a few minutes later and found Cat laying on a bale of hay, crying. He took her in his arms and asked what was wrong. She told him about Joe yelling at and threatening to spank her because she left the lead rope on the pasture fence. He comforted the crying child and said, "Don't worry. You're not going to get a spanking for leaving a lead rope on the pasture fence. I'll talk with Joe and remind him of how much equipment he left lying around when he was a child. Now, go, wash your face and if you have your flowers, we'll go up to your mother's grave so you can put them on it. I'll even saddle Ginger for you."

Joe walked into the barn while Ben was saddling Ginger. His father looked at him and blew up. "What do you mean by threatening to spank that child for leaving a lead rope on a fence the day after we buried her mother? I have lost track of the amount of equipment you left lying around and didn't get punished for when you were a child! We just buried her mother yesterday and you're threatening to spank her for a lead rope left lying on a fence! That child has been through Hell in the past week. I should not have walked into the barn to find her crying because you yelled at her and threatened to spank her. What is the matter with you today? Do I need to treat you like you're going to be nine instead of nineteen next week?"

"No sir. I'm sorry Pa. I don't know what got into me. It just made me mad to see the lead rope on the fence. Cat's been here enough to know better."

"You were born and raised here and knew better but your brothers and I were still picking up equipment you left lying around when you were ten. I don't seem to remember you getting too many spankings for doing it until you were twelve and I decided that you were just getting lazy, which you were."

"I didn't get many spankings from you, but Adam made up for it every chance he got."

"If I had known, I would have done something about it. However, that was years ago and has nothing to do with the way you treated your cousin just now. Do you have any idea what that little girl has been through in the last week? In case you've forgotten, she was standing next to her mother when she was killed. She has been blaming herself for her mother's death. How do you think your scolding and threat made her feel? You know that if your brothers see her, they're going to want to know why she was crying. What do you think they're going to do?"

"They're going to kill me. I'll go and apologize to Cat and hope she forgives me, but that won't keep Adam and Hoss from killing me."

"Your brothers are not going to kill you. You spoke without thinking, which everyone, including myself, is guilty of from time. Now, go, find Cat and apologize to her. I'll deal with your brothers if it becomes necessary."

Cat walked into the house and Adam and Hoss took one look at her tear stained face and wanted to know what had happened. She told them about Joe scolding her and threatening to spank her and they both got very upset. "Don't you worry about Little Joe," Hoss told her. "We're going to take care of our little brother for you and when we're done with him, he's going to be very sorry that he made you cry. Now, go, wash up and get ready to go and put those flowers on your mother's grave."

After finishing his conversation with his father, Joe walked into the house where he was immediately confronted by his brothers. Before he could tell them he was on his way to apologize to Cat, they had him backed up against a wall and started yelling at him. Ben walked in before the confrontation got physical, saw what was happening and yelled at his older sons. "Adam, Hoss, leave your brother alone! Joseph knows what he did was wrong. He is sorry for it and was on his way to apologize to Cat. He spoke without thinking, which the two of you have done many times. Now, if we're going to take Cat to put flowers on her mother's grave, you need to get your horses saddled. Before you do, ask the rest of the family if they are planning on coming with us so you can saddle enough horses."

Joe found Cat in the kitchen, picked her up and sat her on the table. Then he apologized and asked her to forgive him. By the time he finished, he had tears in his eyes. Cat hugged him and told him that she forgave him. As he had done many times when she was little, Joe carried Cat out of the kitchen on his back and outside to where everyone was waiting for them. He asked her where her flowers were and she told him. When he noticed they had roots on them, Joe got a small shovel and a canteen full of water so Cat could plant them. Fifteen minutes later, everyone arrived at the small cove of trees where Joe's mother and Cat's parents were buried. With Mark's help, Cat planted the flowers on her parents' graves and watered them. When she was finished, she told the family "I'm going to find who killed my mamma and when I do, I'm going to kill them too."

"No Cat, you are not going to kill the person who killed your mother," said Ben gently. "That would be just as wrong as what they did to your mother. She would not want you to kill someone, even if they were the person who killed her. Your mother would want you to forgive that person the way the Bible teaches us to do."

"Are you sure Uncle Ben?"

Before Ben could answer, Victoria said, "Yes Sweetheart. Your mother would want you to forgive the person who killed her. It won't be easy, but you are a lot like her and I know that when the time comes, you will be able to forgive that person."

"Ok. I'll try."

"That's my girl," said Ben. "Now, let's head back to the house. You and Mark want to go fishing, the ladies want to go shopping and everyone else has work or errands to do." When they got back to the house, Cat went inside to get food from Hop Sing and Adam told Mark where to find the fishing poles and cans for worms. A few minutes later, Cat walked out of the house with a sack full of food. "Remember, you need to be back here before supper and if you catch a lot of fish, you need to help Hop Sing clean them," Ben said as the children mounted their horses.

"Don't worry, we will," both children said at the same time and rode off toward Lake Tahoe.

Once Cat and Mark were out of sight, everyone else prepared to go to town. The ladies decided to take the buggy and President Grant wondered if his Army escort should go also. "I don't think there's any need for them to go Sam," said Ben. "After all, you've got nine grown men and eighteen year old Joseph to protect you, not that you'll be in any danger. Do you really want to force your escort to stand around doing nothing while you shop for Cat's birthday present? If you're that concerned, I'll even put a few rifles in the buggy. I know for a fact that both Victoria and Kitty are excellent shots." Grant agreed to the two extra rifles in the buggy, so Ben asked Hoss to please go into the house and bring two out. Once they were under the front seat of the buggy, everyone left for town.

When they arrived in Virginia City, people were surprised to see the President, two famous generals and their wives with the Cartwrights. General Sherman went to send the President's telegrams while everyone else started shopping. By the time they were finished, the bill totaled almost one hundred dollars. "I thought we were only going to spend fifty dollars on Cat's birthday presents," said Joe. "That's all the money I brought with me."

"Don't worry Joe," said Adam. "We'll put in the rest and you don't need to pay us back. It's our fault that we got carried away with our shopping. I don't particularly enjoy shopping, but shopping for Cat is fun. I just don't know how we're going to get everything home today. There isn't enough room in the buggy."

Just then Mr. McLeod, the store owner spoke up. "Why don't you put everything in my wagon? James has been looking for an excuse to go for a long ride and this will give him that opportunity. I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. How is your niece holding up?"

"Thank you George. That is very kind of you. We gladly accept your offer," said Ben. "Thank you for your sympathy. Catherine is doing the best she can for an eight year old. We're doing the best we can to keep her distracted so she doesn't think about it too much. Right now, she's out fishing with her cousin so we can shop for her birthday gifts."

"When is her birthday?"

"It's on Tuesday and she's going to be nine."

"Well, from what I can see here, she's going to have a very nice birthday celebration. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to let me know. She's an adorable child and we always enjoy seeing her when she visits you. Where is she going to live now that both of her parents are dead?"

"She's going to live on the Ponderosa and I'm going to adopt her."

"That's wonderful Ben. I know that she'll be very happy with you and the boys. Let me get James so you can get all of her birthday gifts home before she and her cousin return from fishing." Mr. McLeod called his son who gladly hitched up their wagon, helped the family load Cat's birthday gifts into it and drove it to the Ponderosa.

While everyone was in town shopping, Cat and Mark were having a good time fishing. After fishing for several hours, they decided to go swimming in the lake. After talking it over, they decided that they wouldn't go very deep because there were no adults around to pull them out if they ran into trouble. They swam and splashed water on each other for almost an hour. Although the day was warm, Mark built a fire to help dry them faster. Once the fire was built, they ate the food Hop Sing sent with them. When their clothes were dry and the food was eaten, they put the fire out and counted their fish. "We'd better catch more fish," said Cat. "I don't know if we even have enough to feed Hoss. He eats more than anyone I've ever met." Mark laughed and the two children went back to fishing.

After several hours, Mark said, "It's getting late Cat. We'd better go back to the house. We caught a lot of fish and have to help Hop Sing clean them so he can cook them for supper. It took us almost forty five minutes to get here and it's going to take us a long time to clean all of these fish, even with Hop Sing helping us." Cat agreed and they picked up their things and made sure their fire was completely out before starting back to the house.

By the time Cat and Mark got back to the house, everyone had returned from the shopping trip and her gifts had been hidden. They put their horses and fishing poles away before carrying all the fish into the kitchen. Hop Sing was impressed by all the fish they caught, told them to carry them out into the yard, picked up three knives and joined them in the yard. It took almost an hour, but eventually all of the fish were cleaned and ready to be cooked. Before going back into the house Hop Sing asked the children to pick some vegetables from the garden and to set the table. Both Cat and Mark gladly did as he asked.

At supper, everyone was surprised at the amount of fish Cat and Mark had caught. All of the adults praised the pair for their catch and made plans for the following day. The Grants, Sheridans and Shermans said that they would like to see more of the ranch. Jarrod said he had some legal work to do while Nick and Heath said they wanted to look at cattle and horses. Hoss volunteered to take his cousins to look at the cattle and horses, so it was decided that everyone except Jarrod, Nick, Heath and Hoss would go riding after breakfast. Hop Sing offered to pack a picnic dinner so they wouldn't have to rush back to the house in time to eat. When supper was over, the ladies surprised everyone when they announced that since Mark and Cat had caught the fish, picked the vegetables and set the table, while Hop Sing had helped clean the fish and made a wonderful supper, they would clear the table and wash the dishes.

The next day, while everyone was out, Jarrod got the adoption papers written up to take to the judge. Since not many of Ben's guests had spent much time on the Ponderosa, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ride and picnic dinner Hop Sing had prepared for them. They got back to the house about two hours before supper, so Cat and Mark offered to help Joe with his chores and fill the wood boxes for him. Jarrod showed the adoption papers to Ben who said they could take them to the judge in the morning.

They took the papers to town the next morning. The judge was busy with other paperwork but looked them over quickly and said, "These seem to be in order. Tell you what Ben, I'll read them over thoroughly and sign them this weekend. This is Friday, so I'll bring them to church and give them to you on Sunday. Does your niece know that you're going to adopt her?"

"No, I thought I'd surprise her for her birthday on Tuesday."

"Well then, I'd say that she's going to have a very nice birthday and be given a very big surprise."

"Thank you Judge. I really appreciate you doing this on the weekend."

"You're welcome Ben. It's my pleasure. Your niece is a sweet child. Yes, I know she can be wild, but she's still a sweet child who has been through more than a child that young should be. This will help to make up for it. You've done a find job raising your sons and I know you will do just as well with Catherine. It will be interesting to see how that little girl turns out after all she's been through in her life."

Ben and Jarrod left the judge's office. When they returned to the Ponderosa, Mark and Cat were out riding, so they were able to tell everyone else the news without spoiling Cat's birthday surprise.

Everyone attended church services on Sunday morning. Cat, Mark, Laura and Mary were allowed to sit together and did not disappoint the adults who had trusted them to behave properly. When the services were over, the judge walked up to Ben, handed him the papers and quietly said, "Please tell me what her reaction is when she finds out that she's going to have a father and brothers to look after her."

"I will Judge. I still can't thank you enough for taking time to read and sign the papers on the weekend."

"It was my pleasure Ben. Now go and enjoy spending time with your visitors. I know that you rarely get to see them, so enjoy their company while you have it."

Ben joined the rest of the family and everyone went back to the Ponderosa where Hop Sing had dinner waiting for them. After dinner, Cat and Mark walked up to Lucas and asked if he could teach them how to milk the cow.

"Why do you want to learn how to milk the cow?" he asked.

"Because Little Joe's birthday is on Tuesday," replied Cat. "We don't have money to buy a present for him, so we thought we'd do his chores. We know how to fill the wood boxes and gather eggs. We can brush Cochise and make him shine so Joe can see himself in his coat, but we don't know how to milk a cow. I was going to ask Uncle Ben, Adam or Hoss, but they might accidentally tell Little Joe and spoil our surprise."

"I'll tell you what. Milking a cow is something that takes more than a day to learn to do properly, so I'll get up early with you on Tuesday and milk the cow. The two of you can carry the full pail into the kitchen. Now, I believe everyone is waiting for us so we can all go riding, so I suggest we join them outside before they wonder what we're doing." Cat and Mark hugged him and the three of them went to join the others for a ride.


	15. Chapter 15

At breakfast the next morning, Adam told Cat she had to finish her exams. Everybody laughed when she made a face that looked like she had just bitten into something sour. "It's not that bad Cat," said Adam. "All you have left are your Grammar and History exams. You've got to get them done before Uncle Matt and Kitty go back to Dodge."

"Adam is right Cat," said Matt. "I have to take your exams back to Dodge and give them to Miss Jackson so you can get your grades. Your new teacher will want to know what you need help with."

"I wish Dodge wasn't so far away. Then Miss Jackson could still be my teacher. Anyway, I don't have to go to school anymore because I'm going to be living here and I only had to go to school so I could spend my vacations here."

Once again, everyone had a good laugh at Cat's expense.

"No Cat, you still need to go to school," said Matt. "In fact, if you skip school, you won't be allowed to spend your summers in Dodge."

"That's not fair. I don't like school. It's boring and I don't want to go. I only went because Uncle Ben said I couldn't come here on my vacations if I didn't. I'm going to be living here now, so I shouldn't have to go to school any more."

"That's not the way it works Cat," said Lucas. "Mark is only a few months older than you and he has to go to school. Everyone here had to go to school when they were young. Little Joe just graduated a few weeks ago. You are supposed to come and spend a week with me in the summer after you spend time with the Apaches. If you skip school, you will not be allowed to come and visit me and that will make me very sad because I want you to come and visit. So does Mark."

Ben was about to tell her that if she wasn't allowed to go to Dodge, her summer would be spent doing extra chores and school work when his sister put her hand on his arm. "Let them handle it," she whispered. Ben nodded and listened to the conversation.

"It's not that bad Cat," said Joe. "You already have two friends in school. I'll go with you on the first day and introduce you to some friends of mine who are still in school. They'll look after you and keep some of the other boys from teasing you about wearing your buckskins. That way you won't get in trouble for fighting."

Cat could see that she wasn't going to win the argument so she said, "I'll go to school but I won't like it."

"You don't have to like it Sweetheart," said Ben. "But you do have to go every day unless you're sick. Now, if you get your last two exams done right after breakfast, you and Mark will have the rest of the day to do whatever you want. You can even take two extra horses over to the Ingalls' house and see if Laura and Mary want to go for a ride."

"I'll even let you pick which one you want to do first," said Adam.

"I'll do Grammar first. I don't do real good in it, so I may as well get that one finished first."

"Very well," said everyone else.

"You don't do very well on it," said Adam. "It looks like we're going to have to work extra hard on Arithmetic and Grammar when school starts again."

Once breakfast was finished, Cat and Mark helped Hop Sing clear the table and then Cat did her exams. She got five questions wrong on the Grammar exam but got all of them right on the History exam. Then she and Mark saddled four horses and rode over to the Ingalls' farm. Cat knocked on the door and asked if her friends could go for a ride. Laura was out the door as soon as her father gave his permission. Mary hesitated and, with encouragement from her father and a promise from Mark, Cat, and Laura that they wouldn't go very fast, decided to join the others. They had a lot of fun, enjoyed the picnic Hop Sing prepared for them and, since Mary didn't want to get her dress wet from swimming, went wading in Lake Tahoe. When they returned to the Ponderosa, Cat and Mark helped Joe with his chores and helped Hop Sing set the table for supper.

Once Cat and Mark were in bed, the family discussed the following day's birthday celebration for Cat. It was decided to hold it after supper and the ladies offered to help Hop Sing make the cake.

The next morning, Cat and Mark woke up extra early to do Joe's chores as his birthday gift. They filled the wood boxes, gathered the eggs and brushed Cochise until they could see their reflections in his coat. Just as they finished, Lucas came out to the barn to milk the cow for them and even carried the pail of milk into the kitchen. Then he told them, "Ok you two, back to bed before Joe catches you and ruins your surprise."

When Joe woke up and came downstairs, he was surprised to see that nobody else was awake but all of his chores had been done. The wood boxes were full. The eggs and milk were on the table in the kitchen and Cochise had been brushed so much that he almost glowed in the dark. Since it was still more than an hour until breakfast, he decided to go back to bed. At breakfast he told his father, "Something very strange happened this morning. When I woke up to do my chores, everyone was still in bed but all of my chores had been done. Cochise had even been brushed so much I could see myself in his coat."

Cat and Mark listened to him and finally broke out in laughter. "Happy Birthday Little Joe," they said together.

"We did your chores and Uncle Luke milked the cow for us," said Cat. We wanted to get you something for your birthday but didn't have any money, so we decided to do your chores."

"We're going to do them tonight too," said Mark.

Joe was so moved, there were tears in his eyes. He got up from the table, hugged both Cat and Mark and thanked them profusely.

Because it was Cat's birthday too, Hop Sing made her favorite breakfast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and toast. She and Mark had juice and milk to drink while everyone else had coffee. Cat decided to take advantage of her birthday and ask if she could try some coffee. Ben was about to say no when, to everyone's surprise, Matt gave her his cup. She took one sip, made a funny face and said, "EWWWWWW YUCK! That tastes awful. I'm never, ever going to drink coffee, even when I'm a grown up." Everybody, including Mark laughed at Cat's expression and comments.

After breakfast, everyone went out to the pasture to see how well Fury was doing with his adopted mother. Since he was only about a week old, they were all surprised when he left Lady and ran up to Cat begging to be petted. Even Nick admired how well Cat had been taking care of him and how shiny his coat was. They all laughed when Cat started to walk around the pasture and Fury followed her like a little dog. "I can tell now that those two are going to be very good friends," said Heath. "I've never seen a one week old colt take to a human like he's taken to Cat. Are you sure she isn't sneaking him into her bedroom after everyone goes to bed?"

Ben laughed at Heath's question. "No Heath, she isn't sneaking him into her room. I've been getting up in the middle of the night to check on her and Fury isn't in her room. Maybe it was that first night when she slept in the barn with her arms wrapped around him. I don't know what would cause a colt that's barely a week old to leave his mother and follow a human child around. It is obvious that the two of them love each other and are going to be great friends as they grow up."

Mark had told Cat not to expect her birthday celebration to be much more than a special meal and dessert because adults don't have celebrations right after funerals. He said it was something about not being disrespectful to the dead person but that didn't make sense to either him or Cat. The way they saw it, once someone was dead, you couldn't be either respectful or disrespectful to them, but adults were funny that way. Cat was disappointed because this was the only birthday she would be celebrating with the whole family and not just Uncle Matt. So, she was very surprised after supper when Aunt Victoria and Audra carried a very large birthday cake out of the kitchen and everybody sang 'Happy Birthday' to her and Joe. Her eyes got as big as saucers when she was led into the living room and saw all of the presents. "Are all those for me?" she asked, not believing her eyes.

"Yes Cat," said Joe. "Those are all for you. Pick one and open it."

Once Cat had opened most of her gifts, Ben whispered to Adam and asked him to ask Hop Sing to join the family. He knew how much Hop Sing loved Cat and wanted him there with the family when he gave Cat the envelope containing the adoption decree.

When Cat finished opening her gifts, she had been given clothes, some dolls, a colorful saddle blanket, a fancy saddle, bridle and halter for Fury when he grows up, a pretty blanket to cover him with when it got cold outside, a new fishing pole, and some books. After she had thanked, hugged and kissed all of the adults, Ben told her that he had one more present for her. He handed her an envelope and told her to open it and read what was inside. Cat opened the envelope, took the paper out and read it. There were a bunch of legal words that she didn't understand, but read aloud the words she did. "Adoption Decree. Benjamin Cartwright of The Ponderosa Ranch, Virginia City, Nevada is hereby given full legal custody of his niece, Catherine Michael Cartwright in the form of adoption." It was signed by the judge and dated June tenth, eighteen hundred sixty nine.

Cat stood there, reading the paper over and over again, not completely believing what she was reading. Finally, she took the paper over to Mark and asked him to read it. "Is this really saying what I think it says?"

Mark read the paper, hugged Cat and said, "Yes Cat. It does. You're going to have a real family. Uncle Ben is going to be your Pa and Adam, Hoss and Little Joe are going to be your brothers."

There were tears in Cat's eyes when she asked, "Really Uncle Ben?"

"Really Cat. You're going to be my little girl now."

Cat ran over and hugged Ben around his neck. Then she ran over and hugged Hop Sing, who picked her up and hugged her back. "Hop Sing vely glad Missy Cat going to live here now and be part of family. Mr. Ben should have adopted Missy Cat long time ago! She too skinny. Now I cook extra food and she get big like Mr. Hoss."

Everybody laughed at that last statement. "Hop Sing, I don't want to get as big as Hoss. I'm a little girl, not a big man."

"Missy Cat no eat enough. Hop Sing bring out rest of cake and everybody eat some. Missy Cat get vely big piece." With that, he walked back to the kitchen and brought out the leftover cake, coffee for the adults and milk for Cat and Mark.

After everybody ate more cake, Cat said, "I want to show Fury his new blankets."

"It's dark outside and it's almost bed time Cat, Why don't you wait until morning?" asked Matt.

"But I want to show them to him now."

"I know, but right now, it's time for you to go to bed. Fury will be able to see his new blankets better when it's light outside. Now go up to bed and I'll be up shortly to say goodnight."

Even though it was her birthday, Matt's tone warned Cat not to argue any more, so she went up to bed. A few minutes later, he went upstairs to say goodnight. When Matt came back downstairs, Ben went upstairs, read to her for a while, then kissed and hugged her, tucked her in and blew out the lamp.

When Ben came back downstairs and everyone was sitting around the table, Matt said, "Now that Cat is going to be living here, there are some important things you need to know. First of all, she will not lie to you. I broke her of that when she was five. If she says she did something, she did it. If she says she did not do something, she did not do it. If you accuse her of lying, you will lose her respect and may never get it back.

Second, Cat is very independent. Because I was not always able to be there for her, she has had to depend on herself a lot. She is very good with her bow and arrows. She isn't big enough to kill a deer yet, but she will kill, clean, cook and eat small game. The Apaches taught her how to build a fire and she knows how to ensure it stays contained and make sure it is out. Third, part of her being independent means that she is allowed to go hunting or fishing as long as her school work is done and I know where she is at. If I am not in town, she can tell Kitty, Quint, Doc or Festus where she is going. If they are not available, she is allowed to leave a note for me. If I am not expected back soon, she is allowed to leave a note for Quint or Doc. Since Kitty is often busy in the Long Branch and Cat isn't allowed in there when it's open, she can give a note to a cowboy and ask him to give it to Kitty."

Adam scowled. He didn't think that nine year olds should be able to go anywhere without asking an adult first and Cat was not going to get away with just leaving a note when he was in charge.

"If you want Cat to do something, tell her what you want her to do and trust her to do it. Do not expect her to do everything perfectly every time. Give her credit for trying her best. Remember, she is only nine years old and isn't used to being part of a family. Also, don't forget, she hasn't grown up on a ranch and will not know everything that is expected of her. If she does something wrong, and she will, do not yell at her. Explain what she did wrong, show her how to do it right and give her a chance to do it again. Help her if she needs help. Even if she disobeys, do not yell at her and do not punish her the first time. Explain what she did wrong and why is was wrong. Then tell her what the punishment will be the next time she does it. If she does it again, follow through with the promised punishment and explain what will happen the next time. Spanking should be used as a last resort when nothing else has worked. The Apaches have taught Cat how to deal with pain so physical punishment won't be effective if it's used all the time. She hates being confined, so keeping her restricted to the house or yard and not letting her go riding are very effective. Making her stand in the corner is also very effective. Above all, make sure she knows exactly why she's being punished and that her offense doesn't affect your love for her."

Ben wasn't used to being told how to raise his children and frowned but didn't say anything.

"Adam, I watched you boss Joe around several times when he was Cat's age. She isn't used to being bossed around like that. If you start bossing her around, she will rebel and that will cause problems. She might even run off and you will have a very hard time finding her, if you ever do. She is very good at not being found if she doesn't want to be. Also, if she runs off, she may try and find her way back to Dodge or Arizona, which is a very dangerous thing for a young child, especially a girl, to do. Do not tell her she cannot spend the summer in Dodge for any reason except skipping school. That will make her very angry and she will attempt to reach Dodge on her own. Riding from Dodge to the Tanners on her own was dangerous enough when she was five. Riding from Virginia City to Dodge can be dangerous for a grown man. It could be deadly for a nine year old girl."

Adam decided he was going to treat his new sister the same way he treated his brothers and didn't need any advice from anyone. If Cat tried to run off, she would get a spanking just as Hoss and Joe had.

"Doc said to tell all of you to expect mood swings for quite a while. We have been keeping her busy for the last two weeks, but that is about to change. She was standing right next to her mother when she was killed and despite being told otherwise many times, blames herself. We just buried her mother last week and she is still trying to adjust to the fact that she found her mother, only to lose her forever. When she starts feeling sad and blaming herself for her mother's death, try and reassure her that it was not her fault. In the last two weeks, Kitty and I have both told her that it was not her fault. Cat was only eight, so we did not tell her the whole reason her mother stayed in Dodge. She is much too young to have to deal with something like that. We told her that her mother stayed in Dodge to divorce her husband because he was not a nice person and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. I will leave it to you to decide when she's old enough to understand the truth, but I think you should wait until she's at least twelve."

"Please pay attention to what Matt just said," Rip added. "The last thing either of us needs is a telegram telling us that our brother's daughter has disappeared. We agreed to the adoption because you can give Catherine what we can't, a home and a family. Matt and I are both going to give her money so she can send us a telegram if things here get too bad and one of us will come and get her. We both pray that she won't need to send a telegram because we want her to be happy. Do not take that money away from her. We debated whether or not to tell you about the money but we were afraid that if you found it, you would accuse her of stealing it and punish her, which would cause her to run away. She has learned many things from Matt since Kate left her with him, and from the Apaches, among which is a very good sense of right and wrong. She also learned how to fight. Our little Wild Cat has a very quick temper and, as Matt can attest, it gets the best of her a lot."

Everyone chuckled at Rip's last comment. "Rip is right," said Matt. "Cat doesn't mind getting into fights and wears every black eye like it's a badge of honor. If one of the boys at school pulls one of her braids, she will hit him. She knows I don't approve of her fighting, but I do not want you to punish her for defending herself. And yes Adam, I consider hitting someone who's pulling your hair, to be self defense," he said at Adam's frown. "When she turned eight, Cat started defending some of the youngest children who were being bullied by the same boy who used to bully her. He settled down some when his father was sent to prison and his uncle started raising him, but once Cat got big enough to defend herself and others, he stopped picking on her and the little ones so much. I also do not want you punishing for defending someone who cannot defend themselves. In fact, I'm thinking that we need to go to town tomorrow so I can have a talk with her teacher. I don't want her punished by the teacher for defending herself or someone who cannot defend themselves."

"Why don't you wait until the day after tomorrow to talk with Cat's teacher?" asked Ben. "You'll already be in town to get the stage, so there's no sense in making an extra trip."

"Don't try and get her to wear a dress all the time," said Kitty. "I have a hard enough time getting her into a dress for church on Sundays and had to do some fast talking to get her into a dress for the funeral."

"She's a girl and she's going to start dressing like a girl," said Ben.

"No Ben, let her wear her buckskins," said Matt. "If you push too hard on what she wears, you'll lose her. I almost did when she came back from being with the Apaches when she was four. She spent almost a year living with them and wearing buckskins. When I tried getting her to wear dresses all the time, she got on her pony and started trying to go back to Arizona. If Quint hadn't seen and stopped her, I don't know how far she would have gotten or what would have happened to her."

"I'm sure that when she gets older and the boys start getting interested in her, she'll start wearing dresses more," said Kitty. "In the mean time, let her wear her buckskins. Before Matt and I go back to Dodge, I'll make her promise me that she'll wear a dress to church. She tries very hard not to break her promises. When you start taking her to dances, if you talk to her calmly beforehand, she might wear a dress to the dance."

"They're right Ben," said Roy. "From what I've seen of Cat over the years, you're going to have your hands full. You're going to need to pick your battles and her clothes are a little one that can be avoided. Let Kitty convince her to wear a dress for church and when she's old enough to start going to the monthly dances in town, maybe I can convince her to wear one."

"Alright, she can wear her buckskins except for church," said Ben.

"In case you haven't already noticed, there is one more thing you need to be aware of," said Matt. "Cat is very good with horses. Quint says she has quite a way with them and can calm a nervous one just by talking to it. He says that she'll make a great blacksmith when she grows up."

Everyone had a good laugh at that last remark. "I don't want my daughter growing up to be a blacksmith," laughed Ben. "I don't even want her wearing buckskins. I always envisioned having a daughter running around in pretty dresses, not buckskins. I don't know why Rip and Matt let her escape from the fort when she was four," he teased. "Now, do I send her to Arizona for her two weeks with the Apaches and does she go to Lucas' ranch this year or not?

"Yes," said everyone together.

"When they brought her back, I promised the Apaches that Cat could spend two weeks with them every summer," said Rip. "That promise has been kept and I see no reason to keep her from going there again this year. They may also be able to help her deal with her grief and the guilt she's been feeling. If Lucas is willing to take her for a week this year, I see no reason why she shouldn't go there also. Mark seems to have a calming influence on her."

"I'd love to have her for a week this year," said Lucas. "I know that Mark will be thrilled. It will also give her the opportunity to see how a family functions without being overwhelmed with three older brothers."

"Ok. That's settled," said Ben. "But when do I send her?"

"We're leaving for Arizona the day after tomorrow," said Grant. "Why don't we take her with us?"

"That soon?" asked Ben. "I had hoped to have her with me for a few weeks before sending her off to Arizona."

"I think it will be better this way Ben," said Lucas. "This will give Cat more time to adjust to what happened to her mother and the fact that she's going to be living here now with three older brothers to order her around. It will also give you and the boys time to adjust to the fact that you're about to have a very independent nine year old girl living here all the time. It will also allow you time to come up with rules for her to follow, how you're going to tell her about those rules, and what the consequences will be for breaking them. As Matt said, exhaust all other avenues before resorting to physical punishment. Mark is only a few months older than Cat and I have never laid a hand on him. Cat is a very intelligent child. Give her time to adjust to living here and having new rules to follow before you start punishing her for breaking rules. In the beginning, try and use broken rules as teaching opportunities. For example, if one of your rules is that she has to come straight home from school and she doesn't, explain why it's important for her to come straight home. She's wild, but she's a sweet child with a big heart but it's going to take her time to adjust to being here instead of in Dodge with Matt. Remember, she is grieving the loss of the mother she just found. Give her the chance she needs to adjust."

"That will also give us a chance to talk to her about what being part of a family is all about," said Julia Grant. "I know that she's been helping Little Joe with his chores but that's because she's only been here on school vacations and thinks helping her older cousin is fun. We can talk to her about how family members all have to help each other every day, not just on school holidays and that everyone has things they have to do to help the other family members."

"It's getting late and I need to get back to town before the good citizens of Virginia City decide I've deserted them for the Ponderosa and elect someone else to do my job," said Roy. "It was a pleasure meeting all of Cat's extended family and I hope I get to see all of you again sometime."

"Why don't you come out here for supper tomorrow night?" asked Ben.

"Thank you for the invitation Ben. I never turn down an invitation to eat Hop Sing's cooking, especially when my favorite Cartwright is here. Now that she's going to be living her all the time, I may invite myself to supper every night. Goodnight everybody. I will see all of you around five tomorrow evening."

After saying goodnight to Roy, everybody else sat around the table for a little while longer, talking and giving Ben advice on how to deal with his new daughter. Knowing that Adam would also play a role in disciplining Cat, they all stressed that she needed time to adjust to her new life and that physical punishment should be used as a last resort when everything else had failed. Neither Ben or Adam were happy about being told how to discipline Cat but they realized that the others, especially Matt and Rip knew her much better than they did and over the years, had learned what worked and what didn't, so they agreed to what they had been told. They sat and talked for a while longer before going to bed.

At breakfast the next morning it was decided to spend one more day riding around the Ponderosa as everybody would be leaving the following day. Ben had convinced Matt to wait and talk to Cat's teacher before leaving the next day. Hop Sing packed a large picnic dinner, which was loaded into the buggy as soon as Adam hitched it up. Since Cat and Mark as well as her Godfathers wanted to go fishing, enough fishing poles for all of the men and the two children were also packed along with cans for worms and a shovel to dig them with. They also packed towels in case everyone wanted to go swimming.

While horses were being saddled and the buggy hitched and loaded, Cat decided to show Fury's new blankets to him. Nick watched, amused as his younger cousin showed the colt each blanket and put it on him, declaring how handsome he looked with his new "clothes" on. He trotted around the pasture with each blanket like he was showing off for the other foals. Heath had joined his brother at the pasture fence and both of them had a good laugh at the foal's antics. "You know Nick, I think that colt's going to be just as big a handful as our little cousin is."

"I think you're right Heath. Once he's old enough to ride, Ben's going to have his hands full trying to contain them both. Look at him, he's barely a week old and he acts like he owns the pasture."

"He's fast too. I've been watching him this past week and he's faster than all of the other foals in the pasture, including the ones who are older than him. Once Cat starts riding him, if she doesn't want to be caught, Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe aren't going to have an easy time keeping up with her. I also have a feeling that she's going to be the only one who will be able to ride him. Well, everybody's waiting for us, so I'd better get Cat so we can leave." Heath called Cat and told her everyone was ready to leave so she needed to put Fury's blankets away because everyone was ready to leave. She ran to the house, put the blankets with the rest of her birthday gifts and joined the rest of the family.

When they reached the lake, Nick proposed a fishing competition between the Barkleys and Cartwrights. "What are the stakes?" asked Adam.

"If you win, I'll give you a good mare to be Fury's mate when he grows up. If we win, you give us that bull I've been admiring."

"It's a deal," said Ben. "Cat, get your fishing pole and join the boys and me."

"I'm going to fish with Jarrod, Nick and Heath," she replied. "There's four of you and only three of them, so it will make it even if I fish with them."

"What are we going to do with all of the fish we catch?" asked Sheridan.

"We'll keep them and take them home for supper," said Ben. "However, with all of us fishing, we're going to have to help Hop Sing clean them or we won't be able to have them for supper."

By dinner time, both sides of the competition had caught the same amount of fish. During dinner, Ben told Cat that she would be leaving with her Godparents and Rip for Arizona the next day and when her two weeks were done, she would be spending a week with Lucas and Mark. When she worried about who would take care of Fury while she was gone, Adam, Hoss, and Joe all promised to take care of him for her. After dinner, Mark and Cat wanted to go swimming. Kitty decided to join them, so they walked up the shore away from the fishing competition where they splashed each other, swam, laughed and had a good time. When it was time to go back to the house and the fish were counted, the Barkleys had lost by only two fish.

"Well, you won, fair and square," laughed Nick. "We've got a real pretty filly that's only a few weeks older than Fury. She's all white and her name is Angel. I'll bring her out to you after she's weaned. I'd also like to bring a few heifers for that bull to service. I'd love to add his bloodlines to our stock."

When they got back to the house, Ben, Adam, Hoss, Joe, Nick, and Heath took care of the horses while the rest of the men, Cat and Mark started cleaning the fish for Hop Sing to cook. As there were a lot of fish to be cooked, the ladies offered to help Hop Sing prepare supper. They picked, washed, and cooked the vegetables and kneaded the bread dough. They also took the cooked fish and put them in the warmer and helped make a large chocolate cake for dessert. Audra helped Cat and Mark set the table. Roy arrived at five and everyone sat down to supper at six.

After supper, Adam played his guitar softly while everyone talked. Mark and Cat read books by the fireplace until it was time for bed. When Roy left, Ben walked out with his friend. "I'm not very happy at being told how to raise Catherine," Ben said. "I've raised three sons, I'm sure I can raise one girl without unsolicited advice."

"How much time have you spent with Cat since her mother left?" asked Roy. "Stop and think about it. She has only been coming here for school holidays since she was five. So, you've had her for about three months total a year for the last three years. That's a total of nine months time you've spent with her in the last eight years. On the other hand, Matt has raised her since she was only about eighteen months old. Except for those nine months, the year she was with the Apaches, and the times he had to be gone searching for outlaws, he has been with her every day since Kate left her with him. Matt is trying to make the transition easy for both you and Cat. She is very independent for a nine year old. If you and Adam start punishing her the way you punished Hoss and Joe when they were young, you will lose her. She may or may not send a telegram to Matt or Rip but I am quite certain she will get on a horse and ride toward Dodge or Arizona. Either way, you will never be allowed to have her here again. Remember, Matt and Rip are her father's brothers and that gives them the right to terminate the adoption. So, you have a choice to make. You can listen to what Matt had to say, or you can do it your way and risk losing her forever. If you do choose to listen to Matt, do not let Adam take that money away from Cat. I know he's planning to do it because he said that nine year old children do not need and should not have money. If Adam takes that money away from her, she will tell Matt and/or Rip and you and he will lose their trust as well as Cat's. Think about it long and hard Ben. Is your pride worth losing that little girl forever?"

"Thanks Roy. You're right as always. It is just my stupid pride getting in the way. I love that little girl and don't want to lose her. I'll take Matt's advice and raise her his way. And I'll tell Adam not to touch the money they gave her."

"I'm glad Ben. I know how much you love that little Wild Cat and I'd hate to see you lose her. Matt's advice will make things a little easier for you, but you're still going to have your hands full. You know from raising the boys that she's going to test the boundaries you set for her. In fact, since she is so independent, she may push against them harder than the boys did and may even try to find ways to go around them. Just remember, she was raised in a totally different environment than the boys and will look at everything from a different point of view. It's late and I've got to get going. I'll see everyone in town tomorrow before they leave. Oh yes, I just thought of one more thing. When she comes home again, you had better take Cat out and introduce her to the tribe of Shoshones who live on the Ponderosa. You'll never hear the end of it if you don't and she finds them on her own, which she eventually will."

"Good night Roy. Thanks for coming out here for supper. You know that you have an open invitation. I'll see you tomorrow, and I will take your and Matt's advice on how to raise Cat."


	16. Chapter 16

Ben walked back into the house and joined the rest of the family. They talked for a little while longer and because everyone was leaving the next day, they all decided to go to bed. Adam walked upstairs with his father and as they passed Cat's bedroom, he said, "I'm going to take that money away from her tonight while she's sleeping. A nine year old is much too young to have any money. I'm sure that she'll just spend it on candy the first chance she gets. There's no reason for her to have it anyway. She's going to be staying here and won't need to send any telegrams to anybody."

"No son. Do not take that money away from Cat. If you do, she may never trust you again and it is very important that she trust you. I don't think that Matt and Rip would have given her that money if they thought she would just spend it on candy."

"Alright Pa. I won't touch the money, but I still think a nine year old is too irresponsible to have any money."

"Adam, I know you take your role of older brother very seriously and I'm glad you do, but don't forget, Catherine has been raised much differently than you and your brothers were. She became independent out of necessity and is going to need time to adjust to being here. Matt's job takes him away from Dodge for days and sometimes weeks on end. Cat was left alone a lot and had to learn to do things for herself. As Roy pointed out, we have had her here only about nine months out of the last eight years and that was just for a few weeks at a time.

Until Cat is firmly settled in here and used to the way we do things, let me make the parenting decisions. If you're in charge and think she needs to be spanked, let me know when I return and I will deal with it. She's a very intelligent girl and I don't think it will take much more than a month for her to settle in.

Also, I hadn't thought about it until now, but Matt is right when he says keeping her from doing something she wants to do is very effective punishment. Do you remember the look on her face when she was five and you boys told her she couldn't come here for school holidays if she skipped school? Matt spanked her every time she skipped school but that didn't stop her. However, being told she couldn't come here for holidays did. She got the same look on her face when Matt told her that if she skipped school, she wouldn't be allowed to spend her summers in Dodge. So I think at first, until Cat gets used to her new rules, we'll follow Matt's advice on how to discipline her. Besides that, you boys weren't spanked the first time you broke a rule, so there's no reason Cat should be. I think that being friends with the Ingalls girls is going to be good for her. Laura is a little wild but Mary is calmer and will be a good influence on our little Wild Cat. Unless she is being punished, if she wants to go over there, let her. Just tell her what time to be home. I think she'll do her best to come home on time."

"You may be right Pa. I do remember the look on her face when we told her she couldn't come here if she skipped school. She was devastated when we told her that but we never got another letter from Matt saying that she had been skipping school."

Cat wasn't asleep and heard Adam tell Ben that he was going to take her money away from her just because she was only nine. She wasn't about to let that happen, so she got out of bed, took the money out of the dresser drawer she had put it in, and put it underneath her mattress. She decided that she wouldn't say anything at breakfast, but if Adam was going to treat her like a baby, she was going to embarrass him in front of everybody when they were in town the next day.

Cat and Mark woke up early and went out to do Joe's chores. While they were picking up wood, Cat said, "You aren't going to believe what I heard Adam say last night."

"What did he say?"

"Do you remember that money Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip gave me in case I need to send them a telegram?"

"Yes."

"Adam told Uncle Ben that he was going to take it away from me because he thinks I'm still a baby and shouldn't have any money."

"That's awful. What are you going to do?"

"I took the money out of the dresser drawer and put it under my mattress so Adam couldn't get it last night. I've got it in my pocket right now. When we all go to town after dinner, I'm going to show Adam that I'm not a baby and I'm going to embarrass him in front of everyone."

"How are you going to do that?"

"When Sheriff Roy comes to say goodbye to everybody, I'm going to give him the money and ask him to keep it for me because Adam said I'm a baby and shouldn't have it."

"You're right. That will embarrass him because I'm sure that Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip told him not to take the money away from you."

"Good! I hope it does. I'm not a baby and don't want to be treated like one. If Adam is going to treat me like a baby, I'm going to embarrass him as often as I can and maybe I'll just go back and live with Uncle Matt. He hasn't treated me like a baby since I was five."

"I hope it works. I agree, you're not a baby. You're only a few months younger than me and Pa hasn't treated me like a baby since I was five also."

"You're not going to tell your Pa what I'm planning to do, are you? Because he might spoil everything and tell Adam and Uncle Ben what I'm planning to do."

"No, I promise, I won't tell Pa. Adam needs to learn that you're not a baby and I don't want anyone to stop you from showing him you're not."

"Thanks Mark. I wish we lived closer so we could see each other more than just one or two weeks a year."

"Yeah, me too. It would be fun if we both went to the same school. It wouldn't be so boring then."

"I'm going to be spending a week with you and your Pa after I spend two weeks with my Apache family. Will you please teach me how to work with cows? I know that since Adam thinks I'm a baby, he won't show me. Hoss and Little Joe will probably do what Adam tells them to and Uncle Ben will say that I'm too young and that girls shouldn't be working with cows."

"That's silly. You're not too young and I don't think there's anything wrong with a girl working cows. Of course I'll show you. I'll try and talk Pa into showing you too. Maybe I can show you a little bit this morning if we're allowed to go riding."

"That's great. Thanks Mark. Let's finish filling the wood boxes and gather the eggs. Since you helped me pack last night, maybe we'll be able to go riding after breakfast. I'd like to say goodbye to Laura and Mary before we leave."

During breakfast, Cat asked if she and Mark could go riding one more time. "You're leaving this afternoon and need to pack," said Ben.

"I did that last night before bed. Mark helped me."

"Alright, since you are already packed, I don't see any reason why you and Mark can't go riding this morning. Just be sure and be back before dinner. Everyone is leaving after dinner and since Uncle Lucas, Mark and the Barkleys have to catch stage coaches we can't be late getting to town."

"Don't worry, we won't be late," said Mark. "I love Hop Sing's cooking as much as Cat does and don't want to miss even a bite since I won't have it again for a long time. Pa's a pretty good cook, but Hop Sing is a terrific cook. I wish I could take him home with us."

Everyone had a good laugh at Mark's comments. "I wish Mark could live here with me," said Cat. "It would be lots of fun. Uncle Luke, can Mark live here with me?"

"No Cat. I'm sorry but I would miss him way too much."

"You could live here too."

"What would I do with my ranch?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that. I guess you could always move it here."

Lucas laughed. "How would I do that Sweetheart?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure you can. Mark says you're one of the smartest people he knows, so you could do it if you wanted to."

"It would take a lot of work to move an entire ranch from one state to another and I don't know if I could do it. Anyway, you are going to be spending a week with Mark and I every summer, so you and he will get to spend some time together."

"Cat, why don't you and Mark take some extra horses with you and see if Laura and Mary would like to go for one more ride with Mark?" asked Ben.

"That's a great idea," said Cat and Mark together.

"We won't have time to go swimming, but maybe they would like to go wading again," said Mark.

"That would be fun," said Cat. "We don't have a lot of time, so we should leave."

"Yes, but almost everybody is still eating and we have to clear the table," said Mark.

"Don't worry about clearing the table," said Julia Grant. "You children go and have fun with your friends. We'll clear the table for you."

Cat and Mark both gave her a hug and ran out the door to the barn and quickly saddled four horses. Once they were away from the house, Mark asked, "Are you going to tell Laura and Mary about your plan?"

"No. I'm afraid that they'll tell their parents and that Mr. Ingalls will ride over to the house and tell Uncle Ben what I'm going to do. Adam needs to learn that I'm not a baby any more. I even have some jobs that I do in Dodge."

"What do you do?"

"I run telegrams for Mr. Brown. When he has a telegram that has to go to one of the farms or ranches outside of town, Mr. Brown pays me ten cents to ride out to the farm or ranch with it. Sometimes Mr. Quint gets a horse in that doesn't want to have new shoes put on. Since horses like me and usually settle down when I talk to them, he pays me twenty five cents for every horse I help him with. And Mr. Michaels likes to have fresh fish for the hotel restaurant so he pays ten cents each for big fish and five cents each for smaller ones. Of course I'm not the only one who catches fish and runs telegrams but at least I am earning some money."

"Wow, that's great. What are you doing with all of your money?"

"Miss Kitty is holding it for me. I want to buy Uncle Matt a nice birthday gift, so I'm saving it."

"What are you going to buy him?"

"I heard him tell Miss Kitty that he needs a new winter coat. She helped me pick out a nice one but it costs twenty five dollars and I've only got fifteen dollars saved. I'm not going to be in Dodge this summer, so I don't know how I'm going to earn the other ten dollars I need."

"Oh wow. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I guess I could ask Miss Kitty to loan me the money and I'll pay her back next summer when I'm in Dodge. The Ponderosa is pretty far from town and right now, Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe all think I'm still a baby, so I probably won't be allowed to get a job."

"How are you going to show them that you're not a baby?"

"I don't know. I hope that giving the money my uncles gave me, to Sheriff Roy will help. I don't know what else to do, but I've got to show them I'm not a baby. Maybe training Fury by myself will help."

"I'll ask Pa when we're on the stage going home. He's really smart and might know what else you can do."

"Thank you Mark. Even though we live far apart, you have always been my brother and I knew I could count on you for help."

"I just thought of something. Now that you're going to be living on the Ponderosa, we'll be closer together. Virginia City is closer to North Fork than Dodge is, so our letters won't take so long to get to each other."

"That's great. I just hope that Adam isn't going to want to read my letters. I'm pretty sure that Uncle Ben, Hoss, and Joe won't, but I'm not sure about Adam. I think he's nosy and will want to know everything I do even if it's none of his business. Since he thinks I'm still a baby, he may try and take my bow and arrows away from me. I'll have to try and figure out where to hide them when I'm in school."

"I don't think it will be that bad. Remember, if he does try and read your letters to me or take your bow and arrows away, you can always tell Uncle Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe. I think they'll stop him. Remember, Hoss is big and I don't think that Adam will argue with him."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm sure I am. It may be a little rough at first but it will get better. Don't forget, they're not used to having you around all the time and don't know everything you can do. Also, you are going to have to get used to the way they do things. I talked to Pa when he came to bed last night and he said that he'd help me show you how to work with cattle. That way, when you come back, you can show them everything you know how to do and maybe they won't treat you like a baby so much."

"We're here. I hope that Laura and Mary can come riding for a little while." Cat and Mark got off their horses and knocked on the Ingalls' door. Mrs. Ingalls opened the door and invited the two children into the house.

"Can Laura and Mary please come riding for a little while?" Cat asked. "Mark is leaving today and I am going to be gone for about four weeks. We would like to spend a little bit of time with them before we have to leave."

"Of course they can go riding with you and Mark," said Caroline. "I know that you won't have time to go swimming but the girls can go wading in the lake with you. They're up in the loft playing. Let me get them for you." She walked to the bottom of the ladder leading up to the loft that served as the girls' bedroom and called them. They came down the ladder and greeted their friends.

They were sad when they were told that Mark was leaving to go home that day and that Cat would also be gone for several weeks but said that they'd love to go riding and spend some time wading in the lake.

"I'll have dinner ready by the time you come back. Catherine, why don't you and Mark stay for dinner?" asked Caroline.

"We'd love to Mrs. Ingalls," replied Cat. "But I don't know what time we're leaving this afternoon and we were told to be home before dinner."

"Well, you children go and have fun. I'll try and see if I can get permission for you to have dinner here."

"That's very nice of you Mrs. Ingalls," said Mark. "Thank you very much." The four children rode off to spend the morning playing and wading in Lake Tahoe.

While Cat and Mark were playing with Laura and Mary, Matt was talking to Ben and Adam. "Ben, please don't think that I was telling you how to raise Cat the other night. You have done a great job with the boys and I know that you'll do fine with Cat. I thought it was important for you to know how I raised her. I couldn't expect her to just sit in my office while I was gone, so I allowed her to go fishing or ride out to the Tanners as long as an adult knew where she was. I'll talk to her and explain that she's going to have new rules to follow. As I said, she is very independent. She is also hard headed and determined to do things her own way. Expect her to test her boundaries every chance she gets. If you tell her she can't go in the lake any deeper than her knees, expect her to go in water as deep as her waist to see what will happen. However, if you spank her every time she does something wrong, that particular punishment will lose its effectiveness. She hates being confined so making her stay home is very effective. When she was misbehaving and I told her that she would not be allowed to ride her pony or go fishing, she stopped misbehaving.

When they returned to the Ingalls' house, the children were told that Cat and Mark had permission to eat dinner with the Ingalls but had to return to the Ponderosa as soon as the meal was finished. They were overjoyed and worked together to set the table. Even though Mark and Cat were leaving, the meal was a festive occasion as everyone talked and laughed about the fun they had getting to know Mark and spending time with him and Cat. The meal was over far too soon and once the table was cleared, Cat and Mark said goodbye to their friends and their parents and rode back to the Ponderosa.

When they reached the Ponderosa, Hop Sing fussed that they hadn't been there for dinner but Cat said, "Hop Sing, Mrs. Ingalls invited us and it would have been rude to say no, especially after she walked all the way over here just to get permission for us to eat with her family." Hop Sing wasn't happy but he couldn't argue. He knew that one thing Ben Cartwright did not tolerate from his children was rudeness. When they were children, all three boys had been punished on more than one occasion for being rude.

"Mark, Cat, we're going to be leaving soon," said Ben. "The two of you need to go upstairs and get your things. I want to make sure we get to town in plenty of time for the Barkleys to get their stage."

The two children ran upstairs and returned with their luggage. Mark's luggage was put onto the back of the buggy while Cat's was put onto the President's carriage. They were almost ready to leave when Cat said, "I have to say goodbye to Fury and tell him I'll be home in a few weeks. I don't want him to forget me while I'm gone."

Before Cat and Mark could mount their horses, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen. "Missy Cat, Mr. Mark, please help Hop Sing for minute." They followed him back into the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later, their arms full of bundles containing food for everyone's journey. Hop Sing gave a bundle to each group. "Hop Sing give you lots of food. Now you not go hungly on trip home. Missy Cat and Mr. Mark too skinny. I put extra food for them. They need to stay here. I cook extra food and they grow big like Mr. Hoss."

"I'm sorry Hop Sing," said Lucas. "But I would miss Mark too much if he stayed here. Believe me, he gets plenty to eat although I must admit that my cooking is nowhere as good as yours is. Let me see how things are going and maybe we can visit at Christmas."

"That good. You come at Chlistmas. I cook lots of food. Mr. Mark like Missy Cat, too skinny. Hop Sing need to fatten them up."

Lucas laughed. "Alright Hop Sing. I can't promise that we'll be here for sure, but we will do our best."

Just as everyone was getting ready to leave, Cat said, "I need to take Fury with me. I'm going to be gone for about four weeks. Who's going to take care of Fury? What if he forgets me?"

"Don't you worry about that colt Miss Cat," said Thaddeus walking up to the group. "If your Pa gives me permission, I'll take care of him. I'll make him my special project and talk to him every chance I get. I promise that I'll tell him about the special little girl who loves him and he won't forget you. In fact, if you put those pretty blankets in the barn, I'll show them to him to remind him of how much you love him."

Cat ran up to Thaddeus with tears in her eyes and hugged him. "Thank you Thaddeus. I won't worry about him so much now that you're going to take care of him for me."

Julia Grant looked at her Goddaughter and the cowboy she was hugging and said to her husband, "Those two are going to get married when Cat is old enough. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

Grant turned and looked at his wife. "I'm not going to argue with you. When it comes to stuff like that, you've been right more than once. You were even right when you told me that we were going to get married. Now, how are we going to keep our Goddaughter occupied for the next three days until we get to Arizona? She doesn't sit still for very long."

"We could ask Ben to let her bring her horse. She could spend some time riding with the soldiers, Rip, Bill, and Phil. That would help to keep her from becoming bored. From what I've seen, she tries her best to keep her promises, so we could tell her that she has to ride in the carriage part way and we'll let her ride her horse part way if she promises to come inside the carriage when we tell her to."

The President leaned over and kissed his wife. "You, my dear, are a genius."

"Isn't that why you married me?" she laughed.

"Come on Catherine, we need to leave," said Ben. "Thaddeus can take care of Fury while you're gone, but we need to get to town before the stage arrives to take Aunt Victoria and her family back to California."

"Ok Uncle Ben." Cat ran over to where Mark was holding Ginger for her, mounted the horse and the family set off for Virginia City.

Matt took the opportunity of the ride to talk with Cat about her future. "Cat, we need to talk. Your life is about to change a lot. You already know that you are going to be living on the Ponderosa now. Uncle Ben is your father now and you need to listen to him and do what he says. Adam, Hoss and Little Joe are your brothers now and you also need to listen to them and do what they say. If they tell you to do something, do it. If they tell you not to do something, don't do it. You are going to have different rules than you did in Dodge. If you break those rules, you will be in a lot of trouble and will be punished and may receive a lot of spankings. If Adam, Hoss, or Little Joe have to spank you, Ben will probably spank you too. I do not want that to happen. I want you to listen to them and do what you are told to do. You will not be able to leave a note saying that you have gone fishing. Instead, you will have to ask permission. If you are told no, do not go fishing. You are nine years old now and know the difference between right and wrong. If you think something you're going to do is wrong, don't do it. Also, the rule about starting fights is the same here as it is in Dodge. I will be very unhappy if I get a letter from Ben saying that you have been starting fights. It is ok to defend yourself but it is not ok to start fights. I want you to promise me that you won't start any fights, no matter how angry someone makes you."

"I'll try Uncle Matt. But it makes me mad when someone teases me."

"I understand, but learning to ignore people who tease you is part of growing up. You're not a baby any more and need to learn to ignore someone who is teasing you. If I get a letter telling me that you are starting fights because someone teased you, I will write back and tell Ben that you are not allowed to come to Dodge for the summer and that will make me very sad because I want you to spend the summer with me."

"Ok Uncle Matt. I promise I'll try my best not to start any fights, even when someone teases me."

Matt knew that was the best he was going to get from her, so he said, "Thank you sweetheart. I knew I could count on you. I'll bet that if you talk to Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe, they can help teach you how to ignore someone who teases you. They won't want you to start any fights either, so I know that they'll help you."

"I'll ask Uncle Luke for help. Mark says he's the smartest person he knows, so he might know how to help me."

"That's a very good idea. I'm sure that he will be more than happy to help you. Why don't you want to ask Ben and your brothers?"

"Because they think that I'm a baby and I'm afraid that they'll punish me if they find out that sometimes I start fights."

"No Cat. They won't punish you unless you actually start a fight. They'll be very happy to help you learn to ignore someone who is teasing you and they'll be very proud of you for asking for help."

"Alright, if you're sure they won't punish me because I started fights when I was in Dodge, I'll ask them too."

"I'm sure Cat. I know that their rules will be different than mine, but they won't punish you for something you did in the past. I don't know of a single person who would ever punish a child for something they did in the past."

Just then, Jarrod joined them. "Matt, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow my cousin for a few minutes. I have something important I need to talk to her about."

"Alright Jarrod. I know what's on your mind." Matt rode off to join the others.

"Cat, you've been so busy, I haven't had time to talk with you. When you turned nine the day before yesterday, you also inherited two hundred dollars from our grandparents. I need to know what you want to do with that money."

Cat's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Two hundred dollars. Wow, that's a lot of money! I've never seen that much all at once. Can I think about it for a minute?"

"Sure Cat. Take all the time you need."

The two of them rode side by side and finally, five minutes later, Cat said, "I don't need that much money, so I guess you'd better put most of it in the bank. I only need ten dollars."

"Why do you need ten dollars?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want anyone to spoil my surprise. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Miss Kitty and Mark know what I need the money for."

"Alright Cat. I promise not to tell anyone."

"You already know that I've been working running telegrams, catching fish for the hotel restaurant and helping Mr. Quint with horses in his shop. Uncle Matt's birthday is coming up and last winter, I heard him tell Miss Kitty that he needed a new winter coat. She helped me pick out a nice one. It costs twenty five dollars and I only have fifteen saved up. Miss Kitty is saving it for me. I'm not going to be in Dodge this summer so I'm not going to be able to earn the money. That's why I need ten dollars."

"That's a very wise decision Cat. I'll put almost all of your money in the bank. Here's the ten dollars you need." He reached into his pocket and handed her a ten dollar bill.

"Thank you Jarrod. I've never seen two hundred dollars before. When I visit you, will you please take me to the bank so I can see what that much money looks like?"

"I'll be more than happy to. Now, we had better catch up with everyone else. Nick will never let me hear the end of it if I cause us to miss our stage."

"What were you and Cat talking about?" asked Adam when Jarrod caught up with him.

"I'll tell everyone when we get to town. I don't want to have to repeat myself more than a dozen times.

The group reached town fifteen minutes later. "Cat, why don't you and Mark take the horses over to the livery stable and get them taken care of?" asked Ben. "We're going to be here for several hours, so there's no sense leaving them standing around with saddles on for that long."

Cat and Mark gave each other a knowing look. Ben's words meant that they wanted to talk without children around for a while. While they were taking the horses over to the stable, Mark asked, "What were you and Jarrod talking about?"

"He told me that I inherited two hundred dollars from my grandparents and needed to know what I wanted to do with it. I told him that I needed ten dollars and to put the rest in the bank. I had to tell him what I needed the money for and he promised not to tell anybody."

"I'll bet that Adam's going to be mad because Jarrod asked you and not him what to do with your money."

Cat laughed. "Yes, I'll bet that he is going to be real mad. But it's my money, not his, so why should he get to say what to do with it?"

While Cat and Mark were taking care of the horses, everyone else went into the hotel dining room where several tables had been pushed together for them. "I know that most of you are wondering what I was talking to Cat about," said Jarrod. "I was talking to her about her inheritance. As some of you know, she inherited two hundred dollars from our grandparents on her birthday and I needed to know what she wanted to do with it."

Adam exploded. "Why are you asking a nine year old what she wants to do with that much money!? She's not much more than a baby and will want to spend it on candy and other foolishness! You should have asked one of us what to do with it!"

"Adam, I am several years older than you and I also happen to be the family lawyer, so give me some credit for knowing what I am doing. Grandfather's will stipulated that I was to ask Catherine what she wanted to do with the money, which I did. The will also gives me the authority to do what I think best if I did not agree with Cat's decision. Before I tell you what she decided, I have something to say and you need to lose your Catherine is a baby attitude. Catherine is nine years old, which is hardly a baby and she will resent it greatly if you persist in calling her a baby and treating her like one. Excluding the time she has spent here on school vacations and the trip from Arizona to Dodge when she was four, how much time have you spent with her? How much do you know about her? Do you even know what her favorite food is?"

"That's easy," said Joe. "It's chocolate cake."

Everybody laughed. "Yes, you are correct. Catherine's favorite food is chocolate cake. But how much time has any of you spent in Dodge getting to know her? I have been there at least two times a year for a week at a time ever since Kate left her with Matt. Grandfather suspected that Kate had taken her to Matt or Rip because they are the two people who wouldn't have let him take his granddaughter back. So, he sent me a letter and asked me to keep an eye on her and ensure that she was being well cared for, which I did. Do any of you know that she has several jobs and is very responsible with money?"

"What do you mean by she has jobs?" asked Ben. "What kind of jobs would a young child have and why did you allow it Matt?"

"When they're not in school, Mr. Brown in the telegraph office pays Cat and the other children to run telegrams to the farms and ranches outside Dodge. Quint pays her to help with unruly horses. I've watched her in action. She stands there and talks to the horse and pets it and it usually quiets down. That girl is amazing when it comes to horses. Also, Mr. Michaels, the Dodge House restaurant cook, pays the children for all of the fish they can catch. I do know that except for ten cents a week, she's not spending any of the money she's earning. Once a week Cat buys licorice sticks for herself, me, Kitty, Doc, Festus, Quint, and Sam. She's saving the rest of her money somewhere for something special and I haven't asked where it is or what she's saving it for."

"I have her money Matt," said Kitty. "She's saving it to buy a very special surprise for someone she really cares about. I know what it is and I approve of her decision. I am not going to spoil her surprise by saying anything else about it."

"She told me about the surprise when I asked her why she needed the ten dollars and I also approve of her decision. Kitty, how much are the freight charges on that surprise?"

"They're a dollar. I am going to pay it for her. I told her the freight charges were part of the cost of the surprise."

"I gave her the ten dollars and I'm sure that she'll give it to you when she comes in here. Now, Adam, I do hope that you are going to stop calling Cat a baby. Yes, she is only nine, but she is a very responsible nine year old. How many nine year olds would tell you to put their money in the bank? I can guarantee you that if you persist in thinking of and referring to her as a baby; she will grow tired of it and try to get back to Dodge on her own."

Just then Cat and Mark walked in. Cat walked up to Kitty and handed her the ten dollars Jarrod had given her. "Here's the other ten dollars I need for my surprise. Will you please order it for me when you get back to Dodge?"

"Of course I will. When it's the right time, I'll even give it to the person it's for and write and tell you if they like it."

Roy joined the family before Cat could answer. After everyone greeted him, Cat walked up to him and asked, "Sheriff Roy, would you please do something important for me?"

"Of course I will Sweetheart. What do you need me to do?"

Cat took the money from Matt and Rip out of her pocket and handed it to Roy. "This is the money Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip gave me in case I need to send them a telegram. Last night, I heard Adam tell Uncle Ben that he was going to take it away from me because he thinks I'm only a baby and shouldn't have any money. Will you please hold it for me so that Adam can't take it?"

Adam's face turned bright red and his brothers couldn't help laughing at him. "Will you look at that Hoss?" asked Joe. It seems that our older brother isn't as perfect as he's been telling us all these years."

"You're right about that little brother. And it took a little bitty slip of a girl to bring him back down to Earth."

"Yeah Hoss. I think we're going to need to remind him of this whenever he starts telling us how wonderful he is.

"I think we should buy some pie and ice cream for our little sister as a reward for showing Adam that he's not perfect."

Rip exploded. "Confound you Adam! You are so darn pig headed! We told you not to take that money away from her! We wouldn't have given it to her if we thought she would spend it on something other than telegrams! I've got half a mind to go and cancel the adoption. Once she's too old to sleep at the jail, I'll take her to the fort and move into married officer's quarters."

Before anyone else could say anything, Phil Sheridan spoke up. "If everyone would simmer down for a minute, I think I've got a solution to the problem. The problem is that Ben and the boys haven't spent enough time with Cat to get to know her. My suggestion is this. After spending a week with Lucas, Cat should go to Dodge for two weeks. Ben, you and one of the boys should meet her at Lucas' place and accompany her to Dodge. Then you can spend the trip there and back here as well as the two weeks in Dodge getting to know her and what she's capable of. You'll find that she's quite a remarkable girl. And, before you ask, yes, she would be just as independent, if not more so had she been living with Rip. The life of an Army officer is even more unpredictable than the life of a United States Marshal and Cat would have been on her own a lot more than she has been. When you are with her, observe her and ask why she does things the way she does. When you're in Dodge, talk to the people who know her and see what they think."

Before Ben answered Sheridan, he said, "Catherine, you were supposed to be in bed last night. Why were you listening to Adam's conversation with me?"

"I was in bed Uncle Ben. I just wasn't asleep yet. You and Adam were right outside my door when he said that he was going to take the money away from me. I'm nine years old now and I'm tired of being called a baby and treated like one. Uncle Matt hasn't treated me like a baby since I turned five, so nobody else should."

Ben sighed. He knew that Cat was headstrong but he never thought she'd do something like this. It appeared that she was going to be a lot harder to handle than he thought she'd be. "You're right Phil. I haven't spent nearly enough time with Catherine since Kate left her with Matt and that's my fault. I don't know her and I need to learn to know her. One of the boys and I will meet her at Lucas's place and then spend time getting to know her. She can spend time getting to know us as well. We'll learn what she's capable of and she'll learn what we expect of her."

"That's good Ben. I know that you're getting tired of hearing this, but you and the boys have got to remember that Cat was raised a lot differently than you raised your sons. Now, let's order some of that pie and ice cream Joe was talking about."

While they were ordering their pie and ice cream, Joe whispered something to the owner's wife who was taking their order. When the pie was brought out, much to her delight, there were two scoops of ice cream on Cat's piece of pie.


	17. Chapter 17

While everyone was eating their pie, Heath whispered something to Nick who nodded his head. When they saw that Cat was done, they got up, walked over to her and picked her up. "Excuse us, but we need to have a talk with our cousin for a little while," said Heath. Nick carried Cat outside, gave her a very hard swat on her bottom and sat her on the bench outside the hotel.

"What on Earth were you thinking of by embarrassing Adam like that?" hollered Nick. "You don't do that to anyone, especially an adult! I've half a mind to put you across my knees right here and now and tan your bottom."

"I don't understand why you're mad at me Nick. I didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted Adam to stop treating me like a baby."

Before Nick could explode, Heath put a hand on his shoulder. "She doesn't know that what she did was wrong." He sat down next to Cat. "I know you don't understand why we're angry with you, so let me try and explain." He sat there talking to her for several minutes and finally said, "How do you think you would feel if someone did that to you?"

Cat thought for a minute and finally said, "I guess I'd feel pretty bad. Does that mean I made Adam feel bad?"

"Yes Cat, you did," said Nick.

"Did I hurt his feelings?"

"You might have," said Heath.

Cat got up off the bench and started for the hotel door. "Where are you going?" asked Nick.

"To apologize to Adam. I didn't want to make him feel bad and hurt his feelings. I just wanted to make him stop treating me like a baby." She ran into the hotel and over to the tables where the rest of the family was sitting. "Adam, I am very sorry for what I did. I didn't know it was wrong until Nick and Heath told me. I didn't want to make you feel bad or hurt your feelings. I just wanted to prove to you that I'm not a baby any more. I'm real sorry and I promise that I'll never do it again. I hope you'll forgive me sometime."

"Come here Cat," said Adam. Cat walked over to him slowly, certain she was going to get a spanking. When she got over to him, he hugged her and said, "Thank you for apologizing to me and promising never to do that again. I realize now that if you had known it was wrong, you never would have done it. Of course I forgive you. Now I need to apologize to you. I'm sorry for thinking of you as a baby, calling you one and treating you like one. You're right, you're nine years old now and that is hardly a baby. I was wrong and I promise not to do it again. Will you forgive me?"

"Yes Adam I do forgive you."

"Thank you Cat. You're my little sister now and we need to get to know each other better than we do. Would you like it if I went with Pa to pick you up at Uncle Lucas and Mark's house and go to Dodge with you? I would like to see what you do there and meet some of your friends."

"Yes, I would like that. You'll like Peter and Michael Tanner. We're a lot alike and I wish they could come and live here too."

Adam pretended to be afraid. "Three of you…here…I think I'd have to run away if there were three of you here. Hoss and Joe have been driving me crazy ever since they were old enough and now I've got you to drive me crazy too. No, if there were three of you along with Hoss and Joe, I would definitely have to run away." Cat knew she had been forgiven and hugged Adam's neck. "Hey, easy there. If you keep twisting my neck that hard, you're going to turn it so that I'm looking backwards all the time. I'll have to walk backwards so I can see where I'm going and everyone will laugh at me. Now, why don't you tell me how much money you will need to buy everyone here, including the soldiers a licorice stick?"

Cat thought hard for a minute. "Let's see now. There are ten soldiers, you, Uncle Ben, Hoss and Little Joe, so that makes fourteen. Uncle Luke, Mark, Uncle Matt and Miss Kitty make eighteen. There are five Barkleys, so that makes twenty three. Uncle Rip makes twenty four. Uncle Sam, Aunt Julia, Uncle Phil, Aunt Irene, Uncle Bill and Aunt Ellen make thirty. Sheriff Roy makes thirty one and I make thirty two. So if licorice is a penny a stick, I would need thirty two cents."

"Very well done little sister." Adam dug in his pocket and pulled out some change. "Here is fifty cents. Why don't you and Mark run down to the store and buy thirty two licorice sticks?"

"Gee thanks Adam. Come on Mark. Let's go before Aunt Victoria's stage gets here."

The two children ran out the door. Once they were outside, Mark said, "You know the licorice is just an excuse to get us to leave so they can talk about grown up stuff without us around."

"Yeah, I know. Adults sure are funny that way, aren't they?"

Once Cat and Mark left the hotel, Heath said, "Before any of you ask, Nick and I did not tell Cat to apologize. We were still trying to explain to her why what she did was wrong when she figured it out and ran in here to apologize to Adam. Don't worry; she hasn't gotten off unscathed. When we got her outside, Nick gave her such a hard swat on her bottom that I almost felt it and I wasn't carrying her. Ben, you are going to have your hands full with that one. Hoss is right. She is as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. I don't know if it was just because everyone is here right now, but as soon as she figured out why what she did was wrong, she felt bad and ran in here to apologize. If she didn't do that just because everyone is here, then you'll know that her apologies are genuine."

"Her apology was genuine," said Matt. As far as I can remember, even if she wasn't punished, she was sorry as soon as she found out what she had done was wrong and tried not to do it again. The only time she wasn't sorry and didn't change her ways after being punished for misbehaving was when I punished her for skipping school. She skipped school three times and lied about it all three times. Her punishment was worse each time and I even took her pony away for two weeks, but that didn't stop her from skipping school either. The third time she was punished for lying was very harsh and I told her the next time would be even worse, so she hasn't lied since. However, I firmly believe that the only reason she stopped skipping school is because Ben and the boys told her that she wouldn't be allowed to visit the Ponderosa if she kept skipping school."

On their way back to the hotel with the licorice for everybody, Mr. Dawkins, the stage coach manager, stopped Cat and Mark. "You two need to hurry and tell your family that the west bound stage should be here in about fifteen minutes. I know that some of your family need to get on it and I wouldn't want them to miss it."

"Thank you Mr. Dawkins," said Cat. We'll run back to the hotel and tell them right away. The two children ran back to the hotel and Mark started giving licorice to everyone. "Aunt Victoria, Mr. Dawkins said to tell you that the west bound stage should be here in about fifteen minutes," said Cat, who then proceeded to hand out the licorice she had in her hand. Then she counted Adam's change back to him. "The licorice was thirty two cents and you gave me fifty cents. Here is your change. It's eighteen cents."

"Thank you Catherine," said Victoria. "We had better go over and wait at the stage office. I don't want to miss it."

Everyone got up to leave and so did the President's military escort. "Stay where you are gentlemen," he said. "This is going to be repeated twice in the next hour or so. We're going to have a long, dusty ride ahead of us so you may as well relax and enjoy yourselves while you can. I'm among family and friends and am in no danger here." Then the family walked over to the stage depot.

The stage was five minutes late and once goodbyes were said, the Barkley family departed for California. Mr. Dawkins looked at his watch and said, "The east bound stage should be here in about forty five minutes and the south bound stage in ninety."

"Thank you Tom. We'll be down in the hotel restaurant," said Ben.

Adam picked Cat up and said, "Hop Sing is right. You don't eat enough. You are as light as a feather. I'm afraid that a good strong wind will blow you away. We need to fatten you up."

"You're silly Adam," laughed Cat. "I weigh a lot more than a feather does and I don't want to get fat. I think it would be fun if the wind picked me up. I always wanted to know what it feels like to fly like a bird."

"I've got a better idea Adam," said Joe. "Instead of fattening her up, let's tie a tail and rope on to her and I can fly her like a kite, just like I used to do when I was a little kid."

"Baby brother, you're still a little kid and don't you forget it," teased Hoss.

Rip and Matt looked at each other, knowing that Cat was going to be alright now that she and Adam had patched up their differences. They both knew that she would get into mischief and be punished for it, which was all part of growing up, but she now had a father and brothers to depend on.

Thirty minutes later, the family walked back to the stage depot, this time to say goodbye to Matt and Kitty. Matt picked Cat up and hugged her tight. "Remember your promise. You're going to ask for help ignoring people who tease you and you're going to try your best not to start any fights."

"I won't forget Uncle Matt. I'll try my best."

"That's all anyone can ask for Sweetheart, is that you try your best. Now, give me a hug and have fun in Arizona and at Uncle Lucas'. Try and stay out of mischief while you're there. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Ben, you might want to fix up someplace safe where Cat can practice with her bow and arrows. She usually hits what she aims at but those critters sometimes go wild and I wouldn't want to see anyone get hurt. Quint's got a spot behind his shop for her. You'll see it when you're in Dodge."

"That's a great idea Matt. We'll fix something up for her before Adam and I take her to Dodge. Have a safe trip and I'll see you soon."

Cat watched with tears in her eyes as the stage drove out of sight. Thirty minutes after Matt and Kitty left, it was time for Lucas and Mark to leave. "I'm glad that Adam isn't going to treat you like a baby anymore," said Mark. "It will be a lot easier for you now that you're not going to have to prove you're not a baby. It's going to be fun having you visit our ranch. I can't wait to start teaching you how to work with cattle. Pa's been teaching me how to throw a rope. I'm not very good at it yet, but maybe he can teach you too."

"That would be fun. Then I could pretend that Hoss was a big ol' cow and rope him." Both children burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Ben.

"Mark said that when I visit him and Uncle Luke, he's going to teach me how to throw a rope. Then when I get good at it, I'm going to rope Hoss just like he was a big ol' cow."

"Joe, you've got a good idea about flying our little sister like a kite," teased Hoss. "Only I think we should use a short rope and see if the wind will take her up, over the mountains."

"That sounds like fun," said Cat. "When can we do it?"

Ben just rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned to Cat's Godfathers and said, "Heath is right. I am going to have my hands full with her. I think she's going to be into more mischief than all three boys combined when they were her age. Are you sure I can't convince one of you to keep her?"

"Only if you take my youngest," laughed Grant. "Jesse is eleven and into everything. He and Cat are a lot alike."

Sherman and Sheridan also had a good laugh at Ben's question. "You wanted her; you've got her said Sherman. I've already got eight and don't need any more. I'll take Cat if you take my four youngest." Sheridan said that he already had four children and if Ben wanted two of them, he would take Cat.

"Alright, you win," laughed Ben. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with a child who thinks being flown like a kite would be fun. My life is about to get very interesting."

Since it was getting late, the decision was made that the President's party, including Cat would spend the night at the hotel in Virginia City and leave after breakfast. Ben decided that he, Adam, Hoss, and Joe would also spend the night. He spotted one of his hands coming out of the general store and asked him to tell Hop Sing that the family would not be home until after breakfast the next day.

After breakfast, everyone sat around talking for a little while. Then the President said, "We need to leave soon. How about letting Cat bring her horse? That way she can ride in the carriage part way and on horseback part way. With my escort, Bill, Phil and Rip to keep an eye on her, I don't think she'll wander off."

"That's a very good idea. Matt said that when Cat gets bored, she wanders off. So, yes, Cat can take Ginger with her. Otherwise, if she gets bored riding in the carriage, she's liable to wander off in search of adventure when you stop to rest. Joseph, will you please go down to the stable and bring Ginger back here? She's going along so Cat can ride part way if she behaves."

"I'll go and get her!" an excited Cat exclaimed.

"No Cat. I know how you are with horses. You'll start saying goodbye to Cochise and the others and we won't see you for an hour. You stay here with us and Joe will get Ginger for you."

"I won't take that long. I can get her and be back here in a little while."

"Catherine, if you disobey me on this, you will have a very sore bottom to start your trip," said Ben.

Rip spoke up too. "Catherine, if you disobey Ben, I will also put you across my knees and use my belt on your bottom. Do you want to start a very long trip not being able to sit down comfortably?"

"No sir."

"Then do as you're told and stay here."

"There are too many grown ups," mumbled Cat.

"What was that?" asked Ben.

"I said that there are too many grown ups. I'm going to take Uncle Sam's job when I turn ten and kids will run everything."

Ben shook his head as everybody else laughed at Cat's remarks.

"Who will help you run everything?" asked Adam.

"Mark, Laura, Mary, my friend Julie, and Peter and Michael Tanner."

Hoss picked Cat up and sat her on his shoulders. "I think you should wait until you're a little older before you think about taking Uncle Sam's job. You need to know a whole lot of Arithmetic if you're going to be President."

"Oh yuck!" exclaimed Cat. "Why does everything need a lot of Arithmetic? I wonder, if I take Uncle Sam's job now, could I make Arithmetic go away?"

"Sorry little one," said the President. "Not even the President can make Arithmetic go away. I'm afraid you're stuck with it for the rest of your life."

"That's terrible. If I become King of the World can I make Arithmetic go away?"

"No Cat," said Joe, walking up with Ginger. "I'm afraid that the King of the World can't even make Arithmetic go away."

"That's not fair," said Cat, making a sour face.

Once again, everyone had a good laugh at Cat's expense.

"We've got to get going," said Grant. "We have a long trip to make and we've kept Rip away from the fort for too long. Cat, you're going to start out riding in the carriage with me and your Godmothers. You will be allowed to ride your horse part way, but if you argue when I tell you it is time to ride in the carriage again, you will not be allowed to ride your horse again for the rest of the trip. Also, when you are allowed to ride your horse, you will stay with everybody else unless someone gives you permission to leave the group. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. This way, you know what to expect and we'll have a good trip."

"That's part of what Matt was trying to tell you," Rip said to Ben and Adam. "If you set clear expectations at the outset, Cat will know what is expected of her and what the consequences will be for disobedience. She wants to ride her horse, so she won't argue when she's told to ride in the carriage and she won't leave the group without permission. The key is to make sure she understands what is expected of her. If she doesn't understand the expectations and consequences for disobeying, she won't cooperate."

"Ok Rip. We'll make sure she knows the rules and consequences for breaking them," said Ben.

"Good. That will make things easier for all of you. I'm not saying that Cat won't break the rules. She is independent and likes to do things her own way regardless of the consequences. But at least she won't be able to say she didn't know what the rules were."

"Ben, Rip, we need to leave," called Grant. "We've got a long way to go and it's getting late.

Rip walked over to his horse and mounted while Ben walked over to the President's carriage where Hoss had just taken Cat down off his shoulders. Adam, Hoss, and Joe hugged her and told her that they'd miss her. Ben hugged her, told her he'd miss her, to have a good time and stay out of mischief. Then he put her in the carriage and watched it drive out of sight. He turned to his sons and said, "Well boys, let's head back to the ranch. We've got a lot of work to do, including getting ready for Cat to live with us. We also need to find someplace safe for her to practice with her bow and arrows. Matt says she hits what she aims at most of the time but sometimes the arrows go wild and I don't want anyone getting hurt. I've also got to figure out how to tell Hop Sing that Cat is going to be gone an extra two weeks. He wasn't very happy when I told him that she was leaving to go to Arizona with her Godparents and Rip." The four of them rode back to the Ponderosa with Ben wondering what he was going to do with a nine year old girl who thought that being flown like a kite sounded like fun.

For a while, Cat was content to ride in the carriage but after several hours, she became bored and started to get restless. Grant hugged her and said, "I know that you're getting bored riding here with me. You have done what I asked and did not complain. The next time we stop to rest the horses, you will be allowed to ride your horse. Just remember, you need to stay with the group."

"I will."

"That's my girl."

The group stopped to rest by the shore of a small lake. Cat was stiff from riding in the carriage for so long and asked, "Uncle Rip, can I go for a walk around the lake? I've been sitting for too long and need to stretch my legs. It's not a big lake and it won't take me too long to walk around it. I won't go swimming but I will take my moccasins off and get my feet wet."

Rip hesitated when two young soldiers spoke up, "Lieutenant, we'll be proud to escort your niece and keep anything from happening to her. We have a younger sister who's about here age and can be a real handful, so we know what to expect. In fact, if we're going to be here more than a few minutes, we may take our boots and socks off and cool our feet off in the lake."

"It's May, Catherine. May I go for a walk around the lake? Are you ever going to pay attention to your grammar lessons and start speaking correctly?"

"Probably not," Cat replied, dodging a playful swat aimed at her bottom. "So, can I go for a walk around the lake?"

Rip let out a long sigh. "Since these men have said they will go with you, you may go for a walk around the lake. Yes, you may get your feet wet, but no swimming as we won't be here long enough for you to get dry and I'm sure that your Godmothers do not want a wet child in the carriage with them."

"That's ok. I won't need to be dry. Uncle Sam said I could ride Ginger so I won't be all wet in the carriage."

"Catherine Michael, go for your walk before I change my mind. There will be consequences if you go swimming." Rip found himself wishing that his brother had fathered a boy instead of a stubborn, headstrong girl who is just like her mother had been, if not worse. He loved his niece but wondered if dealing with a boy would be easier.

Cat decided she had better go before her uncle got angry with her. Once she and the two soldiers were away from the group, she took off her moccasins and went in the lake. "Don't worry; I'm not going to go swimming. I don't want to be riding when I'm all wet. I just said I was because Uncle Rip said not to."

The two soldiers laughed. "Young lady," said one of them, "You are a real handful. We have a sister about your age and like you, she does her best to do the opposite of what she's told. I've lost count of how many times she's been bottom side up across our or Pa's knees."

"You're right about that David," said the other soldier. "Samantha and the Lieutenant's niece are a lot alike. She only wants to be called Sam and wears britches all the time. Ma has a hard time getting her into a dress on Sunday mornings for church. Just before we left on this trip, she got a whipping for starting a fight at school. A boy knocked her books out of her hands and she slugged him so hard his nose started bleeding. The teacher whipped her and since Pa was out of town, when she got home, Tom here whipped her too. Since that was the third time in a month she has started a fight at school, when Pa got home, he used his belt on her bare bottom, but I'm sure that she'll hit that boy again the first chance she gets."

"I think I like your sister," said Cat. "Where does she live? I want to meet her."

"She lives in Washington. You may get the opportunity to meet her some day. Pa keeps talking about wanting to move west where there's more land. He doesn't like being in the city," said Tom.

"There's lots of empty land around Virginia City. Your family could move there."

"I don't know if Virginia City can handle two girls like you," teased David. "Come on, we had better walk a little faster. I don't know how long the President plans on stopping here and we need to be back before he's ready to leave."

"Don't worry, he won't leave me behind. He's my Godfather and the rest of the family will get mad at him if he leaves me behind."

Tom sighed. "Miss Catherine, you don't understand. We are in the Army and can't keep the President waiting, even if we are escorting his Goddaughter. Also, if you keep the President waiting, the Lieutenant may warm your backside for you. That saddle of yours will be awfully hard if you have a sore bottom."

"You can call me Cat. I guess you're right. If Uncle Sam gets mad at me, I might get four spankings. If that happens, even the carriage seat won't be comfortable." She started to walk faster, but since she was in the lake and barefoot, Cat slipped on a rock. Fortunately, Tom and David were there to keep her from falling and getting soaking wet.

"Careful there Miss Cat," said David. "When I said we need to walk a little faster, I didn't mean for you to risk getting hurt. We're almost three quarters of the way around the lake. Why don't you come out of the water and walk in the grass? We need to do the same. That way, our feet will be dry before it's time to leave."

Cat came out of the lake and walked in the grass with her escort. When they reached the rest of the group, Rip wanted to know what happened and if Cat was hurt. "I'm fine Uncle Rip. David said we should walk a little faster in case Uncle Sam wanted to leave and I slipped on a rock. David and Tom kept me from falling in and getting soaked."

Rip thanked both men for taking care of his niece. "You're welcome Lieutenant," said Tom. "It was our pleasure. In fact, your nice reminds us of our little sister. They're a lot alike. If it's alright with you, we'd like to keep an eye on her while she's riding her horse. I know she promised to stay with the group and, if she's anything like our sister, she'll do her best to keep her promise. However, promises don't keep rattlesnakes or other critters from frightening horses." Rip agreed and told Cat that when they left, she needed to stay with Tom and David. To his surprise, she agreed without arguing.

After a little while, Cat got bored staying with everybody. There was a curve in the road about half a mile ahead, so she rode up to Rip and asked, "Uncle Rip, can I please ride ahead as far as that curve? I promise I'll stop right there and wait for everyone else. I'm tired of just following everybody and Ginger want to run some."

"Alright Cat. You can ride ahead as far as that curve."

"Thanks Uncle Rip," she called as she urged Ginger into a gallop. She reached the curve and stopped to wait for the rest of the group to catch up. Ginger wanted to keep running. "I'm sorry girl," Cat told her. "I want to run more too, but I promised I'd wait here. If I don't, we won't be allowed to leave the group and run again."

The group continued on their journey until almost sunset when they stopped for the night in a large town. After getting hotel rooms for everyone including the military escort, they went to a local restaurant for supper. While they were eating, the President said, "Cat, I am very proud of you. You did everything you were told without complaining and asked permission to leave the group. Tomorrow, I would like you to ride in the carriage for a little while and then you will be allowed to ride your horse the rest of the day."

"Thank you Uncle Sam. Can I please ride up with the driver tomorrow?"

"May I," said Rip. "It's may I, Cat, not can I. Adam is really going to have to work on Grammar with you along with Arithmetic."

Cat made a sour face and said, "I don't like Grammar and I really don't like Arithmetic. I wish I could make them go away forever. Now, can I please ride with the driver tomorrow?"

Rip sighed. He knew that Cat had deliberately used improper grammar just to irritate him and decided to do something about it. "Unless you start using proper grammar, you will not be allowed to do anything except ride in the carriage and stay with the group. That includes going for walks when we stop to rest."

"That's not fair Uncle Rip. It shouldn't matter how I talk."

"I'm sorry Catherine, but that's the way things are going to be for the rest of the trip. Either you start using proper grammar or you ride in the carriage and stay with the group the rest of the trip."

"There's nothing wrong with the way I talk and I'm not going to ride in the carriage the rest of the way." Cat started to walk out of the restaurant.

"Where are you going?" asked Rip.

"I'm going to get my horse and go to Arizona by myself. I looked at the map and I know how to get there. I also know how to get to Uncle Lucas' ranch from your fort. I don't need grown ups. I can take care of myself. I may not be big enough to hunt deer yet but I can hunt rabbits. I know how to clean and cook them. I also know how to catch, cook and clean fish. No Indians will hurt me because I am the daughter and granddaughter of Apache chiefs. Nobody will be able to track me because I know how to hide my tracks and ride my horse so her tracks can't be seen either."

The women looked at each other with concern in their eyes when Julia Grant decided she'd had enough and spoke up.

"Alright! That is enough. Rip, the child is only nine years old, not nineteen. Better grammar will come with time. Catherine has done everything that was asked of her today without complaining, so there is no need to push her about her grammar right now. If you keep pushing her like that, she will ride out on her own and God only knows what will happen to her. I don't want to wake up in the morning and find her gone! I know my Goddaughter well enough to know that she'll do exactly what she says. Rip, you of all people should know how much like her mother Cat is. Kate wouldn't hesitate to set out on her own and neither will her daughter. I for one don't want to have to send a telegram to Ben, telling him that we've lost Cat. He just lost his sister two weeks ago and he doesn't need to be told he's lost her daughter too. How do you think Matt will react when he gets a telegram saying that you've lost your brother's only child again and this time you may not get her back?"

Julia walked over and put her arm around Cat. "Catherine, how about if you ride in the carriage with me for a little while tomorrow and I'll ask the driver if you can ride up with him for a little while. That way, Uncle Sam, Aunt Ellen, Aunt Irene, and myself will get what we want, which is to spend more time with you, and if the driver agrees, you will get what you want, which is to ride up with him. You will also be able to ride your horse part of the way."

"Ok Aunt Julia. I'll ride part way in the carriage but I do hope that the driver will let me ride up with him too."

"That's my girl. Now, it's getting late. You've had a long day and tomorrow is going to be another long day. Let's get you in bed and if your Uncle Rip behaves himself, I'll let him come and say goodnight to you."

Cat yawned loudly. "Ok. I am kind of tired and a comfortable bed sounds nice right now."

As Julia and Cat started to leave the restaurant, Tom and David got up to accompany them. "You don't need to come with us gentlemen," said Julia. "The hotel is just across the street."

"Yes we do Mrs. Grant," said David. "You are the President's wife and Miss Cat is the President's Goddaughter. It is our job to make sure nothing happens to either of you. Judging from the looks of Miss Cat, it seems that either myself or my brother should carry her before she falls asleep walking across the street."

Tom picked Cat up and carried her over to the hotel. She was so tired that she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder before they reached the middle of the street. When they reached the hotel, David got the key to the Grant's suite, unlocked the door and went in. Once he was certain it was safe, he allowed Julia to enter. Tom followed carrying the sleeping Cat, put her on a small bed in the bedroom and took her moccasins off. Then he and David left the suite and took up posts outside the door. A few minutes later, Julia opened the door and said, "I'd really like to go back over to the restaurant and join my husband and the others, but Catherine is sleeping and I really don't want to leave her alone in a strange hotel room. She's still having nightmares about her mother's death and I'm concerned that if she has one and wakes up in a strange place, she'll be confused and frightened."

"I'll stay with her Mrs. Grant. If you'll give me a few moments, I want to get a book out of the room my brother and I are sharing. Then he can escort you back to the restaurant."

"You two are so good with her. Do you have children of your own?"

"No ma'am, not yet," answered Tom. "I'm going to be married a few weeks before Thanksgiving and David here, hasn't gotten up the courage to ask his girl to marry him yet. We have a younger sister who's about Miss Cat's age. In fact, the two of them are a lot alike."

"Oh heavens," laughed Julia. "I don't know if the world is ready for two little girls like my Goddaughter. Go ahead and get your book. I'll sit with Cat until you return." She walked back into the suite. A few minutes later, Tom returned with his book and David knocked on the door. "That was quick," said Julia when she answered the door. "Please come in while I fetch my wrap."

"Thank you ma'am," said Tom. "I'll just sit in this chair until you and the President return. Don't worry; Miss Cat will be just fine." David escorted Julia back to the restaurant.

About an hour later, everyone returned to the hotel and Rip, the generals and their wives joined the Grants in their suite. "How's Cat?" asked Julia. "Did she have a nightmare or wake?"

"She's fine Mrs. Grant. "She hasn't made a sound. I just checked on her a few minutes ago and she's still sound asleep. Except for kicking her covers off, she hasn't stirred at all. It was a long day and she was pretty tuckered out before everyone even went to supper. I'm surprised she stayed awake as long as she did."

Rip had walked into the bedroom to say goodnight to his niece. When he came out, he said, "I would like to thank both of you for looking after my niece today. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. She seems to have taken quite a liking to both of you. To be honest, I was surprised when she listened to you. Catherine is very hard headed and likes to do things her own way."

"It was our pleasure Lieutenant," said David. "Your niece reminds us of our little sister. In fact, we told Mrs. Grant earlier that Miss Cat and our Samantha are a lot alike."

"Oh no!" laughed Rip. "There is another Wild Cat lose? I don't know if the country can take two of her. One is a handful but I'm afraid that two would be impossible, especially if they ever got together."

Everyone started laughing loudly at Rip's statement when Julia said, "Hush. Not so loud. I don't want Cat to wake up."

"Don't worry Mrs. Grant," said Tom. "When I checked on her a few minutes before you returned, she was so sound asleep, you could fire a cannon out the window and it wouldn't wake her up. That little girl is just plum tuckered out and I don't even know if the smell of chocolate cake baking next to her would be enough to wake her up. Now, if y'all will excuse us, David and I need to get some sleep before it's our turn to stand watch."

"The two of you have done more than your fair share today and will not be standing watch tonight," said Sherman. "I've already informed the Captain and he has taken you off the watch rotation. Enjoy getting to sleep all night for a change."

"Thank you General," said both of them together and left the President's suite.

"I'm heading for bed also," said Rip. "Cat will be well rested and those two young men and I will have our hands full keeping up with her. Goodnight everybody. I will see you in the morning."

Once Rip had closed the door behind him, Grant said, "Bill, did you get those things I asked for from the fort when we were in Virginia City?"

"Yes I did. I wasn't sure if you were going to promote him to Captain or Major, so I got two sets of each bars."

"Wonderful. Thank you very much. I hate using you and Phil as errand boys but I want this promotion to be kept a secret until it actually happens. I can't wait to see the look on Rip and Cat's faces when I promote him. When we reach the fort tomorrow, I would like the members of my escort to ask the men stationed at the fort for their opinion of both Major Bush and Rip. I'll make my decision about which rank he's going to be promoted to after I hear from the men. Also, tomorrow we're going to be passing another fort on our way to Arizona. Will one of you please go there and pick up some Corporal's stripes for those two young men who have done an admirable job of keeping our Goddaughter out of mischief and need to be commended for it. I'm not even sure if Kate and Michael could have done what they did."

"I'll do it for you Sam," said Sheridan. "Speaking of Kate and Michael, now that Cat is getting older, we really need to tell her about her parents. I also think that when she's old enough to understand, we need to tell her how it's our fault she is growing up without her father. I wonder if Kate ever forgave us?"

"I'm sure she did," said Irene Sheridan. "After all, Matt told us that when she gave Catherine to him, she told him to give her to one of us if he couldn't keep her and Ben wouldn't take her. Well, it is late and I'm tired. Phil, please take me to our room. I would like to go to bed. Goodnight everyone. I will see you in the morning."

"I am also very tired and would like to go to bed," said Ellen Sherman. "Bill, will you please escort me to our room? Goodnight Julia. Goodnight Sam. I will see you in the morning."

Once everyone left, Julia turned to her husband and said, "They're right. It's been a very long day. Tomorrow will also be a long day and Cat will be well rested and full of mischief. We also need to get some sleep if we're to even try and keep up with her." The President blew out the lamp in the sitting room. Then he and his wife walked into the bedroom, kissed their Goddaughter goodnight and went to bed.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, Cat wasn't sure where she was for a few minutes. When she saw the Grants sleeping in the large bed, she remembered where she was. She dug through her things, found clean clothes and got dressed. Not wanting to wake her Godparents just yet, she tiptoed out of the bedroom over to the suite door and opened it. There were two soldiers standing guard outside. "Good morning Miss Catherine," said one of them. "I hope you slept well."

"Yes I did. Thank you. I need some help. I need to use the outhouse, but I don't know where it's at and I don't think I should look for it alone."

"That's a very wise choice," said the other soldier. "I will take you to it."

"Thank you, but won't you get in trouble for leaving your friend alone?"

"No, I won't because I will be helping you and part of my job is to help you if you need it."

"Oh. Ok. Thank you. Can we please go now?"

"Yes, of course." The two of them walked out of the hotel.

A few minutes later, Rip came out of his room and was concerned when he saw only one guard in front of the president's suite. "Where is your companion?"

"He's escorting Miss Catherine to the outhouse. She didn't know where it was and didn't think she should look for it alone, so he volunteered to take her."

Just then Cat and the other soldier returned. She was delighted to see her uncle awake and squealed, "Uncle Rip, you're awake," ran and jumped into his arms and gave him a big hug.

"Good morning Kitten. I see you're up bright and early. I am proud of you for asking for help instead of going off on your own. Are your Godparents awake yet?"

"They weren't when I came out here. If they're still sleeping, can, may I please wake them up?"

Rip smiled at Cat correcting her own grammar. "Yes Kitten. You may wake them up if they're still sleeping." He set her down and laughed as she bounced back into the suite.

Rip looked at the soldier who had helped Cat and said, "Thank you for taking care of my niece. I had planned on being awake early, but it seems that she woke earlier than I did."

Cat entered the bedroom where her Godparents were still sleeping, bounced onto the bed and said happily, "Uncle Sam, Aunt Julia, it's morning and the sun is shining. Wake up. I'm hungry and I want to explore this town before we leave."

The president rolled over, groaned and said to his wife, "I thought we left Jesse back in Washington."

"We did Dear. Our Goddaughter seems to have just as much energy as our youngest son early in the morning."

"Well, in that case, there's only one thing to do." He rolled over on his back, pulled Cat down on the bed and started tickling her.

Her giggles could be heard all the way down the hall. One of the soldiers standing guard said, "It would seem sir that your niece is getting a lesson in what happens when you wake up sleeping Godparents."

"Yes Private, it would seem so," laughed Rip. "I have missed so much of her growing up these past eight years. You wouldn't believe the number of times I wished my brother was a marshal closer to the fort or that I was stationed at Fort Dodge. Maybe in a year or so when she's had a chance to settle in with my brother-in-law and his sons, I'll request a transfer to the fort near Virginia City. I won't interfere with the way she's being raised, but at least I'll get to see her more often."

"That would be nice," said the other soldier. "I'm sure that Miss Catherine would love being able to see you more often. In fact, from what I've seen, she would be very happy if the president could move the White House to Virginia City."

"I have no doubt of that. She would be extremely happy if the entire family lived near Virginia City."

Just then Bill Sherman came out of his room. "What on Earth is going on in there?" he asked. "Is Sam killing our Goddaughter?"

Rip laughed. "No Bill. Be glad she was sleeping with the Grants instead of you and Ellen. You were saved from being pounced on by a Wild Cat first thing in the morning."

Before Sherman could answer, Sheridan came out of the room he was sharing with his wife. "Do you suppose Sam is in any danger from a certain Wild Cat?" All three men and the two soldiers laughed. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving." He knocked on the Grant's door. "Hey Sam, we're all hungry. Do you think you could stop torturing our Goddaughter long enough to get dressed and get some breakfast?"

"Go ahead without me. I'm having too much fun torturing Cat. It's fun making her giggle like that."

"Sam, you're forgetting something," said Sherman. "You're the president and we can't just go ahead without you. You can go hungry if you like, but we'll hear no end of it from Cat if she doesn't eat. Julia, do you think you can convince that husband of yours to get dressed so we can all eat some breakfast?"

"We'll be out in a few minutes Bill," called Julia. Then she hugged Cat and said, "I think that your other two Godfathers are jealous because Uncle Sam is playing with you and they're not. Why don't you go and hug their necks? While you're doing that, we'll get dressed and then we'll all go and have some breakfast."

Cat bounced out of the bed, ran to the suite door and opened it. Her Godfathers were standing next to each other with their backs to it, so she jumped on them and hugged both of their necks from behind at the same time. They were both surprised by the attack and started laughing. "Phil, I think that we've been attacked by a wild Indian," said Sherman.

"No Bill, we've been attacked by a Wild Cat. Alright Monkey, let go and let us hug you." Cat let go and was hugged by both of her Godfathers. The Grants emerged a few minutes later and everyone walked across the street for breakfast. When everyone was finished eating, Cat wanted to spend time exploring the town.

"We still have a long way to go and I want to be at the fort by mid afternoon," said the president. "So, we'll explore for thirty minutes and then we have to leave."

The party walked down the street and Cat entered the saddle and harness shop followed by Rip, Tom and David. She spotted a pretty set of saddle bags that were made from light colored leather and had fringe on them. The fringe had been died different colors. "These sure are pretty," she said to Rip. "I wish I had asked Jarrod for more than ten dollars." She put the saddle bags down, gave them one more longing look and walked over to look at the saddles. She spotted one that had been intricately decorated. "Look at this saddle Uncle Rip. Do you think Uncle Matt would like it?"

"I'm sure he would Kitten, but it's so pretty, I don't think he'd use it. Knowing Matt, he would just keep it in his office to look at."

Cat giggled. "That's silly. You're supposed to put saddles on horses, not keep them to just look at. Oh well, I don't have any money, so even if Uncle Matt would use it, I can't buy it."

Cat and Rip left the shop but Tom and David stayed behind. They asked the shopkeeper how much the saddle bags were and he replied, "Are they for the little girl?"

"Yes, they are," said Tom.

"Well then, since they're for the little girl, I'll let you have them at a bargain. I was selling them for twenty dollars, but I'll let you have them for ten. I'll even burn her name into them so none of her schoolmates take them. I'm just curious. I know that she's traveling with the president's party but I was wondering what her relationship to him is."

"Thank you very much. Besides her name, do you think you could burn her father's brand into them? That way there will be no doubt as to whom they belong. She is the president's Goddaughter and the lieutenant is her uncle."

"Well, I think she's a very sweet child and very well behaved. I could see that she wanted these but wanted to buy them herself and not ask her uncle for the money. I also like the way she wanted to get that fancy saddle for another uncle and not herself. Please write down her name and draw her father's brand for me. I'll have them finished in about fifteen minutes."

David wrote down Cat's name and drew the Ponderosa brand for the shopkeeper.

The store owner looked at what Tom had written. "Wild Cat? Are you sure?"

"Yes," said David. "Her name is Catherine but the family calls her Wild Cat. They say she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. She's been pretty subdued these past few weeks due to the death of her mother, but we have seen a little bit of her wild side." He looked at his watch and told his brother, "We'd better ask the president if he can delay his departure for a few minutes. He wants to leave in about ten minutes and the saddle bags won't be ready until after he wants to leave. We need a few extra minutes to wrap them up and hide them from Miss Cat."

"You know, her family is going to kill us for getting them for her."

"That's probably true, but she suffered a terrible loss only two and a half weeks ago and except for last night's outburst, has been very well behaved."

"Yes, she has been. I don't even know if Samantha would have been that well behaved on a trip like this. I think that last night's outburst was due more to exhaustion than anything else. You noticed that she was asleep on my shoulder before we reached the hotel, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. Well, we had better find the president and ask him to delay his departure for a few minutes."

They found the president, generals, and Rip standing outside the dressmaker's shop where the women were getting Cat to try on some dresses. They walked up and saluted. "Mr. President," said Tom. "We know that you want to leave in about ten minutes, but were wondering if there's any way you can delay your departure by a few minutes. My brother and I bought something for Miss Cat and it won't be ready until just after the time you want to leave. We need a few minutes to wrap it up and hide it from her."

Before Grant could respond, Rip asked, "You two didn't go and buy those saddle bags for her, did you?"

"Yes sir, we did. The store owner is burning her name and the Ponderosa brand into them right now, so none of her schoolmates decide to help themselves to them."

"Why are you men spending your money on her?" asked Rip.

"There are several reasons Lieutenant. We have grown quite fond of her in the past two weeks and feel bad that she had to suffer a horrible tragedy at such a young age. Also, she has done her very best to behave on this trip and has done everything that was asked of her without complaining. We feel that she should be rewarded. She's a sweet child even if she does have a mischievous side to her. We were also impressed, as was the store owner, that she wanted the saddle bags, but only if she could pay for them herself and by the fact that she wanted that pretty saddle for your brother, not herself."

"What about that outburst in the restaurant last night?" asked Rip.

"I think that was more out of frustration at having her grammar constantly being corrected and exhaustion," said Sherman. He turned to Tom and asked, "How long did it take her to fall asleep after you carried her out of the restaurant?"

"Not long at all General. She was asleep before we were half way across the street."

"Alright gentlemen," said Grant. "While I don't approve of your spoiling my Goddaughter, I will delay my departure long enough for you to do what you need to. Besides that, with the women in the dress shop, attempting to get her to try on dresses, we're liable to be here all day."

"Thank you Mr. President," said David. "If you, the generals and lieutenant would care to meet us at the saddle and harness shop in ten minutes, you'll be able to see what the saddle bags look like before they are wrapped up. Also, please don't think of it as us spoiling her. We've come to think of her as another little sister, so we're calling it a birthday gift. In fact, we're going to ask the shop owner for a piece of paper so we can write a birthday message on it for her."

"Well now," said Sheridan. "I don't know about these three, but I definitely want to see what these two young men have spent their hard earned money on for our Goddaughter. Besides that, my youngest has a birthday coming up in August. Maybe I'll find something in that shop for him. He's just as crazy about horses as Cat is."

They walked down to the saddle and harness shop and found that the owner had finished the saddle bags for Tom and David. "Those are beautiful," said Sheridan. "If my daughters enjoyed riding as much as Cat does, I'd get some for each of them." The others agreed that the saddle bags were beautiful and that Cat would love them. Tom paid the shop owner who wrapped the saddle bags up for them. Then they walked down to the dressmaker's shop where the ladies had convinced Cat to let each of them get her a dress.

Cat saw the package in Tom's hands and asked, "What's in your hands?"

"It's something for our sister."

"That's nice. I hope she'll like it."

"I'm sure she will."

"Now that everybody is done shopping, can we please get going?" asked Grant. "We still have a long way to go and I want to be at the fort before late afternoon."

They walked over to the carriage. Grant and the generals helped their wives get in and Rip picked Cat up hugged her and put her in. Julia hugged her and said, "I talked to the driver and you're going to ride in here with us for a little while. Then you'll be allowed to ride with him. After that, you'll be allowed to ride your horse the rest of the way."

While Cat was riding in the carriage, the president and her Godmothers talked to her about what it meant to be part of a family. They told her that while everyone may not always agree, they would always be there for each other. They also told her that Adam, Hoss, and Joe were older than her, she needed to listen to them, and they had the right to punish her if she disobeyed. Grant also told her that she should never be afraid to ask a family member for help. He told her that she would never be punished for asking for help because family members were supposed to help each other. Cat wasn't sure about that because some of her friends at school said that they got in trouble a lot when they asked for help. What her friends didn't say is that they got in trouble because they were asking for help with something they shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

Cat rode in the carriage for about an hour and then was allowed to ride with the driver who told her about driving a team. He told her that when they reached the fort, he would allow her to help drive the carriage over to the stables but she had to do everything he said to do. After several hours on the road, the group stopped to rest for a short time and Cat was allowed to ride her horse the rest of the way to the fort. Since they still had some of the food Hop Sing had packed, they decided to eat dinner on the shores of a small lake. After the food had been eaten, the ladies said they wanted to rest in the shade for a little while. Cat was allowed to go for a walk around the lake. Rip told her no swimming and to stay with Tom and David.

"I'm going swimming just because you said not to," teased Cat as she dodged a pretend swat aimed at her bottom. She took off her moccasins, rolled up her pants legs and walked into the lake followed by Tom and David. "This lake is bigger than the one yesterday," she said. "Maybe we shouldn't go all the way around. I don't want Uncle Sam to get mad at me."

"That's very good thinking Miss Cat," said David. "I know that the president wants to be at the fort before supper and we still have a long drive to make."

They walked part way around the lake and then turned back. When they rejoined the group, everyone was ready to leave so Cat mounted her horse and joined the group. They stopped one more time to rest the horses and then continued the journey to the fort. She was given permission to ride ahead a short distance. While she was riding alone, her horse startled a rattlesnake that had been sunning itself on the road. The snake struck out, Ginger reared and took off at a full gallop, followed by Rip, Tom and David. Quint had taught Cat what to do in case something like that happened, so she didn't panic and then slowly got Ginger to slow down and stop. By the time Rip, Tom and David caught up with her; Cat was already out of the saddle and checking to see if her horse had been bitten by the snake.

Rip was the first to reach Cat and was practically out of the saddle before his horse had stopped. He picked his niece up, hugged her and asked, "Are you alright? Did you fall off or get thrown?"

Cat hugged him back and said, "I'm fine Uncle Rip. Mr. Quint taught me what to do if my horse ever ran away with me. I didn't fall off and Ginger didn't throw me. I'm trying to see if she got bit by the snake but I don't know what to look for."

Tom and David checked Ginger for snake bites. "Your horse is just fine Miss Cat," said Tom. "The snake didn't bite her."

"That's good. Now I need to go back, find that snake and yell at it for sleeping in the road. It could get hurt or hurt someone that way."

Rip held her tight. "I would like you to ride in the carriage the rest of the way Cat."

"Why? It wasn't my fault that the snake was sleeping in the road."

"I know. It's just that I don't want anything to happen to you and you'll be safer if you ride in the carriage. What I really want to do is wrap you in cotton wool so that nothing will ever happen to you."

"Uncle Rip…You can't wrap me in cotton wool and you can't make me ride in the carriage."

"I'm not going to make you ride in the carriage. You would drive everybody crazy if I did. I should make you ride on my horse with me but you would drive me crazy. I love you and I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I love you too Uncle Rip but right now, I need to find that snake and yell at it."

"Miss Cat, that snake is long gone," said David. "It went into the grass and was gone before I could kill it."

"I'm glad you didn't kill it. The snake didn't want to hurt me or Ginger. It was just scared. That's why I want to yell at it so it won't nap on the road any more."

"Well, hopefully being scared by your horse taught it to find a safer place than the road to nap on. We don't have time for you to go back and look for it. The president is eager to get going again so we can get to the fort soon."

"Ok. I don't want Uncle Sam to be mad at me, but I still want to yell at that snake."

"If we ever come back this way and I see that snake again, I'll yell at it for you," said Tom. "It won't be the same as you yelling at it, but maybe it will listen and stay off the road."

"Ok Tom. You can yell at it for me if you ever see it again, but I don't want you to kill it."

By the time Tom and David had checked Ginger for snake bites, the president's carriage had caught up with them. Rip assured everyone that both Cat and her horse were fine and they continued on their journey. They reached the fort by mid afternoon.

When the guard saw the president's carriage, he told the sergeant who told the major. The major didn't believe the sergeant and told him to go back to work. He left the major's office and told the guards to open the gates for the president's party. Once they were inside and the gates closed, the president, generals and Rip were very upset to see that the major had not assembled the men to greet the president. Sherman started to yell at the sergeant. "I'm sorry General," replied the Sergeant. "I told the major you were coming but he didn't believe me and ordered me not to assemble the men."

"Thank you Sergeant," said Sherman. "I'll deal with the major myself right now."

"Thank you General," replied the sergeant. "I'll arrange for suitable quarters for the president's party." He saluted and left to arrange for suitable quarters for the travelers.

Sherman walked into the major's office, yelled at him, relieved him of his command and said that he would be demoted. Then he walked back outside and told the others what he had done. "Rip, these are your men. You know them and they know you, so you're in command until other arrangements can be made." Rip walked into the Major's office to begin getting organized. In the mean time, the Sergeant returned and escorted everyone to their quarters.

Once everyone had exited the carriage, the driver allowed Cat to climb up on the seat with him. He had her sit on his lap and let her take the reins. With his hands firmly over hers, he allowed Cat to drive the team to the stables. "That was fun!" Cat exclaimed. "When can we do it again?"

"I don't know Miss Cat. We'll just have to wait and see when the president wants to use his carriage again. Now, since your uncle is busy in his new office, let's get you over to your Godparents and find out whom you're going to spend the night with. It's getting close to suppertime and you need to get washed up." They located the president's quarters and Cat started to open the door and walk in. "Not so fast Miss Cat. You never just walk into a room where the door is closed, without knocking first. That would be rude and I know that you are a polite little girl." He knocked on the door and it was opened by Julia Grant.

"With the lieutenant busy in his new office, I thought it best to bring Miss Cat here." Julia thanked the driver, let Cat into the room and told her to get washed up for supper.

Once she was washed up, the president picked her up and sat her on his lap. "I know that you wanted to go out to your Apache friends right after breakfast tomorrow, but I was wondering if you would stay here until after dinner. We have a surprise planned for Rip tomorrow morning and I thought you would want to be here for it."

"Is it a nice surprise?"

"Of course it is. Those are the best kind."

"Ok. Since it's a nice surprise, I'll stay here until after dinner tomorrow."

"Good. I'm glad. You will really like the surprise, but you have to promise not to say anything to him because I want him to be really surprised. Now will you please do me a big favor? Will you please run over to Rip's office and tell him that I would like him to eat supper with us? I think he had planned on eating in the office, but I need to talk with him and find out how big a mess was on the Major's desk.

Cat ran out of the room and over to Rip's office. Once she left, Grant turned to his generals and said, "Ok gentlemen. You've heard from the troops. What do they have to say?"

Sheridan replied. "The men don't like Major Bush and they don't trust or respect him. The old timers say that he is one of the worst officers they've ever served under and that he sees an Apache attack in every shadow, despite the fact that there have been no problems since before he took command of the fort.

With Rip, it's the exact opposite. The men like and respect him very much. They all say that they'd follow him to Hell and back. The old timers feel that he should have been promoted years ago. They all say that he never asks them to do anything he wouldn't do himself and has even been known to care for his own horse rather than have one of the men do it."

"Thank you Phil. Bill did you get a look at his service record?"

"Yes I did. He has an outstanding record including several commendations. Also, it seems that Major Stone recommended him for promotion just prior to being transferred but Major Bush never followed through."

"Thank you gentlemen. Based on your reports, I have decided to promote Rip to the rank of major and give him command of this fort. I know that he was hoping to be allowed to transfer to Fort Dodge or closer to Virginia City, but right now, I need him here."

Just then, Cat returned and knocked on the door. This time Phil Sheridan opened it and let her in. "Uncle Rip says that he'll join you for supper but wants to know what time you're going to eat." The president told her and she ran out the door again.

"We need to get word to the Apaches not to expect Cat until tomorrow afternoon," Grant said. "They're expecting her tomorrow morning and I don't want them thinking we're preventing her from going to them. Phil, will you please find that sergeant and ask him to get word to the Apaches? Also, let's invite those two young men to join us for supper. I want to see the look on Cat's face when they give her those saddle bags. We'll dine casual so they won't feel out of place. Tell Rip not to wear his uniform to supper." Sheridan left the room, found the sergeant and asked him to let the Apaches know that Cat would not be joining them until the following afternoon.

While he was looking for the sergeant, Sheridan saw Tom and David and motioned for them to come with him. "I am looking for the sergeant. I need him to go and tell the Apaches that Cat won't be joining them until tomorrow afternoon. I would like the two of you to go with him and tell them why. I'll make sure that he knows any information he hears is strictly confidential. The president wants tomorrow's events to be a secret until they happen. Also, he has invited the two of you to join us for supper. It will be causal. Nobody will be wearing uniforms."

"You can count on us General," said David. "Thank you for the invitation. We gladly accept."

"Thank you gentlemen. Do you know where the sergeant is?"

"I think I saw him going into the lieutenant's office a little while ago," said Tom. They walked over to Rip's office where they found him talking to the sergeant.

Sheridan entered the office and said, "Rip, if you don't mind, I need to borrow your sergeant for a little while. We've managed to convince Cat to wait until after dinner tomorrow before going out to the Apaches and we need to let them know."

"That's fine. But he probably won't see the Apaches. He'll ride out to the Walker's farm and tell them. They'll tell the Apaches."

"Thank you. I'm sending those two young men who have adopted Cat with him."

"Ok. After you get them sent off, I have some questions for you."

Sheridan walked outside with the sergeant and told him that Tom and David would be going with him and he was not to tell anyone why Cat wouldn't be joining the Apaches until the following afternoon. Then he walked back into the office. "What can I help you with Rip?"

"I have some questions concerning what I am allowed to do as temporary commanding officer of this fort. Prior to receiving the telegram about Kate's death, I recommended several soldiers for promotion. Major Bush did not act on those recommendations. Am I allowed to promote them? After all, I am only a lieutenant and my current position is temporary."

"Rip, you are the Commanding Officer of this fort right now. If you believe someone needs to be promoted, write the orders and Bill or I will sign them. We'll do the promotions after breakfast tomorrow morning. Oh yes, before I forget, Sam invited those two young men to join us for supper. Wear civilian clothes instead of your uniform so they don't feel out of place."

"Thanks Phil. Those two young men have done a great job keeping up with Cat. Ben will probably wish he could add them to the family. I don't think he or my nephews are going to be able to tame her."

Sheridan laughed. "Do you really want her tamed Rip? If that happened, she wouldn't be the little Wild Cat we all love."

"You're right Phil. It's going to be interesting to see what her children are like when she grows up. I wonder if Michael's grandchildren will be as wild as his daughter is. You don't know how much I wish he were here to see his daughter. He would have a lot of fun with her."

"Well, I'd better let you get back to Sam. I don't envy you that mess. I'll see you in about two hours and don't forget, no uniform. Those two boys are going to be uncomfortable enough dining with Sam. We don't want to really make it worse by wearing our uniforms."

"Ok. Phil. I don't suppose that you would like to help me with this mess, would you? I could really use the help."

"Sure Rip, I'll help you out. It is quite a mess."

While Rip and Sheridan were busy going through all of the papers the Major had left on his desk and writing promotions, the sergeant, Tom and David rode out to the Walker farm. They knocked on the door and Elizabeth answered it and invited them inside. They told her and John that Cat wouldn't be joining the Apaches until the following afternoon. Then Tom told her why. They were thrilled that Rip was going to be promoted and John said he'd ride out right away and tell the Apaches not to expect Cat until the next afternoon and why. On the way back to the fort, the Sergeant told Tom and David he was glad Rip was going to be promoted and he thought it should have been done years ago.

When they returned to the fort, Tom and David went to their quarters changed clothes, grabbed Cat's present and walked down to join Rip, Cat and her Godparents for supper. "I don't know about you," David said, "But I'm nervous about eating supper with Cat's family. If we were just going to be with her new father and brothers, I wouldn't be this nervous, but we're going to be dining with the president, two generals and a lieutenant. Oh well, we'd better head down there. It wouldn't be polite to keep them waiting."

They walked down and knocked on the door to the President's quarters. Sheridan opened the door and invited them in. He saw the package in Tom's hands, took it and hid it behind his back just as Cat came out of another room. She saw the two of them, ran and hugged both of them and asked, "How come you're here? Are you coming to supper with us?"

"Yes, of course we are. Somebody needs to protect the president, generals, and lieutenant from you," teased Tom. "You're the wildest thing we've seen since we left our sister behind in Washington and everyone could be in danger from you."

Cat stuck her tongue out at him and ran back into the other room. "Uncle Sam, Tom and David are here. Did you invite them to supper?"

"Of course I did. Someone has to protect me, Uncle Bill, Uncle Phil, Uncle Rip, and this whole fort from you. If they didn't, you would probably destroy everyone and everything in just a few hours."

"I would not. It would take me at least a whole day to destroy the whole fort."

The Grants laughed at that statement. "Come on Julia," the president said to his wife. "We had better feed this wild thing before she does start destroying everything just for fun." They walked out into the main room where they greeted Tom and David. Then everyone left and walked over to the officer's mess where they would eat supper.

Everyone in the mess stood up when the president's party walked in. "Please sit down and enjoy your meals gentlemen," said Grant. "We intend to do the same thing." All of the officers sat down and one of the servers showed the party to their table.

As they passed a small table, one of the officers there said to his companions, "Would you look at that. Who do those two privates think they are, dining with the president and three officers?"

"I think it's disgraceful," replied one of the other men. "Those two need to be taught how to keep to their places."

Cat heard what the men said, walked over to them, kicked both of them and said, "Tom and David are my friends. Uncle Sam invited them to eat with us tonight. You shouldn't talk bad about them. It's rude to talk bad about others."

Before either of them could reply to Cat, Sherman walked over to them. "Since you seem to have a problem with the president's choice of dinner guests, I highly recommend you return to your quarters and remain there. Then you won't be offended by the company he keeps! I will deal with you in the morning!" The two officers knew they were in big trouble, got up and left the dining hall with their food half eaten. "Come on Cat. Everyone is waiting for us." After they reached the table and sat down, Sherman said, "Cat, I am very proud of you for defending your friends. However, next time, I think it would be best if you let adults take care of the problem. Those men had too much to drink and they could have hurt you."

"Ok Uncle Bill. I will."

"That's my girl. Now, what do you want for supper?"

"Chocolate cake."

Everyone in the dining hall that heard Cat's reply laughed. "You can have chocolate cake for dessert," said Rip. "How about having some chicken or steak, potatoes and vegetables for supper?"

"Ok Uncle Rip. I'll have the chicken, but I'd rather have chocolate cake."

After the server took everyone's order, Grant spoke to Tom and David. "Since you seem to have adopted my Goddaughter and she you, from now on, whenever we are in a family setting, you may call everyone by their names. As for that wild thing sitting next to Rip goes, I don't know why anyone would want to adopt her. I think we should treat her like a fish that's too small and throw her back."

Everyone had a good laugh. "I wouldn't tease her too much Sam," said Sheridan. "Remember, she's sleeping in your quarters and has the power to wake you very early in the morning."

"You wouldn't wake me up early, now would you Cat?"

"Yes I would. It's fun to wake you up early."

"Well, there's your answer Sam," laughed Rip. "Don't say you weren't warned. Cat is every bit Michael's daughter. He loved waking our parents up early when we were children."

Grant sighed and looked at his wife. "It's a good thing we left Jesse in Washington Dear. I'd hate to think of the havoc he and our Goddaughter could wreak on this country if they were together."

Cat chimed in. "I want to meet Jesse. He sounds like a lot of fun, just like Tom and David's sister, Sam."

Before any of the adults could respond to Cat's comment, servers brought the food. When she had finished her food, Tom called her over to where he and David were sitting and they handed her the package they bought that morning. Cat started to open it without reading the note pinned to it. "Cat, what does the note say?" asked Rip.

Cat read the note. "Happy birthday to our other little sister. From Tom and David." When she opened the package and found the saddle bags she had admired and saw her name and the Ponderosa brand on it, her jaw dropped and her eyes got as big as saucers. She hugged their necks so hard that Grant had to step in.

"Not so hard Cat. I need them," he teased. "If you keep hugging their necks that hard, I'm going to have to replace them because they'll be looking backwards and it's hard to ride a horse when you're sitting backwards."

"You can have Adam," replied Cat. "Little Joe says he's bossy. He'll be good at telling everyone else what to do."

"No Cat, I don't want Adam," replied Grant. "When I don't need Tom and David any more, I'm going to send them to the Ponderosa. Your Pa can adopt them too and they can help Adam, Hoss, and Joe keep you out of mischief."

Cat scrunched up her nose and made a funny face. "Yuck! I don't want five big brothers. I don't even want three big brothers. I just want Hoss and Little Joe. You can have Adam and I'll keep Tom and David."

"There's a problem with that Cat," said David. "If you ask Samantha, she'll say that we're just as bossy as Adam. The only reason we haven't been bossing you on this trip is because you had your uncle and Godfathers to do it. If we come and live on the Ponderosa, we'll boss you just as much as Adam will."

"That's not fair. I was right. There are just too many grownups!"

Everyone in the officer's mess heard Cat's exclamation and laughed. "You'll change your mind when you grow up," laughed Julia Grant.

"No I won't because I'm never going to grow up. When I turn ten next year, I'm not going to get any older. I'm just going to stay ten forever. Then I'm going to take Uncle Sam's job and get rid of Arithmetic and Grammar."

Before anyone could reply, the server brought dessert for everyone. Cat polished off a large piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk. Shortly after finishing her dessert, Cat started yawning and rubbing her eyes. Rip noticed, picked her up and said, "Time for you to go to bed little one. You have another busy day tomorrow and need your sleep. Say goodnight to everyone and let's get you into bed." Cat said goodnight to everyone. Tom and David started to get up and go with Rip. "You two have done plenty for Cat. Sit down and enjoy your night off. You deserve it. I'll find someone to sit with Cat until we're all done here."

"You don't have to carry me Uncle Rip," said Cat. "I can walk."

"I know Kitten but I like doing it. I don't get to do it often enough and it won't be too many more years before you're going to be too big for me to carry."

Rip carried Cat over to the Grant's quarters and found the captain waiting for them. "Don't worry about Miss Cat, Lieutenant. Since Tom and David are dining with the president tonight, all of the other men volunteered to keep watch. Rip thanked the captain, carried Cat inside and put her to bed. When he came out, the captain said, "I didn't want to say anything in front of Miss Cat, but one of those men General Sherman spoke with earlier blamed Miss Cat because he got in trouble with the general and threatened her. Don't worry. He's not going to do anything. I've got men standing guard at his quarters. In fact, his companion was so worried, he put a chair in front of the door and is planning to stay there all night. There are men in back of the president's quarters and there will be men in front also.

"Thank you Captain. I appreciate you and the men taking care of my niece. I'll be sure and let the general know about that officer's threats." Then he walked back over to the officer's mess and joined the others.


	19. Chapter 19

When Rip returned to the group, he told the others about the officer's threat against Cat and told them not to worry, that Cat was completely protected.

Then he changed the subject. "Now, we have other things to discuss while we're still all together. Cat will be going to Lucas' in two weeks and because I have been gone for so long and am temporarily in command, I cannot take her. She is only nine years old and Matt, Ben, and Victoria would kill me if I sent her on a stage by herself. So would you. A decision doesn't need to be made tonight, but I would like some suggestions after Cat goes to spend time with the Apaches. Also, sooner or later, she is going learn the truth about why Michael left her and Kate to rejoin an Army he hated. Kate never forgave you for taking him away from them and before she was killed, wrote a letter to Cat about your role in his rejoining the Army and gave it to Matt. It's in his safe and he's supposed to give it to Cat when she's eleven or twelve. I've been telling her about her father but not why he rejoined the Army."

"Great," moaned Grant. "Our Goddaughter is going to hate us before she's thirteen years old." Then he looked at Tom and David and asked, "What do you two think we should do? You're not related, so you can look at the situation with unbiased eyes."

"Before we can make any suggestions," said Tom, "Please give us some background on what happened. We knew that Cat's father was killed in the war but this is the first we're hearing about your involvement in his decision to leave his family."

Grant told them how Michael had been in the Army and how Rip and his brothers had all courted Cat's mother. "Michael hated the Army and when Kate chose him over his brothers, he resigned his commission, married her and moved onto the Ponderosa. When the war broke out, he had no intentions of leaving his family but Bill, Phil and I convinced him to rejoin the Army for the good of the country. That was the last time the three of us saw Kate alive. She ordered us out of her house and said she never wanted to see us again as long as she lived and would never forgive us for breaking up her family."

Tom and David whispered to each other for a few minutes and then Tom said, "You can't change the past. However, when you think Cat is ready to handle the truth, the three of you need to be the ones to tell Cat why she is growing up without her father. I would tell Matt that you intend to tell Cat the truth about why her father was in the Army and ask him to keep that letter until you have the chance to talk to her. We think that the three of you should tell her together. Otherwise, it will appear to her that the one is trying to blame the other two for what happened.

As far as getting Cat to Mr. McCain's ranch goes, with Sam's permission, we'll remain here until she returns from her time with the Apaches and escort her there. Then we will rejoin you."

"Thank you for your suggestions and offer to wait here for Cat," said Grant. "We don't need to decide anything tonight, but we will need to decide how to get her to Lucas' ranch within the next few days. Since Cat will be up early, I am going to head for bed. Rip, I'll review the troops and we'll do those promotions of yours mid morning. That will give everyone a chance to change uniforms after breakfast."

The next morning, Cat was up early. Before waking the Grants, she decided to wake Rip. Once he was awake, she woke the Shermans, the Sheridans and then the Grants. After breakfast, Rip and Sherman went to Rip's office to deal with the two rude soldiers from the night before and finish going through all the papers the major had left on his desk. Before they could send for the two officers, the second one knocked on the office door. When he entered the office, he saluted Rip and Sherman and apologized for his behavior the night before. He admitted that he had been drinking and that had affected his judgment. Then he told them about the other officer's threat and how he spent the night sleeping in a chair outside his door to ensure nothing would happen to Cat. Rip and Sheridan listened to him and then told him to wait outside while they talked.

"Well Rip, what do you think? You know this man and I respect your judgment."

"He's a good man Bill. He's young but he knows how to deal with the enlisted men. They respect him. I wouldn't want to see one lapse in judgment ruin his career."

"Alright, what do you recommend?"

"He can stand extra duty and, except for when he's on duty or eating, be confined to quarters for the remainder of the week. I won't put anything in his service record this time and hopefully nobody will ever need to. I also want him at this morning's events. Seeing you and Phil in your dress uniforms and watching others get promoted will give him something to work for."

"That sounds fair to me. I intend to let that young man know how lucky he is to have someone like you interested in his career. Now, what about the other one?"

"He's been nothing but trouble since he got here. He's friends with Major Bush and never fails to let everyone know it. I have recommended him for disciplinary action several times but nothing has been done. Once he's away from his friend, he may turn out to be a good officer."

"Alright Rip. I'll send some telegrams and find another fort to send him to. I'll find a small fort so he'll have to pull his own weight. He knew I wanted to see him right after breakfast, so I'm surprised he hasn't been here yet."

"I'm not. He seems to think that the rules don't apply to him and because of his friendship with the major, has not been held accountable for his actions."

"That's about to change. Let's tell that one man what is going to happen to him."

Rip went to the door and told the one officer to come in. Sherman told him what his punishment would be and he was glad he was being given a second chance. When asked where his dinner companion was, he replied that the man was probably still in bed. When they dismissed him, Rip told him to be sure and change into his dress uniform before the assembly later that morning. Then they told the sergeant to take two men and bring the other man to them, even if he was still in his night clothes.

While Rip and Sherman were dealing with the two officers from the previous night, Cat went over to the stable to take care of Ginger. After grooming her, Cat decided she wanted to go for a ride, saddled and led her out of the stable. Then she mounted and headed for the main gate where the corporal stopped her.

"Where are you going Miss Cat?" he asked. "You know that you're not allowed to leave the fort alone. Even though the Apaches won't hurt you, there are other things that will. Wait right here and I'll see if I can find two men who will ride with you. If you leave the fort alone, I will tell the lieutenant and if I do that, you know he will warm your bottom good and hard."

"Oh pooh! I forgot that I'm not supposed to ride out alone. Can't you please let me go alone this one time? I won't tell anyone."

"Sure, I can let you go alone. How bad do you want the spanking you will get when you return? I believe that you are also related to the president and generals, so if you disobey the lieutenant and go riding alone, what do you think they'll do to you when you return from your ride? Also, what do you think they'll do to me for letting you ride out alone? You wouldn't have to tell anybody. The lieutenant will know just by looking at how many men are in the fort."

"There are just too many grownups telling me what to do. If Uncle Rip spanks me for riding out alone, my three Godfathers will too and then my bottom will really hurt and not even a cushion on my chair will make it easy to sit during dinner. How about if I get some of the other kids to ride out with me? Then I won't be alone."

"Miss Cat, you know the rules. Even if there were ten of you, neither you nor the other younger children are allowed to ride out of this fort without at least one adult. If I let you ride out alone, I will be busted back down to private. It took me a long time to make corporal and I'd like to make sergeant sometime soon. If I let you ride out of this fort alone, you will have children of your own before I make sergeant."

"Oh. I didn't think about that. I don't want you to get in trouble. I just want to go for a ride. Alright, I'll wait here while you try and find someone to go with me. I hate being treated like a baby. I'm nine years old now."

"Catherine Michael Cartwright, you know as well as I do that there are children on this fort older than you and they are not allowed to ride out alone either! Now, stop trying to find ways around the rules and let me find someone to ride with you. The longer you stay here arguing with me, the less time you're going to have for your ride. The president is going to review the troops at mid morning and everyone has to be in their dress uniforms, so whomever goes with you is going to have to be back in enough time to wash up and change clothes."

"Alright, I'll wait right here. I promise not to leave the fort while you're gone, not that the guards will let me."

The corporal started to look for two men to ride with Cat. When he approached the stables, two men came out leading their horses. "We saw Cat saddle up and head for the gate," one of them said. "So, we thought we'd go with her and keep her out of mischief."

"How did you stop her from riding out alone?" asked the other.

"Thank you men. I appreciate your offer. I reminded her of what the lieutenant would do to her if he caught her leaving the fort alone. I also reminded her that the president and generals would probably take a very dim view of her disobedience also. The possibility of getting not just one, but four spankings stopped her in her tracks temporarily at least. We all know from experience how much she likes to be told no."

The other two men had also known Cat since she was four and laughed. "In that case," said the first one, "we had better hurry up and get over to her before she tries to open the gates herself. Even though the guards would stop her she'll try anyway. Either that or she'll go out the side gate like she did when she was four. That little girl is bound and determined to have her own way."

They arrived at the main gate to find Cat waiting impatiently and wishing she could get past the guards to go riding. "Hi Miss Cat. The corporal says you want to go riding. We don't have a lot of time, so we'd better go now."

"Hi Pete. Hi Bob. Thank you for going riding with me."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go because we don't have a long time." The three of them left the fort for a short ride in the country surrounding it. Cat was disappointed when Bob told her they had to return to the fort and started to argue with him.

"Catherine, what do you think your uncle and Godfathers will do to you if we are late getting back to the fort? We won't get in trouble because we were taking care of you. On the other hand, you will be in very serious trouble. What do you think will happen to you if you make us late?"

"I'll get four spankings and Uncle Rip may use his belt on my bare bottom."

"Well then, what is it going to be? Are we going to go back to the fort now or are we going to keep riding and be late?"

"You can go back without me. I'll be ok. The Apaches won't hurt me."

"Catherine," sighed Pete. "You know as well as we do exactly how much trouble all of us will be in if we leave you out here by yourself. We will be breaking the rules and soldiers who break the rules get in a lot of trouble and it takes a very long time for them to get promoted. I can guarantee that any punishment you might receive from your uncle and Godfathers for making us late will be much, much worse if you stay out here by yourself. Do you really want all four of them to use their belts on your bare bottom? Because you know that's exactly what will happen. Now, what is it going to be? Are we going back to the fort now or are we going to be late?"

Cat sighed. She really wanted to keep riding but she didn't want four spankings, so she said, "We're going to go back to the fort. I really want to keep riding but I don't want four spankings. Uncle Rip hits hard and since my Godfathers all have children, they probably do too."

Rip was waiting for her when they returned to the fort. "You need to go and put Ginger in the stables and change into clean clothes."

"Why do I need to change into clean clothes? I'm not in the Army. Uncle Sam doesn't care if I'm wearing clean clothes or not."

"You need to change into clean clothes because I told you to. Everyone else is wearing clean clothes and you have to also."

"But I don't want to change clothes. These aren't that dirty."

"Catherine Michael, if you continue arguing with me, I will spank you right here. Now go and put your horse in the stable and then go to your Godmothers. They are waiting for you with clean clothes."

"Alright, I'll go and change clothes but I'm not going to wear a dress."

Rip gave her a hard swat on her bottom. "You'll wear whatever your Godmothers want you to wear and if you don't stop arguing with me or if you argue with them, I will give you a bare bottom spanking. Now go and do as you were told to do!"

Cat ran off and Sheridan walked up to Rip. "What was that all about?" he laughed. "What did that sweet, innocent little child do to earn that swat?"

Rip laughed. "I'll give you sweet and innocent. If Ben hadn't already adopted her, I'd give her to you and let you deal with her stubbornness. She doesn't want to put clean clothes on and she refuses to wear a dress."

Just then they heard Cat yell loudly, "No! I'm not going to wear a dress and you can't make me!"

Rip sighed loudly. "I'm going to kill her. I told her that she was going to get a bare bottom spanking if she argued with the women and now I'm going to have to do it."

"Let me deal with her. You go and get changed and I'll take care of that wild thing. I will give her that spanking you promised. She has got to learn that she can't always have her own way and that she can't keep arguing with adults. So, I'm going to treat her just like I do mine when they start acting that way and she will be wearing that dress."

Rip went off to change uniforms and Sheridan walked into the president's quarters where he found the women struggling to get Cat to stand still long enough to get into a dress. "Catherine Michael, what is the meaning of all this fuss and arguing? You know better than to argue with adults when they tell you to do something! We're running out of time and Uncle Rip had to go and change uniforms, so I am going to do to you exactly what he said he was going to do. Remember, I have four children of my own and I know how do deal with them when they disobey or argue with adults. Now, what did Uncle Rip say he was going to do to you?"

Cat really wanted to lie but she remembered the lesson she had learned when she was five about what happens to children who tell lies. "He said he was going to give me a bare bottom spanking."

"Then that's exactly what I'm going to do." He took his belt off, sat down in a chair and said, "Come over her, pull your pants and underpants down and bend over my knees." Cat did as she was told and he brought his belt down very hard on her bare bottom.

By the time he reached three, Cat could be heard outside. "OWWWW! That hurts! Please stop Uncle Phil. Please stop." She tried wiggling free but he held her down firmly and continued until he had used his belt on her fifteen times.

It hurt worse than any spanking she had ever gotten and when he finished there were tears in her eyes. "Now, you have exactly five minutes to go in that bedroom, put on the clothes your Godmothers laid out for you, and be right back here standing in front of me. We are running out of time. If you are not standing in front of me in exactly five minutes, I will use my belt on your bare bottom again and this time will be longer and harder than the one you just got. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go and do what I told you to do."

Once Cat had closed the bedroom door behind her, Irene faced her husband with an angry look on her face. "Philip Henry Sheridan, we had the situation under control. We had convinced our Goddaughter to wear a dress before you reached the door. She was wiggling because she was excited about Rip's surprise. Every disagreement between an adult and a child doesn't need to end with the child bottom side up across your knees. Who do you think takes care of the children, including disciplining and getting them to cooperate when they don't want to, while you, Sam, and Bill are out playing soldier? Julia, Ellen and I do, that's who. Now our Goddaughter is in tears on Rip's special day. Are you ever going to ask if I have a situation under control before you step in?"

"Rip told her that if she argued with you, she was going to get a bare bottom spanking. We could hear her half way across the fort and Rip decided she needed to be punished for arguing with you. He needed to change into his dress uniform, so I told him I would take care of Cat."

"Did she need to be punished for arguing with us or because you and Rip were embarrassed that you could hear her half way across the fort?" Her husband didn't say anything. "That's what I thought. The two of you decided she needed to be punished because you were embarrassed. When we return to Washington, you are going to take a lot of time off from playing soldier and spend that time with me and our children so you can learn how to deal with them when they don't want to cooperate. Maybe you'll learn something besides what the Army teaches. Now, I suppose that poor child will be spending most of the afternoon standing in the corner instead of riding out to join the Apaches. Let me know when you're done with her so I can get her cleaned up before the ceremony." She walked outside, slamming the door behind her.

Cat hurried to do as she was told and was back standing in front of her Godfather with a minute to spare. "I see that you do know how to do as you're told." Then he pointed to a corner and said, "Go and stand in that corner until I tell you it is time to leave. When I tell you it is time to leave, you will have exactly five minutes to use the outhouse and rejoin us and you may not be joining the Apaches until after breakfast tomorrow. I have to see what Uncle Rip, Uncle Bill, and Uncle Sam have to say about it."

"That's not fair. I shouldn't be punished just because I didn't want to wear a dress."

"What were you told about arguing with adults? I guess you want more of what you just got. I am going to close my eyes and count to two. If you are not standing in that corner when I open my eyes, I will use my belt on your bare bottom again. Is that what you want?"

"No sir."

"Then do as you were told! One…Two…" When he opened his eyes, Cat was standing in the corner crying.

He walked outside where Sherman and Grant were standing. "What was that all about?" asked Grant.

"Our Goddaughter just got a lesson in what happens when a nine year old argues with adults too many times after being told not to. Right now, she's standing in the corner and I told her that she may not be joining the Apaches until tomorrow. I'll let you two and Rip make that decision. I do know that girl needs a firm hand. Matt was too easy on her and let her get away with too much."

"No Phil," said Rip joining the group. "Matt wasn't too easy on her. Because his job takes him away from Dodge a lot, she was left with little adult supervision for long periods of time. I do know that if he knew he was going to be gone more than a few hours or overnight, he took her out to the Tanners, but otherwise, she was left in his office with his deputy, the doctor, the blacksmith, the bartender, or Kitty to look after her. He punished her when she needed it. Why do you think she won't lie?

As far as her joining the Apaches is concerned, it will be a good lesson for her to have to stay here until after breakfast tomorrow. I'll send the sergeant, Tom and David out to the Walkers and they can tell the Apaches why Cat won't be joining them until tomorrow. They will understand and respect my decision. They do not believe in letting children disobey or talk back to adults any more than we do."

"Ben is definitely going to have his hands full with her," replied Sheridan. "If you don't have any plans for her after dinner, I've got more punishment for her. Thirty minutes of standing in the corner is not nearly enough for her to have learned her lesson. She can spend several hours facing the corner and thinking about the error of her ways."

"You had better get Cat out here Phil," said Grant. I want to start the inspection in about fifteen minutes."

Sheridan opened the door to the Grant's quarters and said, "Catherine, come here." Cat walked outside and wanted to run to Rip and be hugged but was told by Sheridan, "You have exactly five minutes to use the outhouse and return here. If you are not back here in five minutes without a good reason, you will be in more trouble after dinner. Now, go."

Cat ran off. "I see she's listening for now," said Sherman. "Too bad Kate didn't leave her with one of us or Ben. I'm not faulting Matt. He did the best he could and overall, Cat's a well behaved child. She just has a stubborn streak a mile wide and it gets the best of her from time to time. Rip, when are you going to tell her that she's not going to the Apaches today?"

"I'll tell her after dinner. If I tell her now, she'll sulk all during the inspection and promotions. Also since we'll be busy, she may sneak out the side gate. She's done that several times when she didn't get her own way. So, I'd rather wait until I know she can be supervised before telling her."

Irene joined the men outside. "I am very angry with all of you, especially Ripley and Philip. You Army men seem to think that the only way to get a child to cooperate is to whip them until they're begging you to stop. Yes, Cat argued with us, but we had the situation under control. Now, instead of enjoying watching her friends get promoted, she's going to have a hard time standing still because Philip hit her so hard."

"What are you talking about Irene? What did Phil do to Cat?" asked Rip. "He was only supposed to give her a spanking. A few well placed swats would have worked just fine."

"He used his heavy belt on her bare bottom fifteen times very hard. The two of you decided she needed to be punished, not for arguing about her clothes, but because you were embarrassed she could be heard half way across the fort."

"Phil, why on Earth did you do that? I was not going to use my belt on her. I was just going to give her several swats. I don't know what your children are like but Cat should not have been treated that way. She has been punished enough and will not be spending the afternoon standing in the corner. I am going to ask her if she'll wait until tomorrow before going out to the Apaches, but I will not force her to stay here."

Before Sheridan could answer Rip, Grant said, "We'll have to continue this discussion later. Cat is almost back here, the ladies need to get her cleaned up, and I want to get the inspection over and done with so I can do the promotions."

Cat came running back to the group. Rip picked her up, hugged her and teased, "You're not my little Wild Cat. Where are you hiding her? My little Wild Cat doesn't wear pretty dresses. She wears buckskins. Ladies, where have you hidden my niece?"

Cat laughed and hugged her uncle back. "You're silly Uncle Rip. It's me. I was going to wear my buckskins but my Godmothers said I should surprise everyone and wear a dress. That was before Uncle Phil came in and used his belt real hard on my bare bottom."

"I know Kitten. He wasn't supposed to do that. Right now, you need to go with your Godmothers and get cleaned up. I want you to stay with them until we're finished with the inspection and everything else. Since I'm in charge right now, I have to be with the men and Uncle Bill and Uncle Phil have to be with Uncle Sam. If you have any questions about what happens today, save them until everything is done and I'll answer them for you."

"Ok Uncle Rip. I'll stay with my Godmothers." Rip hugged her again, set her down, gave one of her pigtails a playful tug and sent her on her way.

The inspection went off with no problems and all of Cat's Godfathers were impressed by the men. Then Grant told the men one of the things he enjoyed most was promoting them and there were going to be several promotions. The sergeant who let the President's party in the gate was promoted to sergeant major and the corporal who wouldn't let Cat ride out alone was promoted to sergeant. After all the promotions for the men at the fort were finished, Grant called Tom and David up and promoted them to corporal. Cat was so excited she wanted to run over and hug her friends but she stayed with her Godmothers.

Then Grant pulled out his big surprise. "As all of you know, Major Bush is being recalled to Washington for reassignment. Now, I know that you're all wondering who your next commanding officer is going to be. Lieutenant Masters is a fine officer with an exemplary record. However, we cannot have a Lieutenant as the commanding officer of a fort, so effective immediately, Lieutenant Masters is promoted to the rank of major." Sheridan and Sherman were going to put his new shoulder boards on his uniform shirt when Grant stopped them. "Normally, when an officer is promoted, if he is married, his wife puts his new shoulder boards on his uniform. However, Major Masters is not married, so we're going to do things a little differently today. Cat, come here please." She ran over to where her uncle and Godfathers were standing. "How would you like to put Uncle Rip's new shoulder boards on his shirt?"

"Oh yes please. Can I really?"

"Yes, you may."

"How am I going to do it? Uncle Rip is tall and I can't reach his shoulders."

Grant took her by the hand and led her over to the stairs. "Alright Kitten. Climb up on my shoulders. You'll be able to reach then." To the amusement of everyone Cat climbed up on the President's shoulders and they walked back over to Rip.

"How do I get the old ones off and the new ones on?"

"Do you see that button right there? Unbutton it and pull the old ones off." Cat did as she was told and then Grant handed her one of the new ones. Since she wasn't familiar with Army insignia, she put the first one on backwards. Everyone, including the men in ranks had a good laugh. "Oops. My fault. I forgot to tell you which end was the front. Turn it around the other way. There you go. We'll make an Army officer out of you yet." When Cat had put both shoulder boards on Rip, Grant said, "Gentlemen, it is my honor to present your new Commanding Officer to you. Major Ripley Masters." Everyone cheered. "Now, I know everyone wants to congratulate everyone who was promoted, so I have decided that dinner is going to be served outside today. As this is a day of celebration, both the officer's and enlisted messes will be combined for supper. Feel free to change out of your dress uniforms. Now, will one of my generals or my new major please get this monkey off my shoulders? I think that my neck is several inches longer from the way she's been pulling on my head. Rip you need to dismiss the troops."

Rip dismissed the troops and then walked over to Grant. "Come and ride on my shoulders for a while Cat. I think your Uncle Sam is getting tired of you twisting his neck."

With some help from Sheridan and Sherman, Cat was safely transferred to Rip's shoulders. "Am I going to be able to go to the Apaches today Uncle Rip?"

"You can if you want to. Or you can spend the rest of the day here and go after breakfast tomorrow. Uncle Sam wants to meet your Apache family and I think the celebration for everyone getting promoted is going to last a long time."

"Ok. If Uncle Sam wants to meet my Apache family, I'll wait until after breakfast tomorrow."

"Good because I don't get to spend enough time with you and that's one of my favorite things to do. Maybe in a few years, I can get Uncle Sam to transfer me to the fort near Virginia City or to Fort Dodge."

"I would like that. I'll go tell him he has to."

"Slow down there little one. If that happens, it's not going to be for a while. I was just put in charge here and have a lot of work to do, so you'll probably be eleven or twelve before it happens. Now, let's see if we can find Tom and David. I know you're going to want to hug their necks."

They found Tom and David who congratulated Rip on his promotion and he congratulated them on theirs. Then Tom said, "Have you seen Cat at all today? We've searched the whole fort but can't find a little girl in buckskins anywhere. I hope she didn't wander out of the fort last night and get lost."

Cat giggled and hugged Tom's neck and then did the same thing to David. "I don't know Major," said David. That child on top of your shoulders looks like Cat and hugs like Cat but it can't possibly be her. Everyone knows that Cat would rather play in a nest of rattlesnakes than wear a dress."

Just then Grant walked up, congratulated Tom, David and Rip on their promotions and also started teasing Cat about wearing a dress. Rip decided that she had been teased enough and walked back over to the Grant's quarters so she could change clothes. After she changed, she walked over to Rip's quarters and knocked on the door. He opened it and she saw that he was packing his things. "Why are you packing Uncle Rip? Are you going on a trip?"

"No Cat, I'm not going anywhere. Since I'm in charge now, I need to move into the Commanding Officer's quarters. They're bigger and there's even an extra bedroom for when you come to visit me. You can help me pack and move later. I'm sure you're hungry so let's go and get some dinner. Hop on my back and I'll carry you."

"You don't have to carry me. I can walk."

"Yes I know but I like carrying you. It's fun. You're growing so fast, it won't be many more years before I won't be able to carry you. If there was a way, I'd keep you from growing up. Now, let's go and get some food."

They walked over to where the food was being served. Rip helped Cat down from his back and they got some food. She was angry with Sheridan so she spent the rest of the afternoon talking with the soldiers and avoiding her Godfather. He knew she was avoiding him and watched for a chance to talk to her. He saw her talking to Tom and David, snuck up behind her, picked her up and carried her over to the stairs. Then he sat her down and said, "We need to talk."

"I'm mad at you and don't want to talk to you."

"I know Kitten but we need to talk. I need to apologize to you. I shouldn't have used my belt on your bare bottom before asking your Godmothers if you needed to be punished before I did anything. Uncle Rip said he was going to spank you and I decided to use my belt instead of my hand. I am very sorry that I did that. If it makes you feel better, Your Godmothers, Uncle Rip, Uncle Bill, and Uncle Sam all yelled at me."

"They did?"

"Yes they did. Aunt Irene is very angry with me. She even called me by my full name and you know what that means."

"It means you're in big trouble. Is she going to spank you?"

"I don't know. She's very angry, so she might. Now, am I forgiven?"

Cat turned her back on him and pretended to think so he took matters into his own hands and started tickling her. "Yes, I forgive you," she laughed and hugged him.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me. Now, let's go and help Uncle Rip move." They walked over to Rip's quarters and helped him move his belongings to his new quarters.

"Look Cat," he said. "There's even a bedroom for you. Would you like to sleep in here tonight instead of with Uncle Sam and Aunt Julia?"

"Oh can I really? Yes please. I want to."

"Go, get your things and put them in your room," said Rip. When Cat returned he said, "I've got to go over to my office and deal with all of those papers on the desk. Do try and stay out of mischief and try not to drive your Godparents too crazy."

"I can help you with your papers Uncle Rip."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm going to put them in the stove and burn them."

Both Rip and Sheridan had a good laugh. "You can't put the papers in the stove Cat," said Rip. "They're very important and I need to read them. Some of them may go in the stove but a lot of them have to be filed. Now, I'm going to go over to my office and work for a little while. Why don't you go with Uncle Phil and see if you can keep him from getting into more trouble than he's already in with Aunt Irene? I'll see you at supper."


	20. Chapter 20

Cat wandered around the fort for a while but all of the men were busy doing their jobs. Then she spotted several of the older boys riding out to go fishing and decided she wanted to go fishing also. She ran over to where her Godparents were sitting outside in the shade and said, "I want to go fishing. Will someone please take me? I'm not allowed to leave the fort by myself and the older boys have already left."

"Sure Cat, I'll take you," said Sheridan.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll go too," said Sherman.

"Philip Henry Sheridan, I swear, if you harm one hair on that child's head I will not speak to you for a month and you will be sleeping outside during that time."

"Don't worry Irene. I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just going to use her for bait. Maybe I'll catch a whale." Then he turned to Cat and said, "See, I told you Aunt Irene was angry at me. That's the second time today she's called me by my full name." Cat giggled.

"Wow, you really are in trouble Uncle Phil. Uncle Matt never called me by my whole name twice in one day. If he had, I wouldn't have been able to sit down for three days. Can we go fishing now before Aunt Irene decides to make you stay here?"

"Sure Cat. Let's go, get our horses and some fishing poles. We can dig for worms when we get to where we're going."

The three of them spent most of the rest of the day fishing and returned to the fort shortly before supper. Just before they returned, the sergeant major walked into Rip's office and said, "Major, the men all asked me to ask you if you would wear your dress uniform to supper tonight. They really like seeing you in it wearing major's bars and know that you probably won't wear it again until the president visits us again."

Rip thought about it for a minute. He hated wearing his dress uniform and thought of a way to get out of it. "I'll tell you what. I'll wear my dress uniform _if_ you can convince that little Wild Cat of mine to wear that pretty dress she wore today."

The sergeant major laughed and said, "Alright Major you've got a deal. I'll convince your niece to wear her dress and you'll wear your dress uniform. All of the men will be impressed."

Rip just laughed. "Go on with you. You'll never convince her to wear that dress again today. I think she'll probably get married in her buckskins."

"We'll see Major. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." When the fishing party returned to the fort, the sergeant major met them in front of the Grant's quarters. "Miss Cat, I have a really big favor to ask. Everyone wants your uncle to wear his dress uniform to supper tonight but he won't do it unless you wear that pretty dress you wore earlier. So, will you please wear your dress again tonight?"

Cat made a face. "I don't like wearing dresses."

Before the sergeant major could reply, Sherman said, "I could order him to wear the uniform."

"Thank you General, but that wouldn't be fair. The major said he'd wear the uniform if his niece wore her dress and it's up to me to convince her and I'm not above bribery. Miss Cat, if you'll wear your dress to supper, I'll ask the cooks to give you an extra large piece of chocolate cake for dessert."

All of the adults laughed. "Sergeant Major, you are devious," said Julia Grant. "Well Cat, are you going to wear your dress?"

"Thank you ma'am. I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, Uncle Rip does look nice in his dress uniform and I love chocolate cake. So, yes, I'll wear my dress to supper. Who's going to tell him?"

"We all will," replied Ellen Sherman. "I for one, want to see the look on his face when he learns he has to wear his dress uniform. Why don't you go and shake out your dress? We'll be over to help you as soon as we tell Uncle Rip the bad news." Then she turned to the men and said, "Since Rip has to wear his dress uniform tonight, so do you." Cat laughed at the looks on their faces and ran over to Rip's new quarters to shake out her dress.

Everyone else walked over to Rip's office. He looked up when the door opened and was surprised to see everyone. "Don't tell me, Cat's started the fort on fire."

Everyone laughed and Grant said, "No, but we do have some bad news for you."

"You have to wear your dress uniform tonight," said Julia. "The sergeant major talked Cat into wearing her dress."

The shocked look on Rip's face made everyone laugh so hard, the clerk ran in from his office to see if anything was wrong. When he saw that everything was fine, he returned to his office. "How did he do that? Cat hates wearing dresses and will probably get married in her buckskins."

"That's our secret," replied Grant. "You'll find out later."

"Don't feel bad," said Sherman. "Our wives decided that we also needed to wear our dress uniforms. So we'd all better go and change clothes. Supper will be served in a little while."

They walked back over to Rip's quarters where they found Cat getting dressed. "Please let us rebraid your hair," said Ellen Sheridan. "You're wearing that pretty dress, so your hair should look nice too. What did you do with your hair ribbons from earlier?"

Cat went up to the head of the bed and pulled them out from under the pillow. "I didn't want them to get dirty, so I put them here."

They had Cat's hair rebraided in no time at all and tied the ribbons onto the end of each pigtail. "Now, we need to go, wash up, and make sure our husbands are obeying orders" said Ellen. Why don't you knock on Uncle Rip's door and see if he needs help getting dressed?"

The women returned to their own quarters and Cat knocked on Rip's door. He opened it and she said, "Aunt Ellen said I should see if you needed help getting dressed."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I hate all of these buttons and I always have to try several times before I get them right."

"I can help you with the buttons," Cat said as she hopped up on the bed. "You sure did make a mess with them. Unbutton all of them and let me do it." It took several minutes but she got the shirt buttoned correctly. Then they walked over to join the others for supper.

When they reached the mess hall, Rip was shocked to see that ten of the officers were wearing their dress uniforms and were serving as an honor guard. The sergeant major gave commands and the men saluted the party with their swords and then crossed them overhead, forming an arch. Rip was going to enter first but Grant stopped him. "You are the guest of honor tonight, so you and your adorable little escort will enter last."

Once everyone but Rip and Cat had entered, the honor guard quickly entered the hall and reformed their sword arch. Since it was a special occasion, even the married soldiers and their families were present and all of the men were wearing their dress uniforms. When Rip and Cat entered the hall, the sergeant major said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you our new Commanding Officer, Major Ripley Masters and his niece, Miss Catherine Cartwright." Everyone stood up and cheered.

Rip and Cat walked over to where her Godparents were waiting at a large table in the center of the two rooms. The president and generals seated their wives and Rip did the same thing for Cat who giggled. Then he asked, "What do you want for supper tonight Cat?"

Before Cat could answer, everyone who heard the question responded, "Chocolate cake."

Rip laughed. Many of the people at the fort had known Cat since she was four and knew that chocolate cake was her favorite food.

"You can have chocolate cake for dessert Kitten, but, as I told you last night and the night before and the night before that, you need to have meat, potatoes and vegetables for supper."

"You sound like Uncle Matt. He says that all the time."

"All grownups do Cat," said Ellen. "Uncle Bill and I say the same thing to our children all the time."

Cat sighed and decided on steak. Once the server left their table, Rip stood up and asked, "Sergeant Major, will you please tell me how you got my niece to wear a dress tonight? You know as well as many of us do that she would rather play with a hornet's nest than wear a dress."

"I'm sorry Major, but that's going to remain a secret for a little while longer. You will find out soon."

At supper, Cat asked Rip if she could taste his wine. Remembering her reaction when she tasted Matt's coffee, he handed her his glass. She took a sip, made a funny face and said, "EWWWWW Yuck! That tastes almost as bad as coffee. May I have some more milk please?"

When dessert was served, the server put a very large piece of chocolate cake in front of Cat and said, "For you Miss Catherine with everyone's compliments." Cat wasn't sure what that meant, so she just said thank you.

Rip was laughing so hard he could barely speak. He knew stood up and said, "Sergeant Major, did you bribe my niece to wear her dress tonight?"

"Yes I did Major and I will gladly do it again when the occasion arises and especially when you are promoted to colonel."

Everyone in the mess hall laughed. Rip just threw up his hands and laughed. "Alright, you win this time. Next time might not be so easy, especially as I'm wise to your tricks now." Then he looked at Cat who was busy devouring her cake. "Are you going to be able to eat all of that? It's an awfully big piece."

Cat drank some milk and said, "Of course I am Uncle Rip. I could eat a whole chocolate cake if you'd let me."

Everyone at the table laughed. "She's definitely a normal nine year old Rip," said Ellen. "Most of our brood feels the same way."

As very young children began getting sleepy and were carried out by their parents, their fathers stopped at the president's table to congratulate Rip on his promotion. Shortly after Cat finished her cake, she began to yawn. Rip noticed and said, "If you will excuse me for a little while, it's time this little one was in bed. Climb onto my back Cat and I'll give you a ride back to your new room."

After getting Cat into bed and ensuring she was asleep, Rip returned to the mess hall. Everyone sat and talked for a while before deciding to head to bed themselves.

The next morning, Cat was up before the sun. She ran into Rip's room, pounced onto the bed and woke him up. He groaned, rolled over and looked at his watch. "Don't you ever sleep until sunrise?" he asked. "Revile isn't for another two and a half hours. Go back to bed." Seeing the disappointed look on her face, he pulled her under the covers with him and said, "I'm going back to sleep for a little while. You can stay awake if you want to but please don't wiggle too much or I might have to tickle you when I wake up." Cat snuggled up in her uncle's arms and fell back to sleep, feeling more secure than she had since her mother had shown up in Dodge. She let out a deep sigh and Rip instantly knew that she had been feeling insecure and felt bad about making her sleep with the Grants.

At breakfast, Grant said, "Cat, I know that you're eager to ride out to your Apache friends and I want to meet them. But I have a little bit of work to do before we can leave. I promise I'll only take one hour and then we'll go. Maybe we can get Uncle Rip to wear his dress uniform again," he teased.

"Only if Cat wears a dress again and you, Bill and Phil wear your dress uniforms."

Julia Grant scolded her husband. "Ulysses, it's not nice to tease Rip this early in the morning. He hates wearing his dress uniform as much as you, Bill and Phil hate wearing yours."

After breakfast, Rip said, "Come on Cat. You can help me in my office for a little while. I'm going to let you throw some of those papers from my desk into the stove. There's no fire in it right now, so you won't get burned." After forty five minutes, he said, "Let's go and remind Uncle Sam that he promised to be ready in an hour. He forgets about the time when he starts working." On the way over to the Grant's quarters, he saw the lieutenant who was his second in command. "I'm going to be riding out to take Cat to the Apaches in a little while. I should be back in about two hours. You're in charge until I return."

When they reached the Grant's quarters, they were a little surprised to find only three horses saddled and waiting. "Bill and Phil said that they wanted to spend some time with their wives and Julia didn't feel like going for a ride this morning."

Just then Cat exclaimed, "I forgot my bow and arrows! I have to go and get them and I want to show my pretty saddle bags to Little Bear." She ran to Rip's quarters, got her things out from under the bed and ran back to where her uncle and Godfather were waiting. She was thrilled to see that Tom and David had decided to join the escort. She mounted Ginger and everyone rode out of the fort.

While they were riding, Rip told her, "I'm feeling very selfish right now and I don't want to share you with the Apaches. In fact, I don't even want to share you with the rest of the family, including your new father and brothers. I just want to keep you all to myself."

Cat just laughed and said, "I'll race you to that big tree down the road." Cat lost the race and laughed, "Just wait until Fury grows up. Then I'll never lose a race again. He's going to be the fastest horse in the world."

Before long, they reached the Walker's farm where Elizabeth and John were waiting outside to greet them. "Please come inside and sit down. The Apaches should be here shortly," said John. They both hugged Cat and admired her saddle bags.

About ten minutes later, the two Apache chiefs and a handful of braves, including Little Bear rode into the farm. John welcomed them and invited them into the house. They already knew Rip and congratulated him on his promotion. "Uncle Rip is in charge of the fort now," said Cat. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Then she spotted Little Bear and ran up to him. Before she could hug him, he pulled something out from under his shirt and handed it to Cat. It was a silver gray puppy that looked more like a wolf than a dog. "My dog had puppies and I saved the best one for you. His name is Silver Chief. His father is a wolf and his mother is half dog and half wolf. I have been telling him about you and he will protect you when he grows up." Cat put the puppy down and hugged Little Bear tightly.

"Thank you Little Bear. I will take very good care of him."

"Just don't over feed him like you did with Spot when you were four."

"I won't. I promise."

Everyone laughed and Elizabeth explained to Grant that when Cat was four, she was feeding her pony too much because she thought that would make him grow up as big as a horse. Cat took Silver Chief outside to show Tom and David giving the men an opportunity to talk. They talked for about twenty minutes and then Cochise said, "We need to leave. We only have a short time with Wild Cat and have much to teach her." The men all shook hands and Grant told him and Geronimo that he was very happy to have met them. He said that they also needed to get back to the fort as Rip had a lot of work to do now that he was in command. Once they were outside, Cochise said, "Come Wild Cat. We need to leave. Say goodbye to the Walkers and your family, get your puppy and come with us." Cat did as she was told and then tried to figure out how she was going to even mount her horse with a wiggling puppy in her arms. Then she decided to put him in one side of her new saddle bags and followed her Apache father and Grandfather out of the Walker's yard.

While they were riding, Little Bear told Cat that he had another surprise for her when they got back to the village. "OOOOH. I love surprises. It is a nice surprise?"

"Yes, of course it is. Those are the best kind."

The party arrived in the village and Cat ran to hug her Apache mother and grandmother. Then she took Silver Chief out of her saddle bag and put him on the ground. Little Bear walked up to her and said to come with him. They walked over to his parent's teepee, he entered it and came out holding the hand of a girl who was the same age as him. "Wild Cat, this is Morning Dove. She has agreed to become my wife."

Cat was thrilled and hugged her brother. "I am going to have a sister. Do you really love her?"

"Yes Wild Cat. I do love her very much."

Then Cat turned to Morning Dove and asked, "Do you love Little Bear?"

"Yes I do. I love him more than anything else."

Cat hugged her and said, "I'm glad you're going to be my sister now."

Then Little Bear told her that he and Morning Dove were going to be married the next day. Cat hugged both of them tight. Then they spent the next hour teaching her how to train her puppy. Morning Dove tied a long thin piece of deer hide around Silver Chief's neck and gave the other end to Cat. "Now," she said, "Call his name and give a very gentle tug on the lead, but no harder than this." She gave a very gentle tug on one of Cat's braids. Cat did as she was told and after several tries, the puppy figured out what was being asked of him and ran to Cat. She hugged, kissed, and praised him. Before long, she no longer needed the lead. The puppy followed her wherever she went.

Later that day, Cat was allowed to accompany the men when they went hunting to get food for the next day's wedding feast. She wasn't big enough to kill a deer but her adopted father and grandfather watched with approval as she rejoined them, carrying six rabbits. Silver Chief had followed the hunting party and everyone had a good laugh as he tackled a rabbit that was as big as he was. Cat was going to help him when Little Bear stopped her. "No. Let him do it. He will learn that way."

The puppy eventually won his battle with the rabbit and ran back to Cat dragging his prize. Cat picked him up, hugged and praised him. All of the men praised him too. "He will be a good hunter when he grows up," said Geronimo. "Your hunting skills have also improved. You will learn how to make a fire while you are here. Then you will never go hungry."

"Thank you Father," said Cat. "When will I be big enough to kill a deer?"

"Not for several more years daughter. Maybe when you are eleven or twelve, if you keep practicing and build up your arm strength, you will be able to kill a deer. Just remember, you need to be patient and give yourself time to grow up a little more. Little Bear was fourteen when he killed his first deer. I was sixteen when I killed mine. Everybody is different. One thing you must remember is to never kill an animal except for food or to end its suffering. When you kill an animal for food, you must always thank it for giving its life for yours. When you end an animal's suffering, you must talk to the animal and tell it what you are going to do and why."

"I'll remember Father."

The hunting party returned to the village. The men dressed the deer and Cat took care of the rabbits, earning her more praise. Then she took the rabbits to her adopted mother and learned a new way of fixing them for a meal. Cat gave the skins to her adopted mother and said, "Mother, I will need a hat and mittens for the winter. My mother's brother adopted me and I will be living on his ranch in Nevada. It gets very cold and snowy there. Will you please teach me how to make some hats and mittens? Then I can also make some for my friends, Laura and Mary."

Cat's request earned her a bear hug. "My daughter, you are growing up. I am very proud of you. Not so many years ago, you would not have asked to learn how to make your own things. Now you are asking to make things for your friends. Your father and grandparents will also be very proud of you. Now, please go and tell them that the meal is almost ready. We have enough food so you may also invite Little Bear and Morning Dove."

Cat ran off to as she had been told. While they were eating, she was praised again for providing the meal and for asking to learn how to make mittens and hats. She wasn't used to having a puppy and had forgotten to feed Silver Chief who tried to steal food from the meal. "Wild Cat," said Little Bear. "Did you remember to feed Silver Chief tonight?"

"No. I didn't. I am very sorry. I've never had a puppy before and don't know how much they eat, when they eat or what they eat. I know about horses but not puppies. Will you please teach me? I should have asked earlier."

Little Bear cut a large piece of meat off one rabbit and handed it to Cat. "Give this to him. If he is still hungry when he finishes, we will give him one more small piece. When you wake up in the morning, give him another large piece. Tomorrow I will teach you how to take care of him."

Cat took the meat, picked up her puppy, hugged him and said, "I am sorry I forgot to feed you Silver Chief. I've never had a puppy before. I promise that I will never forget again." The puppy licked her chin then she set him down and gave him the meat. When she rejoined the family, she realized that she had forgotten something else. "Do puppies need to drink water? I know that horses, cows, chickens, and people do but I don't know about puppies."

Cochise answered her. "Yes granddaughter. Every living creature needs to drink water. Go over to my teepee and you will find a large bowl there. Fill it with water and give it to your puppy. When he is grown, he will be able to drink from streams, rivers and lakes but while he is still small, he must drink from a bowl." After Cat left to get the bowl of water, Cochise said, "My granddaughter is growing up. She is asking how to do things instead of waiting to be told. She is thinking of others now also instead of only thinking about herself." When Cat returned, gave the water to her puppy and rejoined the family, Cochise told her, "Granddaughter, you are growing up and I will miss the little girl who demanded her father give her a ride on his horse when we found you. However, I am very proud of the big girl you are becoming."

"Thank you Grandfather," replied Cat.

Then Morning Dove spoke up. "I know that this is Wild Cat's first night back with the family but tomorrow we will become sisters. May the two of us please share a teepee tonight so that we may learn about each other?" Permission was given and Little Bear left to find an empty teepee and start a fire in it.

When the meal had ended, Cat got her blanket, bow and arrows and Silver Chief's water bowl and started to go with Morning Dove. "Come on Silver Chief, it is time for us to go to bed." The puppy got up and started to follow her but then looked at a large bone he had been given. "Bring it with you silly. Nobody is going to steal it from you."

"Some of the bigger dogs might and Silver Chief might get hurt because he is still so small," said Morning Dove. "I will carry it for him." She picked up the bone, the girls left the teepee and walked over to the one Little Bear had provided for them, followed by a small silver gray bundle of fur wagging his tail as hard as he could. The girls put their blankets on the sleeping skins that had been laid out and Morning Dove put more wood on the fire. Then they both lay down and began talking to each other. After a little while, Silver Chief walked over to Cat and curled up next to her. It wasn't much longer before both girls fell asleep, Cat with her arms wrapped around a warm puppy. She thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. She had a horse (or at least he would be when he grew up), and a puppy and tomorrow she would get a sister.

The next morning was very busy. Morning Dove's village would be joining Cochise's village for the wedding celebration which was expected to last into the night. The deer were being roasted and the vegetables prepared. Everyone was taking part in the preparations but Little Bear found time to talk to Cat and teach her about how to take care of her puppy. He told her that he was proud of the way she apologized to the puppy, promised never to forget to feed him again and then asked if he needed water to drink. Then he told her that he was going to put Silver Chief's mother in his teepee and she should put him in there also. "There will be a lot of people here for the celebration and a young puppy can easily get stepped on or someone could steal him. I will tell you when it's time and we will feed them in there and give each of them a large bone. Nobody will go into my teepee and if they do, Silver Chief's mother will protect him."

"Do you think I should take him to the Walker's and ask them to take care of him until tomorrow? I don't want him to get stepped on and hurt and I don't want anybody to steal him."

"I don't know. Let's go, ask your father or grandfather what they think."

They found Cochise first and asked him. "That will not be necessary. He can stay with you until after the feast. Before the dancing begins, give him a large bone and put him with his mother in Little Bear's teepee."

"Thank you Grandfather. I wish the Walkers, Uncle Rip and my Godparents could be here for the wedding."

"Good. Now, I believe that Morning Dove is looking for you."

Cat ran off and found Morning Dove who was holding a buckskin dress that had been dyed a pretty shade of blue. She also had moccasins to match the dress. "I made these for you. I know that you do not like wearing dresses, but I would like it very much if you would wear them to the wedding today." Before Cat could answer, Morning Dove showed her the dress and moccasins she would be wearing to her wedding ceremony and feast.

"They match!" exclaimed Cat. "They're pretty. Thank you for the pretty dress and moccasins. I will wear them to your wedding and then everyone will know that we are sisters."

The two girls hugged and then Morning Dove said, "Come. Let us go down to the river and bathe. Then we can rebraid our hair so it will look nice for the wedding." The two girls walked down to the river. Since Silver Chief decided to jump in the water with them, they bathed him too. When they were finished, they walked back to the teepee they had shared the night before where they found Little Bear's mother as well as Cat's Apache mother and grandmother waiting to help them dress. The three women were surprised to see Cat excited about wearing a dress and praised her.

"Morning Dove is going to be my sister and she made this dress for me so everyone would know we were sisters. So, I told her I would wear it." The women helped Morning Dove dress first and they rebraided her hair. When they were finished, Cat looked at her and decided she needed something else but couldn't figure out what. Then she said, "I know what you need. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, she returned, both hands full of wildflowers. "You need flowers. Little Bear likes flowers. He will like it if he sees you wearing flowers. The women put several of the flowers into Morning Dove's hair. Cat held still while the women dressed her next. After her hair had been rebraided, they put flowers in it too. Then Morning Dove had an idea. She asked for a long, thin piece of deer hide. When it was given to her, she measured Silver Chief's neck, cut the deer hide in three pieces, braided it and tide it loosely around the puppy's neck and put some flowers in the braids. The puppy looked silly but didn't seem to care.

Early that same morning, Cochise rode to the Walker farm. He told them that Little Bear was going to be married that afternoon and that Cat was going to be part of the celebration. Then he invited them to the wedding. He also asked them to go to the fort and tell Rip and the president's party that they were invited too. He also said that Tom and David should come. Then he said that the men should wear their dress uniforms. The Walkers said that they would love to attend the wedding and would ride out to the fort right away. Cochise thanked them and went back to his village.

John rode out to the fort and told Rip, the Grants, Shermans, and Sheridans about the invitation. The men didn't want to go because they had to wear their dress uniforms but the women said it would be rude to decline the invitation, especially as Cat was going to be part of the ceremony. "How upset will Cat be with the four of you when she finds out you were invited and refused to go?" said Julia Grant. "The three of us will go without you and we will tell our Goddaughter that her uncles acted like nine year olds because they didn't want to wear their dress uniforms."

"Philip Henry Sheridan, just yesterday, you whipped our Goddaughter because she didn't want to wear a dress," said Irene. "Now you are acting just like she did by refusing to wear your dress uniform. What kind of an example are you setting for that child? Do you want her to grow up thinking that adults don't have to obey the rules they make?"

The men surrendered and told John they would be at his farm by two. John rode back to his farm, laughing the whole way and eager to tell Elizabeth about how four grown men, all of them Army officers, and one the president, were acting like little children.

"Now boys, said Ellen. "In exactly fifteen minutes, I want to see four men outside brushing their own uniforms. You will notice that I said 'Brushing _their own_ uniforms'. That does not mean you get some hapless private to do it for you. That means you do it yourselves. If the three of you are going to act like nine year olds, we are going to treat you like nine year olds." Then they walked into their quarters to decide which dresses they were going to wear. They started in the Grant's quarters and giggled like school girls while helping Julia decide which dress to wear. They did the same thing in the Sherman's and Sheridan's quarters also.

Once the women decided which dresses they were going to wear and went outside to see if a major and three generals still knew how to take orders as well as give them. They were not disappointed. Rip wasn't married but each of the other three men did not want to face his wife's wrath by not doing what they were told. Rip looked at the women and said, "I hate these buttons. They drive me crazy. It took me thirty minutes to dress yesterday morning but yesterday evening, because Cat did the buttons for me, it only took me fifteen. Will one of you ladies please help me with my buttons? My best girl isn't here to do it for me."

The women looked at each other and burst out laughing. "He does sound like a little boy, doesn't he?" said Irene.

"Don't you just love the sad look on his face?" said Ellen.

"Yes Rip. Of course we'll help you," said Julia. "It won't do for you to embarrass Cat by having your shirt buttoned wrong. Now, why don't the four of you go and see how much work you can get done in Rip's office before dinner? We'll need to change clothes and leave right after dinner. By the way, has anybody bothered to tell Tom and David that they are invited to the wedding celebration?"

The men just looked at each other and the women sighed. "Rip," said Julia. "I really don't know how you function without a woman in your life. Will you please go over and tell those two young men about the wedding, that they are invited and have to wear their dress uniforms? I know that they will want to be there since Cat is going to be part of it."

Rip walked over to where Tom, David, and other members of the president's security detail were playing with some of the fort's children. "Tom, David, may I please see you for a moment?"

They stopped what they were doing, walked up to Rip and saluted. "What can we do for you Major?" asked Tom.

"Well boys, I've got some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that you, along with the Grants, Shermans, Sheridans, and I have been invited to a wedding. Cat's friend Little Bear is getting married today and she's going to be part of the celebration. The bad news is that we have to wear our dress uniforms."

They sighed and got funny looks on their faces. "Don't feel bad. At least you're not going to have three women treating you like nine year olds. We made the mistake of acting like Cat when we were told we needed to wear our dress uniforms and the women are making us pay dearly."

Tom and David laughed long and loud. "I'm sorry Major, but that is just too funny," said David. "I wondered why all of you were outside brushing your dress uniforms. Too bad Cat wasn't here to see you, the generals and president acting like her. She sure would have thought it was funny. Don't worry; we'll be sure to tell her all about it if you don't."

"I'm quite certain that her Godmothers will have fun telling her themselves, especially as General Sheridan gave her a whipping for arguing with them about wearing a dress yesterday morning."

"Thank you for the invitation," said Tom. "What time do you want to leave?"

"We should leave no later than thirteen hundred hours."

"Alright Major," said Tom. "We'll be ready. In the mean time, David and I should go and see about horses for all of us."

"Thank you. Julia may be right. Maybe I do need a woman in my life just to remind me of things I forget."

Tom and David laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," said David. "You've got a lot on your mind right now. We don't envy you being given command of this fort right now. We had a look at your desk yesterday and wouldn't wish that mess on anyone, friend or foe."

Rip walked over to his office while Tom and David walked over to the stables. "You know Tom," said David. "This is going to be fun. We get to tell privates what to do for a change."

"Yes it is, but don't forget, we're part of the president's security detail and our behavior reflects on him, so we can't be rude."

They reached the stables and entered. They found a private brushing one of the horses. "Excuse us private," said Tom. "Would you please direct us to whomever is in charge?"

The private looked up from his work at the sound of Tom's voice. He looked at them and saw that they outranked him and said, "Yes, I will. Please come with me."

He led them to an office and knocked on the door. A voice on the other side said, "Enter." They walked in and found a sergeant sitting at a desk. "What can I do for you men?" he asked.

"Hello Sergeant. We need to have nine horses saddled and ready at the President's quarters no later than thirteen hundred hours. We need one each for President Grant, General Sherman, General Sheridan, their wives, Major Masters, and ourselves," said Tom.

"They'll be ready," said the sergeant.

"Thank you Sergeant. We appreciate your help," said David. Then they left and went back to playing with the children.

"Sergeant, why do those corporals get to come in here and order you around?" asked the private. "I've been watching them and the others. They haven't done a lick of work since they arrived here but nobody says anything to them."

"Private, you have only been in the Army a very short time, so I will explain things to you. Those men have a very important job to do. It is more important than even the major's job. They are part of the president's security detail. Their job is to keep him safe when he's not in a protected area like the fort. Because the White House is nowhere near as secure as a fort, they also have to protect him while he's there. When you are not on duty, you can talk and play cards with your friends, go fishing, riding, or do anything else you like. As long as they are with the president and he is not in a fort, unless they are told differently, they are on duty. The president, generals, and their wives were at the major's niece's mother's funeral. Even though part of the trip was by train, it still probably took at least five days to reach Nevada from Washington. Major Masterson was gone for a little more than two weeks, so those men have been on duty every day for at least three weeks. Now those two particular corporals have had an additional job for the past three days. They have also been charged with protecting the major's niece and keeping her out of trouble, which is not an easy task. From what I was told, one reason they were promoted yesterday is because they kept her from drowning on the trip down here. Don't you think they deserve a few days to relax?"

"Wow Sergeant. I didn't know there was that much to being part of the president's security detail. Yes, they do deserve some time to rest."

"Yes there is. I was part of President Lincoln's security detail. He was a great man and Mrs. Lincoln was very gracious to us. We all loved the boys and were very sad when Willie died. Mrs. Lincoln was never the same after that. I don't pity those soldiers who were supposed to be guarding him that awful night at Ford's Theater. They assumed he was safe, left their posts to have a beer and he was murdered by a madman. Now, let's get those horses ready. One doesn't keep a president, generals and a major waiting for anything."


	21. Chapter 21

At one o'clock, Tom and David walked over to the Grant's quarters. The horses they requested were ready and tied to the hitching rail. David knocked on the door. Julia opened it and invited them in. They started to laugh at Rip and the other men squirming in their dress uniforms, but before they could say anything, Rip said, "If the two of you ever want to make sergeant, you won't say a word. Having to wear this bloody thing once is more than enough but three times in two days is going above and beyond the call of duty."

"But Rip," said David. Just think how proud Cat will be to see her uncle and Godfathers wearing their dress uniforms. Also, don't forget, Tom and I are also in our dress uniforms and we wore them twice yesterday just as the four of you did. The horses are tied up outside so we can leave whenever you and the others are ready."

The nine of them walked out the door, mounted the horses and rode to the Walker's farm where they were greeted by John and Elizabeth. Cochise, Geronimo and several braves appeared a few minutes later to escort them to the village. Once they arrived at Cochise's village, they were shown to a large teepee where they could rest in the shade before the ceremony.

After Cat and Morning Dove had finished dressing, Little Bear's father, Tall Elk entered their teepee. "Wild Cat, I have come to teach you what you will do during the wedding." He pulled a long, thin piece of deer hide from his robe. "Come and sit next to Morning Dove. Listen to what I say and pay attention to what I show you. Cross your left wrist with Morning Dove's right wrist like this." He crossed his wrists to show what he meant. Then he said, "When I tell you to, you will wrap this deer hide around their wrists, but not tightly." He wrapped the deer hide around the girls' wrists to show Cat what he wanted her to do. Then he said, "Now, I will sit next to Morning Dove and you will wrap our wrists to show you have learned what I taught you. He handed the deer hide to Cat, "Now, wrap our wrists as I have shown you." Cat did as she was told. "That was good Wild Cat, but not quite right. Sit next to Morning Dove and watch as I show you again." Cat sat next to Morning Dove and Tall Elk showed her how to wrap the wrists again. Then he sat next to Morning Dove and Cat tried wrapping their wrists again. This time, Cat did it correctly. "That was very good Wild Cat. I will give the deer hide back to you at the wedding."

Shortly after Tall Elk left, Morning Dove's parents entered the teepee. She greeted them and introduced them to Cat. "Wild Cat, these are my parents. This is my father, Gray Eagle and my mother, Yellow Rose. Mother, Father, this is Little Bear's sister, Wild Cat."

Yellow Rose hugged Cat while Gray Eagle picked her up, hugged her and said, "At last, I get to meet the granddaughter of my good friend, Cochise, the daughter of my friend Geronimo, and the sister of my son to be, Little Bear. I am pleased that you will now be part of my family too." Then he surprised Cat by bending down and picking Silver Chief up. He held the puppy at arm's length for a few moments and looked him over very thoroughly. Then he held the puppy close and said, "Cochise tells me that you are already a mighty hunter. I think that you will also be a brave warrior when you grow up." After putting the puppy down, he hugged both girls and left with his wife.

At four o'clock, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Little Bear's mother, Bright Star came to lead them to where it would take place. Silver Chief followed them. Little Bear and Tall Elk were waiting for them at the ceremony grounds. Cat looked around and was in awe at the sight of all the chiefs wearing their ceremonial headdress. She had never seen either Geronimo or Cochise wearing theirs, so the sight of the chiefs from two tribes wearing theirs was impressive. The president's party, including the Walkers was sitting with Geronimo, Cochise, and their wives. "Wild Cat will have an important part in the ceremony. Whatever happens with her after the blessing, do not react." Cochise said.

Bright Star led the girls to the edge of the ceremonial grounds and told Cat to walk in first. When she came into view, the women were surprised to see Cat wearing a dress. "Isn't she adorable?" whispered Julia Grant. "I wonder how they got her into that dress." Cat walked over to where Little Bear and his father were waiting. Little Bear hugged her and her to stand next to on his left side. Then Tall Elk handed her the deer hide from earlier. Silver Chief lay down on the ground next to Cat.

As soon as Cat was in place, Bright Star told Morning Dove it was time for her to go. Then she joined the rest of her family. When Morning Dove came into view, Irene said quietly, "The girls' dresses match. That's how they got Cat to wear hers."

Once Morning Dove was standing next to Little Bear, he took her hand in his. Then Tall Elk turned to all of the guests and said, "As a father and medicine man, this is one of the happiest days of my life. It is a day I have looked forward to for many years. For today I get to perform the marriage of my son to a woman he truly loves. Then he turned around and spoke to Little Bear and Morning Dove. He told them what it really meant to be married and from now on, when making decisions, each one now also had to consider the other. He told them that it was important to communicate and that they were both responsible for raising their children.

Once he finished telling the pair what it really meant to be married, he said, "Little Bear, you paid many ponies for the privilege of marrying Morning Dove. Tell her how much you love her and what you will do to make your marriage succeed."

Little Bear told Morning Dove that he thought she made the sun and moon rise. He said that he fell in love with her the first time he saw her. He promised to always listen to her, to keep them well fed, and to help her raise their children. He made many more promises to her and told her that he would always cherish her and that she and their children would be the most important things in his life.

When Little Bear finished, Tall Elk told Morning Dove to tell Little Bear how much she loved him and what she was going to do to make their marriage succeed. She said that she fell in love with Little Bear the first time she saw him. She told him that there had been many suitors who offered many more ponies than he had but she rejected all of them because she only wanted him. She promised to always keep their lodge warm, help him raise their children and always listen to what he had to say. Morning Dove also made many more promises to Little Bear.

When they had finished, Tall Elk told them to cross their wrists like they had been shown. Then he said, "Wild Cat, now is the time to do what you were taught." Cat used the deer hide and wrapped it around Little Bear and Morning Dove's wrists the way she had been shown. When she finished, Tall Elk blessed them.

"May the sun bring you new happiness by day;  
May the moon softly restore you by night;  
May the rain wash away your worries  
And the breeze blow new strength into your being,  
And all the days of your life  
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty.

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

After Tall Elk finished the blessing, Morning Dove motioned for Cat to stand in front of her. She put her free hand on Cat's shoulder and said, "This is Wild Cat. She is Little Bear's sister. Now she is also my sister." Then she stooped down and picked up Silver Chief, held him up and said, "This is Silver Chief. He and Wild Cat belong to each other. He is now part of my family."

After Morning Dove set the puppy down, Gray Eagle walked up and asked, "Wild Cat, are you brave?"

"Yes I am."

"We will see." Then he took out a very large knife, gently took one of her hands in his and cut one of her fingers open. Once he made sure Cat's finger was bleeding, he cut one of his open and pressed the two bleeding fingers together for a minute. Then he handed Cat a small piece of cloth and said, "Hold this on your finger and it will make the bleeding stop." Next, much to her surprise, he picked Cat up with both hands and held her up for all to see. "This is Wild Cat. She is the granddaughter of Cochise, daughter of Geronimo, and sister of Little Bear and Morning Dove. She is also now my daughter. My blood flows with her blood and her blood flows with mine. She is also very brave. I brought my biggest knife and she did not even flinch when I took it out. Nor did she cry out when I cut her finger. She is already a very good hunter and provided the evening meal for her family yesterday."

Silver Chief did not like it when Gray Eagle cut Cat's finger and attacked him, trying to bite through the buckskin trousers he was wearing. Gray Eagle laughed, picked him up and held him up for all to see. "This is Silver Chief. He and Wild Cat belong to each other. Yesterday, he proved that he was a mighty hunter and killed a rabbit as big as he is. Today, he has proven that he is also a brave warrior. He is very small but has the courage of a cougar and attacked a chief in defense of the girl he loves. Now he is also part of my family and his bravery shall not go unrewarded." He pulled a feather out of his headdress and put it in the braided collar Morning Dove had made for the puppy and set him down.

After Gray Eagle set the puppy down, Tall Elk said, "We have prepared a great feast in celebration of the wedding of Little Bear and Morning Dove to each other. Let us go and eat. When we are done feasting, we will dance in celebration of the marriage."

Once the wedding ended, Cat ran over to her Apache family where she was praised for her part in it and also for her bravery. Then Cochise said, "Come granddaughter. Your father and I have a surprise for you." He picked her up, carried her over to where Rip and the others had just stood up and set her down.

Cat couldn't believe her eyes. "Uncle Rip!" she cried joyfully as she ran, jumped on him and hugged his neck.

Rip wasn't prepared for the attack and almost fell backwards. "Sam, Phil, Bill, help me. I've been attacked by a wild Indian," he laughed.

"It's just a Wild Cat. Once your neck recovers, you'll be fine," joked Grant. "Come here monkey and let me hug you too." Cat hugged all of her Godparents, the Walkers, Tom and David. Everyone admired her pretty dress and praised her for wearing it and for her actions during the wedding. Silver Chief also received a lot of praise for his actions.

Geronimo and Gray Eagle joined them a minute later and Geronimo introduced Gray Eagle to everyone. "I am very happy to meet you Gray Eagle," said Rip. "As I'm sure you have been told, I was just promoted and given command of the fort the day before yesterday and am still trying to sort things out. Once I have done that, I would like to meet with all of the chiefs in the area. I need to get to know them if I am going to work with them and do my best to keep the peace in this territory."

All three chiefs said that they would be happy to arrange such a meeting whenever Rip was ready. Then Cochise said, "Come granddaughter. It is time for the feast. Little Bear and Morning Dove have said they will not start unless their sister is with them. Your white family will be here all night, so you will have time to spend with them also." Cat said goodbye to everyone and ran off, followed by her puppy.

When she reached Little Bear and Morning Dove, Tall Elk was getting ready to bless the meal. When he finished, he cut a large piece and handed it to Little Bear who cut it in half and offered one part to Morning Dove who ate it. After eating his piece, Little Bear cut another large piece, handed it to Cat and told her to give it to her puppy. "Normally, my father would eat next, but any puppy brave enough to attack a chief is indeed a great warrior and deserves to eat second." Cat kept the piece of meat until she had gotten her food. The president's party had been invited to join her Apache family, so she was able to eat with both of her families.

During the meal, Cochise said, "Wild Cat, tomorrow we will go hunting. You and your puppy will accompany us."

"Why do we need to go hunting father? We just hunted yesterday and we have all of this food from the feast."

"All of the deer we killed yesterday were for the feast little one," said Geronimo. Much of it will be eaten tonight and the rest will be consumed before the mid day meal tomorrow." Then he stood up, picked Cat up and sat her on his shoulders.

She looked at all of the people and said, "Wow! That's a lot of people. Is there enough food for everybody? Do we need to hunt for more now?"

"There is more than enough food," said Cochise. "Now you know why we need to hunt tomorrow." Before long everybody had eaten their share and the drums began to sound. "It is time for the dancing to begin. Go, get a large bone and put your puppy in Little Bear's lodge with his mother and the bone."

Cat did as she was told and then joined the dancing. She danced well into the night when Rip found her asleep on the ground, curled up in a ball. He picked her up and carried her to Geronimo who showed him were to put her. While Rip was putting Cat to bed, Geronimo went to get Silver Chief. He brought him back and laid him in the sleeping child's arms. On the way back to the celebration, Geronimo invited Rip to join the next day's hunt. Rip said he would like to but going hunting in his dress uniform was not a very good idea, but maybe he could join another hunt before it was time for Cat to leave. Then Geronimo said something about Cat sleeping late the next morning and Rip laughed loud and long. "That child doesn't sleep late," he said. "I'll wager that she's up before the sun." Geronimo agreed and they decided that this wager would be for bragging rights only. Then they rejoined the celebration.

The next morning, neither Rip nor Geronimo won their wager as Cat slept until sunrise. After breakfast, she said goodbye to the president's party and rode out with the hunting party. Gray Eagle joined the party as he wanted to see Cat's hunting skills for himself. During the remainder of her two weeks with the Apaches Cat was busy. She went hunting, began learning how to track, and make a fire. She also learned many things from her Apache mother. Little Bear and Morning Dove also spent time helping her train Silver Chief.

Soon it was time for Cat to return to the fort. She reluctantly said goodbye to the tribe, put Silver Chief in her saddle bags and joined Cochise, Geronimo, Little Bear, Morning Dove and some braves for the ride to the Walkers. Rip and some of the soldiers met her there. When she arrived at the fort, she was surprised to find her Godparents were still there. Rip explained that they decided to wait and take her to the McCains and they would leave the next day. Later that night, the president walked into his quarters and found his wife sitting at the desk, writing. "What are you writing Julia? You have been writing every night since we left Virginia City."

"I'm writing a letter to Ben. I want him to see Cat through our eyes. I want him to know what a precious, unique child he is getting. I want him to understand her the way she is. I am terrified that he and Adam, especially Adam, are going to try and break her spirit, and I don't want that to happen. I'm going to give this letter to Lucas and encourage him to add his insights before giving it to Ben. I spent quite a bit of time talking with the Apache women and have added their insights too. I want you to add something to the end of this letter and make it clear that if they try and break her spirit, you will transfer Rip somewhere out of harm's way so he can raise Cat."

"I can't do that Julia. I just promoted Rip and gave him command of this fort. I can't transfer him anytime soon, even for our Goddaughter. I also can't promote him again for several years. Even the President has rules to play by. I don't think it will be necessary, but I can use my authority to nullify the adoption and give her to Rip. I really do think that you are worrying too much. Ben loves that child and would never do anything to hurt her. It will take some time, but he and Adam will adjust to her wildness and they'll work things out. Now, it's late and our Goddaughter will be waking everyone up early, so I suggest we get some sleep while we can."

Before retiring for the night, Rip checked on Cat. He chuckled softly when he saw her puppy curled up beside her in the bed and didn't have the heart to put the puppy on the floor. Instead, he carried the puppy and put him in his bed. Then he returned and did the same with his niece. He kissed and hugged the sleeping child and told her that he loved her. Then he blew out the lamp and climbed into bed. Cat snuggled up against him, let out a deep sigh and fell into a deep sleep.

As usual, the next morning she was up early. After letting Silver Chief out and using the outhouse, she climbed back into Rip's bed and woke him up. "I warned you the last time if you wiggled too much, I was going to have to tickle you and that's exactly what I'm going to do," he teased. He tickled her and they played with Silver Chief for a little while and then Rip said, "Go and wake your Godparents. If I have to be awake, so do they."

Cat hugged her uncle, got down off the bed, put Silver Chief on the floor and ran out the door. She decided to wake the Sheridans first, walked into their quarters, entered the bedroom, put her puppy on the bed, and then pounced on her sleeping Godfather. "Wake up Uncle Phil. Uncle Rip's already awake and said I could wake you up."

Sheridan groaned and pulled her down on the bed and tickled her. "Don't you ever sleep late?"

"Only on days when I have school."

"That's what I was afraid of. Alright, you've done your duty. Go and wake the rest of your Godparents. Don't forget to take this wild beast with you," he said, handing Silver Chief to her. Cat ran off and woke the Shermans and Grants then returned to Rip's quarters.

He was already dressed, looked Cat over and pointed toward her bedroom. "Go and put clean clothes on now. The ones you're wearing are dirty and I will not have my best girl running around in dirty clothes." Cat wanted to argue but something in Rip's voice told her that she would be in trouble if she did, so she went and changed clothes.

After breakfast, it was time to leave. Before putting Cat into the president's carriage, Rip took off his neckerchief and hat and put them on Cat. He also handed her a small leather case. "These were your father's and the case contains pictures of your parents. I've been saving them for you until you had a bedroom of your own to put them in." Then he reached under a carriage seat, took out a sword and handed it to her. "This was your father's also. I wouldn't be giving it to you if I didn't think you were old enough to take care of it. However, it is very sharp and you could get cut very badly. I want you to promise me that you will never take it out of the scabbard without an adult present."

Cat promised and Rip put the sword back under the carriage seat. Then he picked her up, hugged and kissed her and put her into the carriage. He picked Silver Chief up, hugged the puppy and said, "Take care of that little girl for me," and handed him to Cat.

"I wish you could come with us Uncle Rip," said Cat.

"So do I kitten but since Uncle Sam put me in charge, I have a lot of work to do. I'll do my best to join you for Christmas." They hugged one more time and the carriage drove out of the fort. Cat stood on the seat, looking backwards until she could no longer see her uncle.

Cat really missed Rip and barely said a word and barely paid attention to her puppy all the way to the first rest stop. When Grant asked if she wanted to ride her horse, she said she didn't care. Finally, Sherman and Sheridan could stand it no longer and started a pretend argument over which one of them Cat would ride with until they stopped for the night. She tried ignoring them until Sheridan challenged Sherman to a duel. They used tree branches as swords and Cat watched until she burst out laughing. Sheridan won and made sure that Ginger's saddle was tight. Then he walked over to Cat, took off his hat, made a great bow and said, "Your steed awaits my lady. Please allow me to assist you while you mount." Cat giggled as he cupped his hands for her to put a foot in as she mounted her horse. Then he handed her the saddle bags and Silver Chief. She put the puppy in one side of the saddle bags and then put them in front of her. Once Cat was settled, the group continued their journey until dinner.

Since they were near a large town, they ate dinner at one of the restaurants. Cat was afraid someone would steal Silver Chief, so she was allowed to bring him into the restaurant. Sheridan ordered food for her and the puppy with cherry pie and ice cream for dessert. The travelers left the town shortly after dinner, stopping to rest one more time before reaching a fort where they would spend the night. The commander was honored that the president's party stopped there for the night and wanted to have a celebration. "That won't be necessary Colonel," Grant said. "We just need quarters for the night and a hot meal. Please put an extra bed in the Sheridan's quarters for our Goddaughter and her puppy." Their quarters were soon ready and everyone washed up and went to supper.

"I wish Uncle Rip was here," Cat said during supper.

"I know Kitten," said Grant. "I do too. I'm sorry he couldn't come with us, but there was such a mess at the fort that it's going to take him a long time to fix it. I promise, he will be at the Ponderosa for Christmas even if I have to go back to Arizona and take him there myself. Now, eat your supper because I know that Uncle Phil and Aunt Irene aren't going to want you waking them up in the middle of the night because you're hungry. Look at your puppy. He's already finished his food and wants more." Cat ate her food and Grant ordered more food for the puppy. Shortly after finishing her dessert, Cat started yawning. Grant picked her up and started carrying her out of the officer's mess. Then he turned around and called Silver Chief. "Come on pup. It's time you and this girl were in bed."

They departed the fort shortly after breakfast the following morning. They stopped for dinner by a small lake and instead of telling Cat she couldn't go swimming; Sherman and Sheridan picked her up and threw her in. Their wives scolded them while Cat laughed and tried to splash them, but they stayed away from the water's edge. Even though it was a warm day, Tom and David built a fire so Cat's clothes would dry faster. Once Cat was dry and dinner packed up, they continued their journey. "We'll be in North Fork before supper tomorrow," Sherman told her. "We'll send a telegram to Lucas when we stop for dinner tomorrow and invite him and Mark to join us in town for supper. You can go home with them and we'll spend the night in town. The three of you can join us for breakfast before we leave."

They spent the night at a fort and departed shortly after breakfast. The party stopped for dinner in a large town where Sherman sent a telegram to Lucas telling him they would be in North Fork before supper and invited him and Mark to join them for supper. The citizens of North Fork were surprised to see the president and his party arrive in town and get rooms at the hotel. They were even more surprised when Lucas and Mark joined them for supper. Mark fell in love with Silver Chief and wished he had a puppy of his own. "When he grows up, I'll find a nice girl dog for him and you can have the pick of the first litter," Cat told him. After supper, Cat's Godfathers put her belongings on her saddle. Then she hugged her Godparents and rode out of town with Lucas and Mark.

When they arrived at the ranch, Lucas and Mark helped Cat carry her things into the house. They admired her saddle bags and thought that using them to carry Silver Chief in was clever. Then Cat showed them her father's hat, bandanna and sword. She told Lucas that she had promised Rip never to take it out of the scabbard unless an adult was present. He took it out, looked at it and told her that he would teach her how to care for it before she left. Both he and Mark laughed when Cat told them how she had been waking Rip and her Godparents up almost every day since they left Virginia City. It was getting late, so Lucas told Cat that she would be sleeping in his bed and he would be sleeping on a cot in the living room. After letting her puppy out one more time, Cat walked into the bedroom Mark shared with his father, put Silver Chief in Lucas' bed and then climbed into bed herself. Lucas came in to tuck them in and said, "I know you two have a lot to catch up on but it's late and we have to be in town before breakfast. You'll have a whole week to talk, so right now I want both of you to go to sleep." Then he blew out the lamp, walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Author's note: The Fan Fiction web site won't allow me to post the web sites the Apache Wedding Blessing was taken from. If you are interested in them, PM me and I'll give you the links.


	22. Chapter 22

Cat was up early the next morning and helped Mark with his chores before she went to town with him and his father. When they reached the hotel, she was delighted to see that her Godparents were not downstairs yet. Before Lucas could stop her, Cat dashed up the stairs to the second floor, followed by her puppy, where she found Tom and David standing guard in front of the Grant's room. The three of them hugged and Tom said, "They're not awake yet. The Shermans are next door and the Sheridans are directly across the hall."

Lucas reached the Grant's door right after Cat went in. "Why didn't you stop her?" he demanded angrily. "It's your job to keep the president from being disturbed, even by his Goddaughter."

"Mr. McCain," said David. "We just got these corporal's stripes and would like to keep them until we make sergeant. Cat has been waking her uncle and Godparents ever since we left Virginia City. They expect it. We could lose our stripes if we stopped her." Before Lucas could reply, Cat came bouncing out of the room and dashed into the Sherman's room. Lucas tried stopping her, but she ducked under his arm. Once the Shermans were wide awake, she bounced into the Sheridan's room and woke them.

When Cat came out of the Sheridan's room, Lucas started scolding her for waking her Godparents and Tom knocked on the Grants door. Julia opened the door and heard Lucas scolding Cat. "Lucas McCain, stop scolding that child! Except for the two weeks she spent with the Apaches, Cat has been doing this every morning ever since we left Virginia City. It's something we enjoy and will greatly miss after today. Wait until you see what Bill and Phil do to see who gets to carry her downstairs on their back. Oh, and by the way, these two young men standing guard have adopted Cat as their sister and she has adopted them. They are family and will be joining us for breakfast. When we are in a family setting, they are allowed to call us by our names, so don't scold them either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish dressing. Cat, if Uncle Sam isn't out of bed by the time I'm finished dressing, will you please come and get him up?"

"Sure I will Aunt Julia. I'll come and do it now if you want me to. It's fun waking him up."

"Yes dear, that is an excellent idea. He's being lazy this morning. Come back in and wake him up. Do not stop until he gets out of bed."

Lucas stood there in amazement at what he had just heard while Cat went back into the Grant's room to wake her Godfather again. She pounced on him and Silver Chief licked his ear. Finally, Tom, David, Lucas and Mark could hear him yell, "Alright, you win. I surrender. Julia, who let this wild Indian in here?"

"That is not a wild Indian and you know it. That is a Wild Cat and, as you are so fond of telling Rip and the others, you will be fine once your neck recovers. Now, get out of that bed and get dressed or I will allow her to attack you again."

Tom and David started laughing when they heard Grant surrender. Tom pulled a quarter out of his pocket and handed it to his brother. "You win this time little brother. It only took two times before he surrendered. I thought surely it would take three times like it has before."

"Well, to be fair," David replied. "Cat didn't have the puppy until she joined the Apaches, so I'm guessing she had some help this time."

"Will you two please tell me what's going on and why you are betting on how long it takes the president to wake up?" asked Lucas.

"As we said earlier, Cat has been waking Rip and her Godparents up early every morning since we left Virginia City. Sam doesn't like getting out of bed when Cat's around, so the two of us have been wagering on how many times she will have to try before he gives up. We've passing this quarter back and forth between us the entire time. We're brothers and we have a little sister that's about Cat's age," said David.

"We adopted Cat as our sister because she reminds us of Samantha a whole lot," said Tom. For example, when we stopped for dinner, we usually stopped by a lake. Rip would tell Cat that she wasn't allowed to go swimming and she would tell him that she was going to go swimming just because he said she couldn't. Our sister would have done the exact same thing. Cat wants to meet Sam and we're going to do our best to keep that from happening because the country will never be the same if they ever do get together. There is one other thing you should know about Cat. She plans on becoming president when she's ten and having your son, our sister, Laura, Mary, and some of her friends from Dodge help her run the country. She said that she intends to get rid of Arithmetic and Grammar."

"Say, that's a great idea," said Mark. "I wish we were ten already. Cat's not the only one who doesn't like Arithmetic and Grammar."

Just then, Sherman and Sheridan came out of their rooms, said good morning to everybody and started their pretend argument over which one of them got Cat for the day. "You had her the day we left the fort and Sam had her yesterday, so I get her today," said Bill.

"You're forgetting, you had her the day before yesterday, so it's my turn," said Phil.

"But you had her the day we left the fort and Sam had her the following day, so that makes it my turn."

"I guess there's only one way to settle this. Swords?"

"Yes, definitely. Swords it is." Both men walked into their rooms.

"What's happening?" asked Mark.

"They're going to fight a duel over who gets to carry me downstairs on his back," replied Cat.

"With swords?" asked Mark.

"They don't use real swords. Watch what happens. I think it's funny."

The two men emerged from their rooms with the tree branches they had used the day they left the fort and began their mock battle. Mark couldn't believe what he was seeing and his father stood there and laughed. The hotel owner heard the commotion, ran upstairs and shook his head at the sight of the nation's two top generals acting like children.

The Grants came out of their room and laughed at the spectacle. "Again?" laughed the president. "Will those two ever grow up and learn to share?"

"Probably not Uncle Sam," replied Cat. "Today really is Uncle Phil's turn, but Uncle Bill wanted me too."

"We're going to miss this," said Tom. "You're the president. Is there anyway you can just claim Cat for your own and send her back once we reach Washington?"

"I'm sure there is Tom, but I'd have the entire family wanting to wring my neck if I did. If things work out, maybe we can escape Washington for the Ponderosa at Christmas. We'll just have to see what things are like then."

Sheridan won the duel again and the two men walked back to the Grant's room, laughing the entire way. "Bill, when are you going to learn that I'm a better swordsman than you are?"

"No you're not. I just let you win both times."

"Would you like to go again?"

"No you will not," said Ellen Sheridan.

"We have two hungry children standing here waiting to be fed while the two of you act like nine year olds," said Irene. "Sam and Julia are ready. Put your toys away and let's get these children fed." The men didn't dare argue with their wives and soon the entire party was on its way downstairs to eat breakfast.

While they were walking downstairs, Lucas asked Grant, "What was that duel all about?"

"It seems that Rip went and got himself promoted to major and given command of the fort, so he had to stay behind. Cat was in very low spirits and showed no interest in anything, even her puppy. So Bill and Phil decided to do something about it. They started a pretend argument over which one of them Cat would ride with. The argument escalated to a duel and before long, Cat was laughing. They've been doing it every day since then. Yesterday, they allowed me to help her in and out of the carriage and let her ride to supper and bed on my back. We're all going to miss the time we've gotten to spend with her."

During breakfast, Cat's Godparents told Lucas and Mark all about Cat's adventures since they left Dodge. They were both impressed when Grant told them about Gray Eagle adopting Cat, the size of the knife he used and Cat's bravery. They were also impressed when they were told how Silver Chief attacked Gray Eagle in defense of Cat. Julia gave the letter she had been writing to Lucas, told him to read it and add his insights before giving it to Ben.

Breakfast was over too soon and Cat's Godparents needed to start their journey back to Washington. Cat reluctantly hugged them goodbye. Before helping her mount her horse, Sheridan gave her some money and told her to send him and her other Godfathers a telegram if Ben or Adam tried to take Silver Chief or Fury away from her. Then, as he had done four days earlier, Sheridan made a great bow, helped Cat to mount her horse, put Silver Chief into one side of the saddle bags and handed them to her. Cat watched with tears in her eyes as her Godparents left town and rode out of sight. Then she followed Lucas and Mark back to their ranch. On the way to the ranch, Lucas apologized to Cat for scolding her for waking up her Godparents. "That's ok Uncle Luke. You didn't know that I was supposed to wake them up. Aunt Julia says that I'm better at waking Uncle Sam up than she is."

Lucas laughed. "I'll be you are Cat. I'm sure that Ellen and Irene say the same thing about their husbands."

Cat's week with the McCains went quickly. Lucas and Mark taught her how to work with cattle. Lucas told her that working with cattle can be dangerous and, until she was older, she should never work with them alone unless there was an emergency or she was looking for strays. He taught both children how to throw a rope. Cat and Mark laughed and laughed as they tried to rope each other without much success. Lucas threw a big loop, caught both children, pulled them to him, hugged and praised them for trying so hard and not giving up.

One day, Lucas showed Cat how his rifle worked and how well he could shoot. Mark asked Cat if she would like a rifle like that one day.

"No!" she said. "I don't like guns. If it wasn't for guns, my parents would still be alive. I wish I could take all the guns in the world and throw them into a big fire until there was nothing left of them!"

They went hunting and Cat impressed Lucas with her hunting skills. All three of them laughed as Silver Chief tackled a rabbit bigger then he was. Cat dressed the rabbits she killed and showed Lucas and Mark one of the ways her Apache mother had taught her to cook them. They spent one day fishing and swimming. Cat and Mark cleaned the fish and Lucas cooked them. Before long, the week was up and Lucas told Cat that Ben and Adam would be there the next day. That night after the children went to bed, he added his insights to Julia Grant's letter to Ben. He hoped and prayed that Julia's fears would amount to nothing. Lucas knew that Ben and the boys loved Cat but like Julia, he was concerned that they were going to try and break her spirit. He decided to try and convince Ben and Adam to spend a few days there so they could learn some of what Cat knew how to do.

The next afternoon they rode to town to meet the stage. Ben and Adam greeted Lucas warmly and hugged Mark. Then Ben picked Cat up, gave her a big bear hug and teased her saying she hardly weighed anything and Hop Sing was going to have to work overtime to fatten her up. Then he handed her to Adam who hugged her and echoed his father's words. Adam spotted Silver Chief sitting by Mark and told him he thought his puppy was cute. "He's not mine Adam. Silver Chief and Cat belong to each other. He's already a good hunter and just wait until you hear how brave he is."

"We can talk about Silver Chief and other things during supper," said Lucas. Right now, we need to get Ben and Adam settled. Ben, do you and Adam want to stay at the hotel or out at the ranch? I've got two more cots I can set up if you want to stay at the ranch." Ben decided they were going to stay at the hotel, so Lucas picked up their bags and walked over to the hotel. Before walking over to the hotel, he told Cat and Mark to take Ben and Adam's horses over to the livery stable and then meet them at the hotel.

Once they were inside the hotel room, Lucas gave Julia Grant's letter to Ben. "What's this?" Ben asked.

"It's a letter from Julia Grant. It's insights into what Rip, and her Godparents have learned about her since leaving Virginia City. I have also added my insights based on what I have seen this past week. Cat is a very remarkable girl and everyone wanted to let you know how remarkable she is. The letter is not an attempt to tell you how to raise Cat. It's just information about her based on the observations of the people who have spent a lot of time with her lately."

Cat and Mark knocked on the door and everyone went down to the restaurant for supper. While they were eating, Lucas told Ben and Adam he had an idea. "Instead of leaving tomorrow morning, why don't the two of you spend two days here so you can see some of what Cat has learned how to do? I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised."

"That's an excellent idea," said Ben. "The entire idea behind this trip is to give us a chance to get to know Cat better before we get back to the Ponderosa. Now Catherine, tell me about this brave little puppy. He's not very big, so I don't see how he can be very brave."

"He is very brave," said Cat. "He even earned an eagle feather for bravery." She went on to tell them all about Little Bear's wedding ceremony and how she was adopted by Morning Dove's father. She used her hands to show how big the knife was that Gray Eagle had used. "Silver Chief didn't like that Gray Eagle cut my finger so he attacked him. Gray Eagle said that only a very brave puppy would attack a chief, so he gave him an eagle feather."

"Wow, that is brave," said Adam. "When he grows up, anyone who tries to hurt you is going to be in a lot of trouble. So, what else happened after you left Virginia City?"

Cat told them about being adopted by Tom and David as their sister, how she woke Rip and her Godparents every morning, and about Rip getting promoted and being given command of the fort.

"I'll bet Rip and your Godparents loved being woken up by you every morning," said Adam dryly.

"Actually, they did," said Lucas. "It turns out not only did they enjoy it, they expected her to do it. The morning after they brought her here, I reamed out those two young corporals for letting her into the Grant's room to wake them up. They told me that they'd lose their stripes if they stopped her and I didn't believe them. So after she finished waking everyone, I started scolding her only to be scolded by Julia. After Julia finished scolding me, she had Cat go back in and wake Sam up again. It seems that he didn't want to get out of bed and Julia needed Cat and her puppy to get him up. They weren't back in the room five minutes when Sam surrendered and got out of bed."

Both Ben and Adam started laughing. "That is just too funny," laughed Ben. "I wish I could have been there to see the president and two generals needing to be woken up by a nine year old."

"That's not the only silly thing they did. Bill and Phil fought duels using tree branches as swords, to see which one of them got Cat for the day."

"You're kidding," laughed Adam. "They used tree branches as swords and fought duels over Cat? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard of."

"Apparently it happened every day after they left Rip behind at the fort. Mark and I got to see them in action."

"Who won?" asked Ben.

"Uncle Phil did," said Cat. "He let Uncle Bill and Uncle Sam each have me for a little while. When we stopped for dinner or the night, I rode everywhere on his back. I told him I could walk but he said that he was my knight and that I should ride on his back."

They talked until both Cat and Mark started yawning. "I'd better get these two back to the ranch before they fall asleep in the saddle," said Lucas.

"Why don't you stable your horses and spend the night here?" asked Ben. "Then we can all have breakfast and ride out to your ranch together."

"Can we Pa, please?" asked Mark. "We hardly ever get to stay in town, just when Micah has to be gone and you fill in for him."

"Alright, we may as well. It's getting late and I don't want either you or Cat falling out of the saddle. You two stay here. I'll take care of the horses and get a room for us."

When Lucas returned to the hotel, the owner handed him a key. "Here you go Lucas. I gave you a room that has two small beds as well as a large one so both children can have their own bed."

Lucas thanked him, took the key and returned to the dining room where he found both Cat and Mark struggling to keep their eyes open. He picked Mark up, Ben picked Cat up and Adam, picked up Silver Chief who was fast asleep on the floor next to Cat. He started to put the puppy on the floor when Lucas said, "Silver Chief sleeps in the bed with Cat. He's been doing it ever since she got him." After getting both children and the puppy into bed, they walked over to the room Ben and Adam were sharing where they talked for a while. "Cat really is a remarkable girl Ben. She wasn't exaggerating about the size of the knife that chief used. All six of her Godparents described it to me and it was every bit as large, if not larger than what Cat described. They said she didn't even flinch when he took it from his sheath. And, she didn't cry out when he cut her finger. I wish I could have been there to see it for myself. Read that letter from Julia and learn as much as you can about Cat. It provides a lot of insights into the way she thinks and some of the things she does. I'm heading for bed. The kids and puppy will be up early and the three of them are always hungry."

After Lucas returned to his room, Ben read the letter from Julia Grant. Except for a note from Sam telling Ben if he or Adam tried to break Cat's spirit, he would use his power as president to nullify the adoption and place her with Rip, the letter was exactly what Lucas said it was. Julia told Ben about their experiences with Cat since they left Virginia City and Rip also added his insights into his niece. Lucas had put his comments at the end of the letter. Ben was impressed by what he read and handed the letter to Adam who also read it. "Cat is just going have to learn to settle down, act and dress like a girl, not a wild Indian," he said.

"No Adam, she will never do that," answered his father. "She is too much like her mother and will be miserable if we try and force her to do that. Even if she doesn't telegraph her Godfathers or uncles, she may take Fury, Ginger, and her puppy, leave and try to make her way to Arizona. It's your choice. We can all make adjustments and Cat can be happy living with us. Or we can let her go back to Rip. You are the only member of the family who seems to have a problem with Catherine not dressing like a girl. You didn't have a problem with the way she was dressed when she was just visiting us at school holidays. Why do you have a problem with it now? She's the same girl. The only difference is that now she is your sister instead of your cousin. I have the feeling that you're only wanting her to change so you won't be embarrassed introducing her to your friends as your sister. Your brothers aren't embarrassed by her, so why are you?"

"I don't know Pa. I guess it's because all of my friends' sisters dress and act like girls and I don't want my sister to be any different."

"Alright, now that you've admitted the truth to yourself, what is your decision going to be?"

"Cat comes to live with us and I adjust my way of thinking."

"Thank you son. I knew you'd make the right decision."

"We're not the only ones who are going to have to make adjustments. Catherine is not only going to have to adjust to having a father and three brothers, she's also going to have to adjust to a whole new set of rules, a new school and a new teacher. We're going to have to introduce the rules to her slowly and give her time to adjust. The first few times she breaks a rule, we're going to have to remind her of the rule and why it is so important. After the second time, we tell her what the consequences will be the next time and we follow through if she breaks the rule again. Now, I suggest we both get some sleep. Cat and Mark will be up early and we're going to have to try and keep up with them all day tomorrow."

The next morning Ben and Adam were leaving their room when Cat came back upstairs after taking Silver Chief outside and Adam asked, "That puppy is too small to keep up with a horse. How do you carry him when you're riding?"

Cat laughed. "I'll show you." She went into the room she shared with the McCains and came out with her saddle bags.

"Wow!" said Adam. "Those sure are nice. Where did you get them?"

"Tom and David gave them to me. This is how I carry Silver Chief." She picked the puppy up and put him into one side of the saddle bags.

"That sure is clever," said Ben. "I never would have thought about doing that. Are Uncle Lucas and Mark awake yet?"

"I don't know. Silver Chief needed to go outside, so I took him. I'll go and look." Before Cat could walk into the room, Lucas and Mark walked out and everyone went down to get breakfast.

As they approached the McCain ranch, Lucas saw some stray cattle and told Mark and Cat to go and get them. "You taught her how to work with cattle?" asked Ben.

"Yes I did. If I didn't, she probably would have tried herself and I wasn't about to risk having her get hurt. I've also been teaching her and Mark how to throw a rope. They're not very good at it but they have fun trying." All three of them started laughing as they watched Cat and Mark try to deal with a stubborn cow. They did everything they could to get her to move but she wouldn't budge. "She's got a calf somewhere around here kids. Find her calf and she'll be more cooperative," called Lucas.

Cat and Mark found the calf and thought it was just the cutest little calf they'd ever seen. They lost track of time and the adults got worried and started looking for them. When they found the two children and the calf, Cat and Mark were petting and fussing over it like it was a puppy. Cat was hugging him and telling him that she thought he was the cutest calf she'd ever seen. The three adults started laughing and Adam said, "She may dress like a boy, but there is a little girl hiding under those buckskins. I wonder how often we'll see that little girl."

"As long as there are cute baby animals involved, I predict you'll see her quite a bit," said Lucas. "Beyond that, I would say you won't see her much until she starts growing up and becomes interested in boys. Come on you two," he said to Cat and Mark. "Get the calf back with his mother and put them with the others. We have a lot of work to do today." Cat and Mark put the calf back with his mother and got her to join the others. Then they went to look for more strays.

Before supper, Lucas suggested that Cat show Ben and Adam the things Rip had given her. She went into the bedroom and came out with her father's hat, bandanna, sword and the pictures of her parents. Adam took the sword out of its sheath and admired it while Ben looked at the pictures of his sister and brother-in-law. "I promised Uncle Rip that I wouldn't take the sword out of its sheath unless an adult was with me," said Cat. "Uncle Lucas showed me how to take it out without getting hurt. He also showed me how to clean it and said that I should clean it once a month."

"Her word is as good as gold Ben," said Lucas. The only time that sword has been out of its sheath was when I showed her how to take it out of the sheath and clean it. Now, supper is ready. Cat, why don't you put your things back in the bedroom so we can eat on the table?" Adam put the sword back in the sheath and handed it to Cat who put it back in the bedroom along with her father's had and neckerchief. Ben followed her a moment later with the case of pictures.

During supper, Adam said, "I think I know the perfect place for your hat, neckerchief and sword. After you left for Arizona, we made a few changes that I think you'll like."

"What kind of changes?" asked Cat suspiciously.

"Well, for one thing, you now have a bigger bedroom," said Adam. "I swapped bedrooms with you and gave you mine. It's the one you were born in and it's bigger than the one you were in. It's a corner room, so it has two windows instead of just one. One window looks out over the ranch toward the mountains and the other one looks out over the ranch toward Lake Tahoe. You can see it on a clear day. We also took my old desk out of the attic and put it in your room. That way you'll have somewhere private to do your school work and write letters to Mark, your uncles and Godparents. Right now, it's under the window that looks toward the lake but we can move it if you want to. We can hang your pictures, hat, neckerchief and sword on the wall to the left of your desk. You'll be able to look at them while you're lying in your bed or working at your desk."

"I know that you like to read," added Ben. "So, Hoss and Joe are building a small bookcase to put in your bedroom too. Now, I guess we're going to have to make a bed for your puppy."

"Silver Chief sleeps with me," said Cat. "He even slept with me in Uncle Rip's bed."

Ben wasn't thrilled about a dog sleeping in Cat's bed but all he said was, "Well then, I guess we'll have to get him his own blanket."

"How is Fury?" asked Cat. "Does he remember me?"

"I'm sure he does," answered Ben. "Thaddeus is out in the pasture with him and Lady several times a day. He brushes him and talks to him about you. He's also been teaching him to accept weight on his back. Of course, he's too young to carry more than a few pounds, so Thaddeus puts a saddle blanket and an old flour sack with a little bit of dirt in it on him and walks him around the pasture. I think Fury likes Thaddeus a lot. He doesn't run to him like he runs to you, but he does butt him with his head and demand to be petted."

"I'm glad that Fury remembers me and that Thaddeus is taking care of him for me. I wish I could have brought him with me. I really hope he and Silver Chief like each other. I can't wait until I can start riding him."

"I'm sure they will," said Adam. "Silver Chief is a likeable puppy, so I don't see any reason why he and Fury won't get along."

"You'll be able to start riding Fury in the pasture when he's about one and a half years old," said Ben. "Once he's two, we'll see how well he listens to you and does what you ask him to do before you're allowed to ride him outside of the pasture."

"Why do I have to wait until he's almost two before I can ride him?"

"Because you have to wait until he's strong enough to carry you," said Mark. "If you ride him before he's strong enough, you'll hurt him. It is the same way with Blue Boy. He's almost two and Pa is just now allowing me to ride him in the pasture for a little while at a time."

When supper was over, Lucas said, "Mark, it's your turn to wash dishes. Cat can dry them."

"No Pa," said Mark. "It's your turn. I washed them last night and Cat dried them."

Lucas laughed. "He never forgets when it's my turn to wash dishes. Alright son. You're right. It is my turn. You and Cat can dry them." Once the dishes were dry, Cat took Silver Chief outside one more time and then she and Mark went to bed.

Lucas and Ben went in to tuck them in and tell them goodnight. "It's been too long since I've been able to do this," Ben said. "When he was thirteen, Little Joe decided he was too old to have his father tuck him in at night, so I'm going to enjoy doing this for as long as I can." After blowing out the lamp, Lucas and Ben walked out of the bedroom, joined Adam and talked for a while. "I read Julia's letter several times. You're right, Cat is a very remarkable girl and I am going to have my hands full with her. I can't believe that she didn't flinch at the sight of that large knife. One thing that concerns me very much is Rip saying that she's insecure right now."

"If you look at everything she's been through in the last month and a half, her insecurity is easy to understand," said Lucas. "Her world has been turned upside down and right now, she's not sure what's going to happen. Her Godparents, Mark and I have been trying to show her what it means to be part of a family, but she's going to need a lot of reassurance for a little while until she realizes that she has a forever home. Spend as much time with her as possible and let her help do things she might be too young to do alone. Be patient and give her time to adjust to her new rules. If you do those things, I predict she'll be completely settled in long before school starts."

"Thank you Lucas," said Ben. "Between Julia's letter and what you've told us, we definitely are going to have to change our way of thinking how we deal with her. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but right now, I think a lot of hugs and explaining one rule at a time and why it's important will be the right place to start. Right now, the main thing I'm going to want to stress when we get home is how important it is for me to know where she's going to be. The Ponderosa is a big ranch and we're going to need to know where to find her in case of an emergency."

"I agree Ben. Cat understands the need to be safe. That's why she promised Rip not to take the sword out of its sheath unless there was an adult present any why she promised me not to work cattle alone unless she was looking for strays or if there was an emergency. Would you mind if I gave you one piece of advice?"

"Alright Lucas. What is it?"

"It's about when Cat starts school. She's never ridden to town alone before, so she's going to need someone to show her the way. My suggestion is to do what I did with Mark when he started school. Tell Cat that for the first week, someone is going to ride with her to show her the way. The second week, someone is going to follow behind her to make sure she remembers the way. Once you are certain that she won't get lost between home and school, nobody will need to go with her."

"That's a good idea. That way she won't think we're treating her like a baby. I learned what happens when she thinks she's being treated like a baby and I don't want any repeat problems like that. Well, it's getting late and we want to be back out here early, so Adam and I are going to head back into town. We'll see you after breakfast."


	23. Chapter 23

When they arrived at the McCain ranch the next morning, Ben and Adam joined Lucas who was sitting on the porch, laughing at Mark and Cat's attempts to rope each other. It took a while but each child finally managed to catch the other. Before everyone headed out onto the ranch, Lucas had a surprise up his sleeve for Adam and Ben. "Cat, why don't you bring your bow and arrows and see if you and that ferocious puppy of yours can catch some supper for everyone?"

"Sure Uncle Luke. I would love to do some hunting." Cat walked into the bedroom and came out with her bow, quiver of arrows and knife.

Ben and Adam were surprised and said so. "I don't know why you're surprised," said Lucas. "Did you think they were just toys? Cat knows how to use that bow and arrows. She hits what she aims at most of the time. She's not big enough to kill a deer yet, but she has helped to skin them and knows several ways of cooking them. Wait until you see what she can do with rabbits. Even though she's only nine, she is pretty self sufficient. While she was with them this year, among other things, the Apaches taught her how to build a fire and cook things on it. She can already catch, clean and cook fish, rabbits and other small animals."

Lucas decided to get a deer while they were out hunting with Cat. When they reached a good spot, he rode off on his own. Ben and Adam watched, amazed, as Cat proceeded to kill enough rabbits to feed everyone for supper that night. They were equally amazed as Silver Chief also killed a large rabbit. "Now," asked Adam. "Who is going to clean and cook all of those rabbits?"

"Cat and I are," replied Mark. Cat showed me how to clean them and I'm almost as good as she is. Cat also showed Pa and me two ways of cooking rabbits." Lucas returned a short while later with a deer.

When they got back to the house, Lucas started taking care of the deer he killed while Cat and Mark talked about how they were going to cook the rabbits. "I think we should make stew," said Mark. "It doesn't take as long to make as frying the rabbits does."

"You're right. We should look in the house and see if we need to go to town and buy anything," said Cat. They went in the house and discovered that they needed to buy onions and carrots.

"Are the two of you really going to clean and cook those rabbits?" asked Ben when they came back outside. "You're only nine and I don't know of many nine year olds who can clean and cook rabbits. I still can't believe that Cat was able to kill them with only a bow and arrows."

"Of course we're going to clean and cook them," said Cat. "My Apache father and Little Bear showed me how to clean them when I was seven and my Apache mother showed me how to cook them." Cat took out her knife and cleaned one rabbit. Then she handed the knife to Mark who did another one. Once all of the rabbits were cleaned, the children took them into the house, washed them, cut them up, and put them in a large pot. Then they peeled some potatoes, cut them up and added them to the pot. They also added several other vegetables to the pot before going back outside. Ben and Adam had been following and watching the pair, still not completely believing what they were seeing.

When they went back outside, Cat walked up to Lucas and said, "Uncle Luke, there aren't any carrots or onions in the house. Mark and I need to go and buy some."

"That's fine. Here's some money. You two go to town and I'll put those rabbit skins on the side of the barn to dry. If there's enough food, why don't you invite Millie and Micah to supper while you're in town."

"That's a great idea Pa," said Mark. "We've got plenty of food for all of us, Millie and Micah too."

"It will be fun having Miss Millie and Micah here for supper," said Cat.

"Come on Cat. We need to get to town so we can finish making our stew."

"Alright Mark. Let's go."

"Wanna race?"

"Sure. You know that Ginger is going to beat that bag of bones you're riding."

"I don't think so. You'll be eating my dust before we leave the ranch." The pair raced out of the house mounted their horses and rode off as fast as they can, leaving the three adults laughing.

"She really is a remarkable girl Ben," said Lucas. "I'll be more than happy to keep her here if you don't want her. She and Mark get along great. They've always been like brother and sister and having her here for this past week has been a real treat. I'll add an extra bedroom and the two of them can share it."

"Thanks for the offer Luke, but I think I'll keep her. Although, I may take you up on that offer if she gives me too many gray hairs."

Lucas laughed. "No you won't. I seem to remember offering to take Little Joe off your hands quite a few years ago when he was giving you gray hairs and you kept him even though his brothers wanted to throw him back like a fish that was too small to keep."

"They still do sometimes. I wonder what they're going to do with Cat when she gets on their nerves."

"She's little enough so we can throw her back," said Adam. "We'll catch her again when she's bigger."

Ben just sighed and shook his head. "You can have this one if you want," he said to Lucas. "I'll keep Mark and Cat and you can have Adam."

"No thank you. I've grown quite attached to Mark over the years and think I'll keep him. You need Adam to help keep Hoss and Joe in line. I was just thinking, tonight will be the perfect time for you to tell Cat about an adult needing to know where she's at. Besides myself, you'll have Millie and Micah to add their support for what you're saying. After all, who knows more about safety than the town marshal?"

Cat and Mark tied in their race to town. Micah was in the store when they walked in, so they invited him and Millie to supper at the same time. They both accepted the invitation and said they would be at the ranch by six. Cat paid Millie for the onions and carrots then she and Mark decided to race back to the ranch.

When they got back to the ranch, their horses were hot and needed to be cooled off . "We need to cool off the horses, but we also have to finish making our stew," said Mark. "One of us needs to walk the horses and the other needs to cut up the carrots and onions and finish the stew."

"I don't like cutting up onions," said Cat.

"Neither do I," laughed Mark. "So, how are we going to decide who cools out the horses and who cuts up the onions?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I don't know either, but we've got to decide."

"Who won the race and what are you two trying to decide?" asked Adam.

"We tied both ways and we're trying to decide who cools off the horses and who cuts up the onions. If we both cool out the horses, we won't have time to finish making supper before Micah and Millie get here and we both hate cutting up onions," replied Mark.

Lucas, Ben, and Adam laughed at the dilemma facing the two children. "You two go and finish your meal. We'll take care of your horses," laughed Ben.

"Thanks Uncle Ben," replied both children together as they ran into the house with their purchases. Cat ran back outside and gave the change to Lucas, then ran back into the house to help Mark finish making supper."

After Cat and Mark left, Millie told Micah, "I'll bet that those two didn't even think about bread or dessert. It's a good thing I have an oven in the back. Would you mind watching the store for me while I run home and get some things to make bread and pie with?"

"It all depends. What kind of pie are you going to make?"

"I thought I'd make a cherry pie. I know how much Mark likes my cherry pies."

"Millie, for a piece of your cherry pie, I'd watch your store every day for a month."

"Thank you Micah. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Millie returned with the things she needed for making bread and pie a few minutes later. Micah helped with the baking and the bread and pies were done in a few hours. They left for the McCain ranch around five thirty. When they arrived, Mark and Cat came outside to meet them. When they saw the bread and pies, Mark said, "Thanks for making bread and pies Millie. Cat and I forgot all about bread and dessert."

"I kind of thought you did, but that's ok. The two of you are only nine and not used to planning meals for company."

Millie sliced the bread and Lucas set the pot of stew on the table. He filled the bowls and passed them around the table. Ben and Adam were skeptical about eating a meal that had been prepared by a pair of nine year olds but didn't say anything. Millie took a bite of her stew and exclaimed, "Catherine, Mark, this is delicious. I can't remember the last time I had stew this tasty. Lucas, you simply cannot let Ben and Adam take Catherine away from here."

"I couldn't agree more Millie," added Micah. "This is some of the best stew I've eaten in years. Lucas, Millie is right, you must keep Cat here. I'll be here for supper every night she and Mark cook. If they can make rabbit taste this good, I can't wait to see what they can do with a deer."

There were tears in Cat's eyes as she said, "I wish I could stay here Miss Millie. Uncle Luke doesn't treat me like a baby. Adam still thinks I'm a baby. This morning, I heard him tell Uncle Ben that he was going to take my bow and arrows away from me because little kids shouldn't be allowed to play with weapons. I think he's going to take my puppy and colt away from me too. Adam watched Mark and me kill and clean the rabbits and make the stew but he hasn't even tasted it to know that we can cook. I thought I was going to like living on the Ponderosa, but now I'm not so sure. Uncle Sam gave me money to send him a telegram if Adam tried to take my bow and arrows, puppy and kitten away from me. I think I'll go to town in the morning and send him a telegram and tell him that I want to live with Uncle Rip or here with Uncle Luke and Mark. I know Uncle Matt loves me and wants me, but I'm getting too old to share that little room with him and he's gone a lot too."

"You're still trying to treat Cat like she's too young to do anything Adam?" asked Lucas. "What happened to that promise you made while we were all still in Virginia City? Catherine isn't a baby any more than Mark is. You watched her work cattle yesterday and hunt today, but you still think she's a little kid. Maybe I should send that telegram to Sam for her. I'm sure that Matt and Rip won't mind if she lives here with us."

"Cat, I'm sorry for acting like you are too young," said Adam. "I told Pa I was going to take your bow and arrows away from you this morning because I thought that you thought they were only toys and weapons aren't toys."

"No Adam," said Lucas. "The problem is that you didn't think. You assumed that Cat was treating them like toys. Do you really believe that Matt, Rip, Sam, Phil, and Bill would allow her to have them if she treated them like toys? I seem to remember that you and your brothers gave her a new bow and quiver for her arrows when she was five, so why are you wanting to take them away from her now? Were you really going to hang Michael's sword on a wall in her bedroom or were you planning on taking that away from her too? What about her puppy and colt? Were you planning on taking them away from her too?"

"No, I wasn't going to take the sword away from her. I was just going to hang it high enough on the wall so she couldn't take it down. I wasn't going to take her puppy and colt away from her. There's no reason a girl can't have a puppy and colt."

"There you go again," said Ben. "The problem isn't that you thought Cat would play with the sword, bow, and arrows like toys. The problem is the same as you wanting her to dress like a girl. Everything she did was fine when she was your cousin visiting at school holidays, but now that she's your sister, and you're afraid she's going to embarrass you in front of your friends. You are going to have to adjust to the fact that Catherine will never be like other girls. Who knows, there may come a time when you are very glad of that fact. Don't worry Cat. Nobody is going to take your sword, bow, arrows, knife, puppy or colt away from you. However, if there was a way, I would squish you back into being just a little baby again because I don't ever want you to grow up. I would do the same thing with Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe if I could. I'm sure Lucas feels the same way about Mark."

"Yes I do," said Lucas. "Because you kids growing up means that we're getting older and we don't want to get older. So, if there was a way to keep you from growing up, we would do it so we would not get older." Everybody had a good laugh at Lucas' remarks. After two bowls of stew, everyone decided that they were ready for dessert and had a good laugh when Micah put both pies in front of him, picked up his knife and fork and acted like he was going to eat both of them.

While everyone was eating, Ben said, "Cat, as I'm sure you already know, you're going to have some new rules to learn and get used to. I want to tell you about a very important one right now. I'm sure that everyone here will agree that this rule is very important for your safety. There are two parts to it. The first part is that you need to ask permission before going anywhere out of the yard or pasture where Fury and Lady are. The other part is that an adult needs to know where you are all the time."

"I didn't have to do that in Dodge. Why do I need to do it now? I just left a note for Uncle Matt or gave one to Miss Kitty. Uncle Matt said I could go fishing after school as long as I got my school work done."

"That sounds like a safety rule to me," said Millie. "Mark has said that your father's ranch is very large."

"Yes it is," said Lucas. "You could put my ranch inside the Ponderosa and have a lot of room left over."

"Cat, you have only seen a small part of the Ponderosa," said Adam. "It would take more than three weeks to ride around the whole ranch."

"If your horse steps in a chuck hole and you get hurt so you can't ride, it could take several days before someone found you," said Micah. "Right now, your puppy is too small to go for help. He could easily be killed by an eagle, hawk, wolf, coyote, or cougar, so he would have to stay with you while you waited for help to come, so that's why an adult needs to know where you are all the time. I know that Mark always tells his father where he's going."

"Ok. I understand why someone needs to know where I'm at, but why do I need to ask permission to do anything? What if nobody's home and I want to go fishing? By the time someone comes home, it could be too late to go fishing. I don't want to sit around the house doing nothing instead of fishing. I should just be able to leave a note like I do with Uncle Matt."

"There are several reasons why you need to ask permission before going anywhere. First of all, you are not used to the weather on the Ponderosa and storms can blow up in no time at all. Everyone on the ranch knows what the signs of an approaching storm are. I know that you know how to tell if it's raining off in the distance, but do you know how to tell which way the rain is moving or if a storm is brewing? The other reason I want you to ask permission before going anywhere is because we might be planning to do something as a family and we will want you to be part of it."

"The Apaches taught me how to tell which way the wind is blowing. The Ponderosa is a big ranch and nobody will ever be home to tell me I can go somewhere, so I'll never be able to go anywhere. This is all Adam's idea so he can keep treating me like I'm a little kid or to make me act like a girl. If somebody is home, I'll ask before I go anywhere but if nobody is home, I'm just going to leave a note like I did with Uncle Matt. I don't want to sit around the house doing nothing while I wait for someone to come home. I can do my school work while I'm fishing, just like I did in Dodge. My friend Julie always checked it for me. I sometimes didn't get all of my Arithmetic problems right but everything was almost always right. Also, if nobody is home and I need help with my Arithmetic, I want to be able to go over to Laura and Mary's house. Mary and Mrs. Ingalls said that they'd help me. If I wait for someone to come home before I go over there, it might be too late and I might already be in bed and will get in trouble with the teacher for not having all of my work done. I won't go anywhere if it's raining or looks like it's going to rain."

Ben thought for a minute and said, "Alright Cat. If somebody is home, ask permission before going anywhere. We're not always going to say yes, but we're not always going to say no either and we'll explain why we're saying no. If your brothers or I aren't home, you can leave a note or tell Hop Sing. Just be sure to say exactly where you're going. If you go fishing when you have to go to school the next day, I don't want you riding all the way out to Lake Tahoe. There are ponds, streams and a small lake you can fish in that are closer to the house than Lake Tahoe. However, you will need to be home before supper and if your school work doesn't get done properly, you will not be allowed to go fishing when you have school the next day. Also, just like everyone else, you are going to have chores that will need to be done. You won't have too many. I think we'll start you out with gathering eggs in the morning and filling the wood box by the fireplace. If you neglect your chores, you will not be allowed to go anywhere on school nights."

"Except for doing chores, that's how I did things in Dodge and I always got my school work done. Uncle Matt said I wouldn't be allowed to go fishing, even on weekends if I didn't do my school work unless I had stuff I didn't know how to do. Then I was allowed to do it when someone could help me."

Once everyone was finished eating, Micah said, "Whose turn is it to do dishes tonight Mark?"

"It's mine Micah. Come on Cat, we'd better get started. We have a lot of dishes to wash tonight."

"Hold on a minute you two," said Micah. "Let's see now, Mark and Cat caught the meat and made this fine meal we all enjoyed. Millie made the bread and pies. Lucas washed dishes last night, so Ben and Adam, why don't the two of you help me do the dishes. It's not right for these two youngsters to have worked so long and hard to prepare this wonderful meal only to have to clean up afterwards. I think it's only fair that we help out too."

"Gee thanks Micah," said Mark and Cat together.

"Micah's right Adam," said Ben. We watched while Cat and Mark caught the meat and fixed the meal, so it's only fair that we help too." While Micah, Adam, and Ben were clearing the table and preparing to wash the dishes, Lucas carried two chairs outside and put them on the porch for Millie and he to sit in while Cat and Mark just sat on the edge of the porch.

"I wish you didn't have to leave tomorrow," said Mark. "I'm going to miss you and wish you could stay here forever."

"Me too. If Adam keeps treating me like I'm too young to do anything, I'll come back here, even if I have to come by myself."

"Cat," said Lucas. "I don't want you trying to come here by yourself from the Ponderosa. If Adam keeps treating you like a little kid, send me a telegram. I'll send telegrams to your uncles and Godfathers and I will come and get you myself. It is much too dangerous for you to try and ride here by yourself. Too many bad things can happen to you, so I want you to promise me that you will not try and come here by yourself."

"Ok Uncle Luke. I promise I won't try and come here by myself."

"Cat, I don't think that Adam is going to keep treating you like he has been," said Millie. "Your Pa and Lucas were pretty angry with him. Give it some time and things will work out. You are going to have disagreements with your Pa and brothers, but that's natural. Nobody agrees with others all the time. Lucas and Mark don't always agree but they still love each other. That's the way it's going to be in your family. You won't always agree and sometimes you'll be angry with your Pa or one of your brothers, but they will always love you. Remember, they have to get used to having you there all the time and the way you do things, just like you're going to have to get used to being part of a family and the way they do things. That will take time. It's not going to happen overnight. I don't know how long it will take. That depends on how much work you and the others put into it, but it will happen. One day it will seem like you've always lived there and been part of their family.

One other thing to remember is that as you grow older, you will have more responsibilities but you will also have more freedom. There is something I would like you to think about. I know that you haven't had a father since you were a little baby, but Ben is your father now. I want you to start thinking of him as your Pa instead of as your uncle. Once again, it's going to take time but the more you think about it, the sooner it will happen."

"Ok Miss Millie. I'll try my best."

"That's all anyone can ask," said Micah joining them on the porch. "As long as you try your best with everything you do, even if you don't succeed, you and everyone else around you will know that you did the best you could and that's what's important. My father used to tell me that it is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. Never give up. Just keep trying and one day, you will succeed."

While Cat was thinking about what she had been told, Mark said, "Pa, since Cat's leaving tomorrow and I won't get to see her again until Christmas or maybe not until next summer, can we go for a moonlight ride around the ranch?"

"That's a great idea son. Why don't you and Cat start saddling horses and I'll join you in a minute."

Mark and Cat raced for the barn just as Ben and Adam walked out onto the porch. "Where are they going in such a hurry?" asked Ben.

"I was just coming in the house to tell you that we're all going for a moonlight ride around the ranch. Mark and Cat have gone to start saddling horses and I'm going to help them. Millie, shall I saddle a horse for you or are you going to take your buggy?"

"Of course you should saddle a horse for me. The buggy is fine for going to and from town, especially when you've got bread and pies, but it's not fine for a moonlight ride around your ranch."

Adam walked into the house and returned carrying Cat's saddle bags. Then he bent down and picked up Silver Chief who was nipping at his heels. "Well pup, it seems that you and I are going to be family, so it's time we started getting to know each other."

Cat walked out of the barn leading a pair of horses. Lucas and Mark were right behind her. When she saw Adam with her puppy, she was afraid he was going to hurt Silver Chief and started to drop the reins and run to get her puppy away from him. Lucas saw what she was going to do and put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that Adam is going to hurt your puppy. Watch and see what he does."

Adam held the puppy up and looked him over. "You're a little thing but you've got a lot of heart. I can tell you love that little girl but I'm not sure which one of you is wilder. It's going to be interesting to see what the two of you are like when you grow up." He stuck the puppy inside his shirt and said, "Well, let's see how you like riding this way."

"What are you doing with my puppy Adam?"

"I'm stealing him from you. I decided that I want him, so I'm going to take him," he teased.

Cat wasn't used to being teased so she became angry, walked up to Adam, kicked him and said, "Give my puppy back to me! He's mine and you can't have him! Little Bear gave him to me and I promised to take care of him. Give him back!" She kicked him again. "Give my puppy back!"

"Adam," said Millie. "It's obvious that Cat is not used to being teased. She thinks you're going to keep the puppy."

Adam got down on one knee and took his sister in his arms. "I'm just teasing you Cat. I'm not going to keep your puppy. He wouldn't be happy and would probably chew up my boots. I'm just trying to get to know him a little better. Look at him. He likes being inside my shirt."

"You're really not going to keep him?"

"Of course I'm going to keep him and when we get home, I'm going to run out to the pasture before you can and I'm going to take Fury for a ride."

Cat knew then that Adam was not being serious. "That's silly. Fury is still a baby. He's not even big enough for me to ride yet."

"If we're going to go for a ride, we had better go," said Lucas. "These children will fall asleep in the saddle if we don't leave soon."

Once everyone was mounted, Adam asked Cat if she wanted her puppy. "No, he can stay with you for the ride. I think he likes looking out of your shirt. But don't blame me if he wets on you." She rode off to join Mark leaving Adam with a confused look on his face.

About twenty minutes into the ride, Adam called out to Cat. "Cat, your puppy is wiggling. What does that mean?"

"What do you think it means? You're smart. You went to college. Figure it out."

Millie looked at Lucas and laughed. "I think that Cat is about to get revenge on Adam for teasing her earlier."

"Yes, it does seem that way, doesn't it?"

A few moments later, Adam found out what it meant when Silver Chief started wiggling. " **Caaaat**! Your puppy just wet on me!"

"Don't blame me. You're the one who wanted to carry him."

The rest of the group except for Cat and Mark had a hard time trying to keep from laughing at Adam and finally gave up trying. Cat and Mark didn't even try to keep from laughing at what Silver Chief had done to Adam.

"Ben, you are going to have your hands full with that girl," laughed Micah. "She certainly knows how to get revenge without getting in trouble for it."

"You're right on both counts Micah. Cat is definitely going to be a handful. I know that Adam is angry about what happened to him, but he was warned and Cat did nothing wrong. Hopefully now, he'll start treating his sister with more respect. This is the second time she's gotten even with him for upsetting her. Who knows what she'll do if it happens again?"

"What happened the first time?"

"Cat's uncles gave her money to send them a telegram if things got too bad for her on the Ponderosa and Adam decided that a nine year old shouldn't have any money and told me he was going to take it away from her. She overheard him and the day everyone left Virginia City, we all had dinner at the hotel restaurant. The sheriff is a friend and joined us. Cat walked up to him in front of the whole family, her Godparents, Lucas, Mark, the president's security detail and everyone in the restaurant, gave him the money her uncles had given her and asked him to keep it because Adam thought she was a baby and was going to take it away from her. Needless to say, Adam was very embarrassed. Two of my nephews took her outside, spanked her and made her apologize to Adam. I let them know in no uncertain terms that they were out of line. I told them that Catherine is my responsibility and if I thought she needed to be punished, I would take care of it. My sister agreed with me and so did their older brother."

"Would you have punished her?"

"No I wouldn't have. She did nothing wrong. Adam deserved it. Matt and Rip told him not to take the money away from her but he decided he knew better. I'm not even going to scold her about what the puppy did to Adam. Cat's not used to being teased and he should have stopped when she kicked him. I will have a talk with her about kicking people though. That's not a habit I want her to have, even when she's angry."

"Adam, there's a stream just up ahead where you can wash out your shirt," said Lucas.

When they reached the stream, Adam gave the puppy back to Cat. She and Mark praised him for wetting on Adam. Lucas heard them and said, "Kids, that's not the right thing to do. Cat, I know you were angry with Adam for teasing you, but you should never praise your puppy for wetting on someone, even if you are angry with that person."

"Oh. Sorry Uncle Luke. I didn't know."

"I know that but now that you do know, you shouldn't do it again."

"I won't."

Cat and Mark saw Adam bending over the stream rinsing his shirt out and decided to push him in. Ben saw what they were up to and said, " ** _Catherine_** , **_Mark_** , don't even think about doing what I know you're about to do. That will land both of you in serious trouble."

Adam heard his father, turned around and tucked one child under each arm. "I've got a pair of fish here that are too small to keep. I'm going to throw them back."

"Adam, don't you dare. I just scolded them for wanting to push you in, so you cannot turn around and toss them into the water. Now, if you are finished rinsing your shirt out, let's continue our ride. Those two children need to go to bed soon."

When the group got back to the house, Lucas pulled a chair close to the fireplace and hung Adam's shirt on it. While they were waiting for the shirt to dry, everyone had another piece of pie. "Lucas," said Millie. "I can't thank you enough for inviting me out here tonight. I can't remember the last time I had such an enjoyable evening. I do wish that there was a way we could keep Cat here. How about if we hide her at the store until after Ben and Adam leave? Then we'll be able to keep her here."

That made everybody laugh. "Lucas, why don't you, Mark and Cat spend the night at the hotel?" asked Ben. "Then all of us can have breakfast together. We'll take the stage to Santa Fe and then the train to Dodge."

"We can't take the train," said Cat. "What about Silver Chief? They don't let puppies on trains and I'm not going to leave him behind!"

"Come here Cat." Cat reluctantly walked over to her father, thinking she was about to be scolded. Instead, Ben picked her up, sat her in his lap, hugged her and said, "You don't have to leave Silver Chief behind. They do let puppies on trains. We'll buy some newspapers in Santa Fe and we'll sit in the passenger car closest to where the horses are. Then if he needs to do his business, he can go on the newspaper or Adam or I can take him to the car where the horses are and he can do his business in the straw. You will need to have him on a lead though. When the train makes long stops, we'll be allowed to get out and stretch our legs and we can't risk your puppy deciding to take off chasing a rabbit. It will be a good idea to have him on the lead while we're on the stage too. When we stop, I don't want to risk him getting under the horse's hooves and getting hurt. Now, why don't you go and pack your things and we'll take them to the hotel with us tonight."

"I'll help you Cat," said Mark. A few minutes later the pair came out of the bedroom with Cat's things and everyone started for town. When they arrived at the hotel, Lucas got Cat and Mark to bed before taking care of the horses and joining the others in the dining room.


	24. Chapter 24

After breakfast, Ben walked over to the store with Millie to buy a suitcase large enough to carry Cat's father's sword and hat. She didn't have one for sale in the store but found an old one in the back and gave it to Ben. He offered to pay for it and she said, "There's no charge Ben. It's been sitting around back here for years collecting dust. Just be sure to hug that little girl as often as you can and let her come to visit us every summer."

"I will Millie. Thanks for the case."

They walked back over to the hotel and handed the suitcase to Cat who put the sword and hat in it. "That's a good sized case Cat," said Ben. "Why don't you see if your bow, arrows, and saddle bags will fit in it too? Then you won't have to worry about them getting lost on the trip."

The stage arrived and Adam tied their horses to the back. While the driver was putting their bags on it, Ben picked up Mark, hugged him and said, "If you can manage to keep your Pa out of mischief, I'll let Cat spend two weeks here next summer."

Lucas, Millie, Micah and Mark hugged Cat goodbye. Then Lucas picked her up and put her on the stage and Mark handed the puppy to her. They stood in the street and watched the stage as it drove out of sight.

The trip to Santa Fe took almost three hours. Everytime the stage stopped, Cat took Silver Chief out so he could do his business. He didn't like being on the lead and fought it at first. "I'm sorry Chief but I don't want to have to try and catch you if you take off after a rabbit. When we get to Dodge, you won't need the lead as long as you stay with me, but right now, the stage only stops for a little while, so you have to stay on the lead. You're going to have to stay on the lead when we're on the train too. A lot of people ride trains and if you don't stay with me, you could get stepped on and hurt. Right now, you need to do your business so the stage isn't waiting for us. I don't want Uncle Ben and Adam getting mad at me."

When the stage reached Santa Fe, Cat was amazed. She couldn't believe the size of the city. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Santa Fe is a whole lot bigger than Dodge and Virginia City. I'd like to see some of it. Do we have time to look around for a little while before the train leaves?"

"I don't know Cat," said Ben. "Let's go over to the depot, buy our tickets and see what time the train leaves. Then we'll know exactly how much time we have." They walked over to the train depot, bought their tickets and checked their luggage. On learning that they had four hours until the train would leave, Ben decided they had plenty of time to get some food and explore the city a little bit. They stopped at a restaurant, ate dinner and bought some food for supper on the train. Then they walked through the city, stopping in several shops. In one shop, Cat saw some very pretty material that she liked. Ben sees her looking at it and asks, "Would you like to have a dress made from that material? You can wear it to church the first Sunday after we get back home. In fact, here's some other pretty material. I know that Thanksgiving is still a long way from now, but if you like it, I'll buy some of it too and you can have a dress made to wear to church on Thanksgiving Day."

Since Cat always wore a dress to church on special days and her first Sunday at the Ponderosa and Thanksgiving Day were special days, Cat said, "Yes please. I would like that very much." Ben was surprised at his daughter's response but didn't say anything. Instead, he asked the shop keeper to please sell him enough of each material to make dresses for Cat.

Cat had never been in a store that large before and while Ben was getting the material, she walked around the store with Silver Chief. Every once in a while, something would catch her eye and she would pick the puppy up and say, "Look at that Chief. Isn't it nice?"

After cutting the material for Ben, the shopkeeper walked over to where Cat was looking at something with Silver Chief. He got down on one knee and petted the puppy. "Young lady, you have done a very good job training your puppy. I have never seen such a well behaved puppy before. However, it looks like his collar is getting a bit small for him."

"Thank you sir. His name is Silver Chief and yes, his collar is starting to get small and he's only had it a few weeks."

"Well, just like children, when they're little like that, puppies grow in a hurry. I have something here you can use to make him a new collar. Wait here and I'll be right back." Then he asked, "Are you and your puppy going to be leaving on the train?"

"Yes sir. We're going to Dodge City."

He walked away and returned with a long piece of braided leather and proceeded to tie it around Silver Chief's neck. "It's nice and long so as he grows, you can just loosen it for him." Then he pulled something out from behind him and gave it to Cat. "I thought you might like a couple of bowls for him to eat and drink out of on the train."

"Thank you very much but I don't have any money to buy these things with."

"You don't need any money for them. They are a gift for you and your puppy. He is very handsome and well behaved, just as you are. Maybe the two of you can come and visit me again in a year or so when you are a little older. I'd love to see what he looks like when he's grown up."

"Thank you very much for the collar and bowls for Silver Chief. If I'm ever in Santa Fe again, I'll come and show you how big he is."

"You are very welcome young lady. It's not very often that such a polite, well behaved child and a well behaved puppy visit my store, so when they do, I like to do something nice for them. Is that your father?" he asked pointing at Ben.

Cat thought for a minute. I guess so. He is my uncle but he adopted me, so I guess that makes him my father now."

"Yes, that does make him your father now and I'm going to go and tell him what a polite, well behaved daughter he has."

The man walked up to Ben and said, "I just wanted to tell you how polite and well behaved your daughter and her puppy are. It is a real pleasure seeing a young child and puppy acting like that. I hope you don't mind, but I gave her some braided leather as a new collar for the puppy and some bowls so he can eat and drink on the train. I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with her. When I put the leather around the puppy's neck and gave her the bowls, she thanked me for them but said she didn't have any money to pay for them. Most children would have asked their parents for the money, but she wanted to pay for them herself. You should be very proud of her."

"Thank you for telling me how well behaved Catherine and her puppy were while we were in your store. Yes, I am very proud of her and I will make sure that she knows it. Now, we had better be going if she wants to explore a little more before we have to be at the train depot. Thank you very much for giving her the collar and bowls for Silver Chief. That was very nice of you. Will you allow me to pay you for them?"

"No, I won't hear of you paying for them. They are a gift to a very polite, well behaved little girl and her puppy. I don't get many children in my store who know how to behave and I like to reward the ones who do." Then he wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to Ben. "I don't know if you plan on rewarding her for her behavior, but if you do, go to the ice cream shop one block down and give this note to the proprietor."

"Thank you. I will do that. Catherine, we need to leave now."

Cat and Silver Chief walked up to Ben and the shopkeeper. "Thank you again for the collar and bowls for Silver Chief Mr. …"

The shopkeeper got down on one knee and said, "Oh, I am so sorry. How rude of me. We have been talking and I neglected to introduce myself to you. My name is Mr. Miller and I own this store."

"My name is Catherine Cartwright but everyone calls me Cat. Thank you so very much for Silver Chief's new collar and bowls. That was very nice of you to give them to him. If I ever come to Santa Fe again, I will bring him with me."

"I will look forward to your next visit Miss Catherine Cartwright. It was a real pleasure meeting you and Silver Chief."

Ben, Adam, and Cat walked out of the store. Once they were outside, Ben picked Cat up and hugged her tightly. Then he said, "I am so very proud of you. Not only were you polite and well behaved, Mr. Miller told me how you wanted to pay for the collar and bowls yourself. I am very proud of you. We have a little bit of time left before we need to be at the train depot. Would you like some ice cream?"

"Yes please. I would like some very much."

"Well then, let's go and get some ice cream."

As they were walking toward the ice cream shop, Ben read Mr. Miller's note. "George, this little girl is one of the politest, most well behaved children I have ever met and her puppy is also very well behaved. Please give her something special from your shop. Thank you. Michael."

When they got to the ice cream shop, Ben handed the note to the owner who read it. He looked at Cat and said, "Well young lady. You must be a very special little girl. You impressed my brother and Michael rarely gets impressed by children who go into his store. Now, what is your favorite flavor ice cream?"

"Chocolate sir," replied Cat.

"Have you ever had an ice cream sundae?"

"No sir. I don't even know what that is."

"Well then young lady, you are in for a real treat. Now then gentlemen, what would you like?"

"I would like a bowl of strawberry ice cream," said Ben.

"And I would like a bowl of chocolate ice cream," said Adam.

"Thank you very much." Then he bent down to pet Silver Chief. "You sure are a handsome puppy. I'm going to give you a bowl of water and a small scoop of ice cream." Then he looked at Cat. "I have had dogs all of my life. It's ok to give them a little bit of vanilla ice cream once in a while but not too much and not all the time."

"I didn't know that," said Cat. "Thank you for telling me. I won't give him much ice cream and I'll only give it to him on very special days."

"Good for you. Now, make yourselves comfortable and I'll be back with your ice cream in a few minutes." When he returned, Cat's eyes got as big as dinner plates when he set her dish down. It had two scoops of chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce on them and it was piled high with whipped cream. There was also a cherry on the top and two cookies on the sides. She had never seen anything like that before and wished there was some way to take a picture of it to show all of her friends.

"Thank you very much. That looks wonderful. I've never seen anything like this before. I wish there was a way I could take a picture of it to show all of my friends. I don't think they've ever seen anything like it either."

"You are very welcome young lady. I hope you enjoy it." Then he knelt down by Silver Chief, petted him and said, "And I hope you enjoy your treat too young man."

While the Cartwrights were enjoying their ice cream, a young man of about twenty walked into the shop. The owner greeted him warmly and whispered something to him. He smiled, nodded his head and walked in the back.

Just before they finished their ice cream, the young man walked up to the table with several pieces of paper in his hands and introduced himself. "Hello. My name is Andrew and my father owns this shop. He told me that the little girl has never had an ice cream sundae before and wanted a picture of it. I am studying art and have taken the liberty of drawing some pictures for her." He handed the papers to Cat and she shared them with her father and brother. He had drawn pictures of the sundae, Cat eating it, Silver Chief eating his ice cream, and Adam and Ben eating theirs.

Cat was thrilled. "Thank you very much Andrew. These are very nice. I can't wait to show the picture of the sundae to my friends. They've never had one either. It was delicious and I hope I get to have another one sometime. Silver Chief really liked his ice cream too."

"Thank you Andrew. That was very nice of you. Cat, if you're finished, we need to go. The train will be boarding in about forty five minutes," said Ben.

"Yes, I'm done but I need to use the outhouse."

Andrew chuckled. "We don't have an outhouse in here, but we do have a water closet. Let me show you where it is. When you're finished with your business, just pull that chain." He walked out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him.

When Cat had finished, they left the ice cream shop and started back toward the train depot. As they passed Mr. Miller's store, he came out and said, "Mr. Cartwright, I am very happy you came back this way. Something occurred to me. It's a long ride to Dodge City, even on the train and Miss Catherine is going to need to sleep. I've had this pillow lying around for years. My son and nephew used it when they were boys and we took long trips on the train, but they're both grown now and no longer need it. Please allow me to give it to you. I just need to put a new pillow case on it."

"Thank you Mr. Miller. I accept your gracious offer, which reminds me, I had better buy a blanket for Cat because the train can get chilly at night. Cat, let's go back into Mr. Miller's store and pick out a blanket you like."

Cat found a pretty blanket that had many different colored stripes on it and handed it to Ben. "This is pretty and reminds me of the story from the Bible about Joseph and his pretty coat."

Once again, Ben was astonished. He hadn't realized that Cat had been attending church and Sunday school while she was living in Dodge. "Yes, I can see why it would remind you of that story. It has many colors in it, just like Joseph's coat did. However, I don't think that your brothers are going to get jealous of it the way Joseph's brothers did."

Ben paid for the blanket and Mr. Miller wrapped both the blanket and pillow up for him. They resumed their walk toward the train depot when a woman's clothing store caught Cat's eye. She looked in the window and saw a pretty blue parasol. "I wish I had some money so I could buy that for Miss Kitty. She always says blue is her favorite color and that is a very pretty shade of blue. Maybe when I come here again, it will still be here and I'll have some money so I can buy it."

Adam got down on one knee, took his sister in his arms and said, "Cat, will you please allow me to buy it for you?"

"But I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back."

"That's ok. You don't have to pay me back. This is something that family members do for each other. There have been many times when Hoss and Joe wanted to buy something for Pa but didn't have any money, so I bought it for them."

Cat wasn't sure about what Adam was saying, but she said, "Yes please. Thank you for doing that for me."

"That's ok. Like I said, that is something family members do for each other. Now, let's go and buy that parasol for Miss Kitty." They walked into the store and Adam paid for the parasol. "Now, we can't make any more stops until we get to the depot. If we miss the train, we'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon for the next one, so we had better hurry."

"I wish Uncle Rip and my Godparents were here. I'd really like to see them again."

"Well, if everything works out the way it should, maybe you'll see them at Christmas. I know that seems a long way away, but you'll be so busy on the ranch and with school, the time will fly by and Christmas will be here before you know it."

"I don't want to go to school. Can't I just stay and do work on the ranch?"

"No you can't. You have to go to school until you're eighteen."

"Yuck. I can't wait until I turn ten."

"What's so important about being ten?"

"When I turn ten, I am going to take Uncle Sam's job. Mark, Laura, Mary, Julie, Peter, and Michael are going to help me and we're going to make Arithmetic go away."

Adam started laughing loudly. When they got outside, Ben asked, "What's so funny?" Adam told him about Cat's plans for when she turned ten and Ben started laughing also.

"Come on my silly girl. Bring your puppy and let's go before we miss our train."

When they reached the depot, Ben put all of their purchases except the food, pillow, blanket and dog bowls in their luggage. Then he walked across the street to a store and bought several newspapers. While he was doing that, Cat took Silver Chief in the grass next to the depot to do his business and Adam took her inside to use the water closet. The train arrived fifteen minutes later. They found seats in the car closest to the stock car so they wouldn't have to carry Silver Chief too far when he needed to do his business. Then Adam took one of the dog bowls, put water in it and put it on the floor under Cat's seat so it wouldn't spill. Several hours after the leaving Santa Fe, Cat started yawning so Ben gave her the pillow and Adam took the puppy into the stock car. When he returned, he put Silver Chief on the seat with Cat and Ben covered them up.

Once Cat was asleep, Adam said, "Matt sure did a good job raising her, didn't he?"

"Yes he did. I was expecting Cat to be her usual wild self but she was the exact opposite."

"Did you notice that she didn't ask for a single thing for herself? I don't think any of us were even close to being that well behaved when we were boys."

"No you weren't. I had to tan your backsides a lot for not behaving in public. I was also impressed by the fact that, except for the dress material, Cat wanted to pay for everything herself. Not many children do that, especially nine year olds. You and your brothers were always asking me for money to buy something. I can remember quite a few times growing up when I asked my father for money to buy something I wanted. And before you ask, yes, I also got my backside tanned many times for not behaving in public. I guess we can safely assume that if Cat acts up in public, she's not feeling well. We'd better get some sleep. She will be up at first light and we're going to need to be well rested."

About two hours after Ben and Adam fell asleep, Cat became restless and called out, "Mother!" Ben was up in an instant and knew what was happening. He immediately changed seats and put his daughter's pillow and her head in his lap. He sat there caressing her head, talking to her in soft, soothing tones, trying to reassure her that she was safe and everything was ok.

A few minutes after the start of Cat's nightmare, Silver Chief began to get restless. Before Ben could wake Adam to take the puppy to the stock car, a woman about his age walked up and asked if Cat was ok. "Yes. I think she's going to be fine," he replied. "Thank you for asking. Her mother was murdered about two months ago and she was standing next to her when it happened. I think she's reliving that night. If you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to wake my son. My daughter's puppy needs to go to the stock car and I don't want to leave her."

"Why don't you let me sit with your daughter while you take care of the puppy? It's been a long time since I had to take care of a little one like her."

"Thank you Mrs. …"

"Wilson. Betty Wilson. I have four children, all grown now. My eldest, Elizabeth, is about the same age as your son and my youngest is twenty two."

"Thank you very much Mrs. Wilson. I really appreciate it. My name is Ben Cartwright. My son is Adam and my daughter is Catherine but everyone calls her Cat."

"You're very welcome Mr. Cartwright. Now you had better take care of that puppy before he does his business on the train seat."

Ben took Silver Chief to the stock car, put him back with Cat when he returned and resumed his seat with Cat's pillow and head in his lap. Mrs. Wilson took Ben's seat next to Adam and said, "I'm sorry that your wife was murdered."

"Catherine's mother wasn't my wife," replied Ben. "She was my younger sister. Cat's father was killed in the war when she was just a baby. When my sister died, I adopted her daughter."

"I am still very sorry for your loss and that this sweet child had to witness her mother's death at such a young age. It was very nice of you to adopt your niece."

"When Catherine was born, I promised her parents that if anything ever happened to them, I would take care of her. I have loved this little girl ever since the day she was born and I intend to do my best to take good care of her. She hasn't had a home and family since her father was killed and now she's going to have one. We're all going to have to make some adjustments. She was raised by one of her father's brothers in Dodge City and had a lot of freedom to pretty much do what she wanted. Now, she's going to have more rules to follow and chores to do. I know that she is going to rebel against having her freedom curtailed, but my ranch is very large and I need to keep her safe.

As you'll see in the morning, Cat is not a typical girl. She is very independent and can practically take care of herself. She would rather be out running with the wild things than sitting still in school. When she was five, she and two of her friends got bored with school, slipped away several times and spent the days fishing. Her father's brothers and I all agree that the only thing that kept her in school was being told she couldn't spend summers on my ranch if she skipped school. Starting next year, Catherine will be spending summers with her uncle in Dodge. He has already told her that if she skips school, she will not be allowed to spend her summers with him. That should keep her in school. Thank you again for sitting with her while I took care of her puppy. If you are not traveling with someone else, you are more than welcome to stay here with me and my family. Now, if you'll excuse me, these two little ones will be up at the crack of dawn and I need to get some sleep."

"No, I am not traveling with anyone else. Thank you for your kind invitation. I gladly accept. I am looking forward to meeting your son and daughter in the morning. I'll go and get my things and be right back." She returned a few minutes later and took a blanket out of her suitcase. Ben put it up on the luggage rack, made sure Cat was covered up and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the adults were awake shortly before Cat. Ben introduced Adam and Mrs. Wilson. Cat woke up when Silver Chief started wiggling and kissing Cat's face. "Alright Chief, I'm up. Give me a minute and I'll find somewhere for you to do your business."

"I'll take him," said Adam.

"Why don't you put him inside your shirt?" teased Cat.

"No, I think I'll put him inside your shirt. That will be much more fun."

"Son, if you don't take that puppy to the stock car, the same thing that happened to you at Lucas' ranch is going to happen again," said Ben.

"That would be funny," said Cat. "Keep holding him Adam. I want to see it happen again. I'll write to Mark and tell him as soon as we get to Dodge."

"Little sister, just as soon as I take care of this puppy of yours, I'm going to pick you up, turn you upside down and stick your head in a water bucket."

Cat laughed. "No you won't. People have to drink from those buckets. They'll get mad at you and feel sorry for me."

" ** _Adam, go_** **!** " said Ben. "If that puppy wets on you, it will be your own fault. We've been taking him to the stock car so he won't do his business in here and you need to take him **_NOW!_** " Adam took Silver Chief to the stock car and Ben introduced Cat to Mrs. Wilson.

"Do we have any food left from yesterday?" asked Cat. "I'm hungry."

"No Kitten. I'm sorry but we ate almost all of it last night. I saved a little bit for your puppy, but that's it."

"Oh. How long until we get to Dodge?"

"We'll be in St. Louis in about an hour," said Mrs. Wilson. "You'll have plenty of time to eat because the train to Dodge won't leave for about ninety minutes. In fact, if the three of you would care to join me, I know of a wonderful restaurant not very far from the train depot where we can all have breakfast."

"Thank you for the invitation," said Ben. "We gladly accept." A few minutes later, the conductor began walking up and down the aisle telling people that they would be in St. Louis shortly. As soon as the train stopped, Ben and Adam began getting their luggage down.

"Would you please get my bags down too?" asked Mrs. Wilson. "I'm staying in St. Louis."

Ben did as he was asked and handed Cat the case containing the hat, sword, saddle bags, and bow and arrows. "Cat, can you manage this case and your puppy? That way I can carry Mrs. Wilson's bags for her."

"Yes, I can carry it and take care of Silver Chief. It's not heavy." They exited the train and started toward the station when Cat exclaimed. "The horses. We can't leave the horses on the train. They can't take care of themselves and somebody will steal them."

"It's alright Cat," said Adam. We're just going to put our bags down over there and then we'll go back and get our horses. Don't worry; we're not going to leave them on the train." They put their bags down and walked back to the stock car where Ginger was acting up because she was afraid to go down the ramp.

Before anyone could stop her, Cat ran up the ramp into the stock car. She started petting her horse and talking softly to her.

The man who was trying to get the horses out of the car scolded her. "Young lady, you could have been seriously hurt. You should never, ever run up to a horse that's rearing like this mare was."

"Ginger is my horse. She would never hurt me. I help Mr. Quint, the blacksmith in Dodge, with the horses all the time. He says I'm so good with them I should become a blacksmith." The man just shook his head. It took a few minutes, but Ginger finally calmed down and allowed the man to lead her down the ramp.

Adam took the reins and waited for the other horses while Ben began yelling at Cat. " **Do not ever do that again! You could have been seriously hurt! Ginger could easily have trampled you! You are extremely lucky that you weren't hurt! The next time you put yourself in danger, I will warm your backside but good!** "

"That's how I help Mr. Quint all the time. He pays me to help with horses that don't want to have new shoes and won't hold still."

" **This is a totally different situation! Quint has the horses tied so they can't rear and hurt you or him! You could have easily been hurt or killed! I am serious.** **The next time you put yourself in danger, you will have a hard time sitting down when I finish with you! Now, go, take your puppy out in the grass and then wait for me by our bags!** "

Cat went to do as she was told. Then Mrs. Wilson said, "Ben, calm down and stop yelling at that child. Catherine obviously doesn't see any difference between what she did today and what she has done in Dodge. After breakfast, when you are calmer, you need to explain the difference to her. Yelling at her is not going to help her understand. You need to talk to her calmly and explain the difference in a way she'll understand. Remember, nine year olds see things in a totally different way than adults do."

While Adam was putting the horses in the corral, feeding and watering them, Ben and Mrs. Wilson walked over to where Cat was sitting on one of the suitcases, talking to Silver Chief. "I don't understand it Chief. Mr. Quint pays me twenty five cents every time I help him with a horse, but Uncle Ben yelled at me for doing the same thing. I don't want to live with Uncle Ben if I'm going to get yelled at every time I do something. I also don't want to have to follow a bunch of dumb rules, like having to ask permission whenever I want to do something or go somewhere. If I wait for someone to tell me I can do something or go somewhere, I'll never be able to leave the house or yard. Even if someone is home, I know they won't let me do anything. I'm tired of being treated like a baby. When we get to Dodge, I'm going to tell Uncle Matt that I don't want to live with Uncle Ben. I'll tell him that I want to stay with him in Dodge and when I'm too old I'll go and live with Uncle Rip. His new quarters even have a bedroom for me. They won't yell at me for doing things I've been doing ever since I was five. They never yell at me, even when I do something wrong. Now it looks like I'm not even going to be able to eat until we get to Dodge and I'm hungry. I should get my bow and arrows out so we could go hunting, but then we'd probably miss the train and Uncle Ben will really be mad at me. The next time we take the train to Dodge, I'm going to have money so we don't have to depend on anyone else." All of a sudden, Cat remembered that she had the money her Godfathers and Rip had given her for telegrams. "I do have some money Chief. We're not going to go hungry. Come on. Let's go and find some food."

Ben heard what Cat was saying to her puppy, sighed, turned to Mrs. Wilson and said, "I'm getting very tired of hearing that child say she's being treated like a baby every time she doesn't get her own way. I've half a mind to put her over my knees and give her a very sore bottom right here and now."

"Ben, did you even listen to she said? She has been helping the blacksmith in Dodge with unruly horses since she was five, so when her horse started acting up, Catherine did what she has been doing for many years now. She does not know the difference between what she has been doing and what she just did. Also, apparently, she's not used to being yelled at when she does something wrong. Believe it or not, it is not necessary to yell at children when they get into mischief. My husband and I never yelled at our children, no matter how much trouble they got into. We explained what they did wrong, why it was wrong and what their punishment was going to be. She thinks you're treating her like a baby because you yelled at her in front of a bunch of strangers. Stop and think about how you were raised. Did your parents yell at you in front of strangers? What about your sons? Did you yell at them in front of strangers or wait until you were somewhere private to let them know of your displeasure?"

Ben admitted that his parents never scolded him in public. "I did yell at my youngest a lot when he was little because he was always doing things that were dangerous and sometimes that was the only way to get his attention, but I never yelled at him in public. So, what do I do now? If I don't do something, it's going to be a very long train ride to Dodge and an even longer two weeks while we're there."

"You need to apologize for yelling at her in front of a bunch of strangers and tell her why you yelled at her. Try and make her understand the difference between what she does in Dodge and what she just did. Let her know that you're angry about what she did but you still love her."

Ben turned around and saw Cat walking away from their luggage with her puppy.

"Where are you going Cat?"

"I'm going to get some food. My Godfathers and Uncle Rip gave me money for telegrams. I'll use it to get some breakfast for me and Chief. I'm going to tell Uncle Matt that I had to use my telegram money to buy breakfast because you were mad at me for helping Ginger and weren't going to let me have any breakfast.

Ben got down on one knee, took his daughter in his arms and said, "First, I need to apologize to you. I should not have yelled at you, especially in public. I was wrong. I was afraid that you were going to get hurt or worse and reacted the wrong way. I know it's hard for you to understand now, but when you're grown up and have children of your own, you will understand what I felt when I saw you go running up to a rearing horse. Second, I never said we weren't going to get breakfast. We just need to wait for Adam. He is taking care of Ginger, Buck and Sport for us. It wouldn't be fair if we ate breakfast and they didn't, now would it? Look, here comes Adam. Now we can all go, get some breakfast."

Just then a young woman about Adam's age and a young man a few years younger walked to the group and greeted Mrs. Wilson. She introduced them to the Cartwrights. "Ben, I would like you to meet my daughter Elizabeth and my son Robert. Elizabeth, Robert, this is Mr. Ben Cartwright, his son Adam, his daughter Catherine and her puppy, Silver Chief. We've been traveling together since Santa Fe and we're on our way to get some breakfast. Would you care to join us?"

"We would love to," said Elizabeth. "Robbie, would you please put Mother's bags in the buggy?" When Robert returned, the two families walked over to the restaurant to get breakfast.


	25. Chapter 25

While they were eating breakfast, Cat asked, "Uncle Ben, will we have time to look around St. Louis? I've never been here before."

"I don't know Cat. We'll have to see how much time we have after breakfast. Actually, you used to live here. After your father died in the war, your mother brought you here. You lived with her and your grandfather until she took you to Uncle Matt in Dodge."

"I don't remember."

"I know you don't. You weren't even two when your mother took you to Dodge. All I know about your time here is what your mother wrote to me. You were even being our Wild Cat when you were that young. Your mother wrote to me that your grandfather's cook caught you trying to climb on the china cabinet just before she took you to Dodge. Heaven only knows what kind of mischief you're going to try and get into on the Ponderosa."

"Where is your ranch at Mr. Cartwright?" asked Robert.

"It's near Virginia City, Nevada," replied Ben. "Your family is welcome to come for a visit any time. We have plenty of room and I'd love to show you the ranch."

"I'd enjoy that," said Betty. "If I ever get to Nevada, I will take you up on that offer. Who knows, maybe we'll even move there some day. This city is getting too crowded and even my husband is getting tired of it."

"Mother, how is Georgie doing?" asked Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth dear, your brother is going to be twenty three soon. Don't you think it's time you stopped calling him Georgie? You know how much he hates it when you call him that. George is doing just fine. I wish the whole family could have been in San Francisco for his graduation ceremony. He sent his love to all of you." Then she turned to Ben and said, "George is my youngest son. He just graduated college in San Francisco and will be starting veterinary school soon. That's why I was on the train. I was coming home from his graduation."

"You must be very proud of him. My youngest son knows how George feels. His name is Joseph but everyone calls him Little Joe. He's nineteen now. Catherine was born on his tenth birthday and they've always been close."

Once everyone had finished breakfast, Betty said, "You still have quite a bit of time before you need to be at the train depot. Would you like to see a little bit of St. Louis before you leave? We can take my buggy. Don't worry, you won't miss your train."

"Can we please?" asked Cat. "It would be so much fun."

"I don't see why not," said Ben. "I agree with you. It would be fun. Thank you for your invitation Betty. We gladly accept."

Robert drove the buggy and everyone enjoyed their brief ride. Cat was amazed at everything she saw and wished there was time to stop and walk around. She looked at Ben and said, "Can we come back for a visit sometime? I really would like to see more of St. Louis."

"I'm not going to promise, but we'll try. Maybe next summer after you leave Uncle Lucas' ranch, we can spend an extra day here before we go to Dodge. I just can't plan that far ahead, so I don't want to promise and have something happen so we can't."

"Ok. I do hope we can though."

"So do I Kitten. I haven't been here since Little Joe was very young and I would like to see the city again too."

They arrived at the train depot before the train arrived, so Cat had time to walk around a little bit and let Silver Chief do his business. Then she got an idea, walked over to the corral and called Ginger to her. "We're going to be going back on the train in a little while," she told the horse. "I don't want you to be afraid this time. Nothing is going to hurt you. Just let the man lead you up the ramp into the train car and let him lead you down the ramp when we get to Dodge. I'll be waiting for you at the bottom of the ramp. Would you like Buck or Sport to go first so you can see how easy it is?" The horse nickered. "Ok. I'll go and tell Adam."

The Wilsons, Ben and Adam watched, amazed as Cat talked to her horse and the horse seemed to answer her. "Ben, your daughter has a gift that I've only seen in one other person," said Betty. "Animals really seem to understand her when she talks to them. I know at her age, school is something to be avoided whenever possible, but when she is older, please try and convince her to attend college and become a veterinarian."

"I'm curious, who is the other person you know that has this gift?"

"My brother George," replied Robert.

"He's always been very good with animals and, just like with your daughter, they seem to understand what he's saying to them. That's why he's going to veterinary school. We have a small ranch outside the city and George has been a great help to our father with the animals."

Just then, Cat came walking back up to them. "Adam, if Sport or Buck go first, Ginger won't be afraid to go up and down the ramp to the train car."

"Alright Cat. I'll have the man take Buck first. Then Ginger can follow him. When we get to Dodge, I'll have them take Sport out first and then Ginger. We'll see if that makes it easier for her. But you've got to promise me that if she acts up like she did when we got here, you won't go running up into the car again. You could have been seriously hurt and then, instead of going to Dodge, you would be in the hospital right now. So, please promise me that you won't run up into the train car again if Ginger is afraid."

"Ok. I won't run up there again, but how am I going to help her get down if she's afraid?"

"You can stand at the bottom of the ramp and call her. She'll see and hear you and that will help her to calm down. Now, the train will be here very soon. Why don't you take Silver Chief back out into the grass for a few minutes and then use the water closet?"

"That was good thinking son," said Ben. "I didn't even think about having her promise not to run into the stock car again."

"Yes, that was good thinking Adam," said Betty. "Now Ben, when you get to Dodge, if Cat keeps her promise, be sure to praise her for doing so. I know that you're not used to raising girls so please allow me tell you something about girls. Girls thrive on praise. The more you praise them for doing the right thing, even if it's getting a higher than normal grade on a test in school, the more likely they are to keep doing it. As you saw earlier, girls don't react well to being yelled at. If you catch her doing something dangerous, definitely yell to get her to stop. However, do not yell at her like you did earlier. Talk to her calmly, explain what she did wrong, why it was wrong, what her punishment is going to be and what it will be the next time it happens. If you are too upset to talk calmly just then, send her to her room, have her sit on a hay bale or chair and wait for you. Then, when you have calmed down, talk to her. Believe me, you will get much better results that way."

"Alright Betty. You have a daughter and know more about girls than I do. I'll do my best not to yell at Catherine when she gets in trouble. I've gotten so used to yelling at the boys, especially Little Joe, it's going to be hard to change my ways but I'll do my best."

"I have two daughters Ben. I don't know why Michelle didn't come with Elizabeth and Robert today. You are going to have to do better than your best. When Elizabeth was around Catherine's age, her father yelled at her for something she did wrong. She didn't speak to him for a month and avoided him as much as possible. She wouldn't sit next to him in church and refused to even look at him during meals. Is that the way you want to live with Catherine? I also heard talk of uncles and Godparents who gave her money to send them telegrams. I'm quite certain that if she sends them a telegram saying that you're always yelling at her, you could lose her.

Adam, the things I'm telling your father go for you too. I know that you are the eldest and act as parent when your father is not at home. If you yell at your sister when she does something wrong, you could lose her. If I ever visit you, I want to see Catherine happy and healthy, living on your ranch. Find a way to keep her safe while still allowing her to do the things she loves to do.

There is one more thing you need to be aware of Ben. Catherine is nine now. Sometime in the next four to six years, she is going to blossom into womanhood. Before that happens, you will need a woman to explain things to her. Her body will be undergoing changes and she will need to know what is happening and why."

"Raising a girl isn't going to be as easy as I thought it would," laughed Ben. "I had forgotten all about what happens to them as they grow up. Fortunately, her best friend lives nearby and Caroline Ingalls will probably explain things to both of her older daughters and Catherine at the same time."

Cat and Silver Chief returned to the group just before the train pulled into the station. When the ramp to the stock car was lowered, Adam started to lead their horses over to it. Cat handed her puppy's lead to Ben, walked up to Adam and said, "Let me take Ginger Adam. Maybe if I walk her over to the ramp and talk to her, she won't be afraid to go into the car."

"Alright little sister. Let's try and see what happens."

Adam handed Buck's reins to the man loading the horses and Cat talked to Ginger while Buck was being led up the ramp. "Look Ginger. See how easy it is. Buck isn't afraid and you should be. Here, I'll show you how easy it is." Much to everyone's surprise, Cat handed Ginger's reins to Adam and walked up the ramp. "Look Ginger. See how easy it is. Now I'm going to show you how easy it is to come down again." She walked back down the ramp, took her horse's reins from Adam and handed them to the man who easily led Ginger up the ramp.

After Adam handed Sport's reins to the man, he picked Cat up and hugged her. "That was amazing little sister. I've never seen anyone do that before. I can't believe it worked." He carried her over to where the others were standing and said, "Pa, I think we've got a new wrangler. I can't wait to see what she can do with other horses."

"That sounds like fun. When can I start working with the other horses? It will be a lot more fun than going to school."

"Sorry Cat. You still have to go to school," laughed Ben. "As far as working with other horses goes, I want to see what you do with your own colt first. If you do a good job training Fury, I'll let you start working with some of the other foals. You're still very young and I don't want to risk your safety by letting you work with unbroken horses. Little Joe is nineteen and he's not allowed to work with unbroken horses because it's too dangerous. Now, we need to say goodbye to the Wilsons and get on the train otherwise our horses will go to Dodge without us."

Cat said goodbye to the Wilsons and was hugged by all three of them. Adam helped her up onto the train and handed Silver Chief to her. The Wilsons helped Adam and Ben get their luggage. Before saying goodbye, Betty said, "That's was wonderful the way you handled Catherine just then. You kept her safe and still allowed her to do something she wanted to. You also gave her something to work toward while explaining why she couldn't work with unbroken horses. And you explained it in terms of wanting to keep her safe without making her feel as though she was being treated like a baby. If you keep doing that, she will thrive in your care and you will have a happy home. I wish all of you the best of luck and I hope we will meet again some day in the not too distant future."

Ben and Adam thanked her for all of her help and boarded the train. Cat was very quiet and lost in thought at the beginning of the trip. "What are you thinking about Cat?" asked Adam.

"I'm thinking about the wild horses."

"What about them?"

"They love being free and it must really scare them to get caught and get broke. Why do we have to catch the wild ones? Why can't we raise our own?"

"Well now, you've given me something to think about. It would take several years, but we could get our own herd started. What do you think Pa?"

"Yes, we could do that. We'll need to get at least two more stallions and more brood mares. That wild stallion seems to have good blood lines so we could turn some mares in season out with the wild ones for a few weeks. Cat, you're not used to ranch life, so there are a few things you need to understand. It will be quite a few years before we have a good herd of horses going. Mares only have one foal a year. Sometimes they have twins, but that's rare, so if we only have ten mares, that will only be ten foals a year. Also, remember, we told you that Fury will be almost two years old before you're allowed to start riding him a little bit and that will just be in the pasture. He will be two before you're allowed to ride him out of the pasture. It will be the same thing with the horses we raise. They will have to be at least two years old before they can be used for the Army or ranch work. In the mean time, we're going to have to keep catching the wild ones and breaking them. We need horses on the ranch and the Army buys them from us too. Don't worry, we only catch what we need and we leave the rest out on the range.

"But won't someone else catch them?"

"Nobody else can catch them as long as they're on the Ponderosa," said Ben. "But once they leave the ranch, anyone can catch them."

"That's not fair. Can't we stop them?"

"No Cat, unfortunately we can't. They're wild horses and don't belong to anyone."

"We could catch them and brand them. Then they would belong to us and nobody else could catch them."

"We could, but then we'd have to find a way to keep them on the Ponderosa."

"I don't understand. Why would they have to stay on the Ponderosa?"

"Well Cat, the law says that a man has to keep his livestock on his own property. If he doesn't and his neighbors complain, he could have to pay fines and pay his neighbors for any damage done to their property."

"Oh. Can't you buy up all of the land around the Ponderosa? Then the wild horses would have a lot of land and it would all belong to us. Nobody could catch them then."

Ben and Adam laughed. Ben reached over to the seat in front of him, pulled his daughter to him, and hugged her. "It's not that easy Sweetheart. Many of our neighbors have lived there almost as long as we have and won't want to sell their property. Also, it would cost a lot of money to buy all of that land and I don't have that much money."

"Oh pooh! I just want to keep the wild horses safe."

"I know you do Kitten. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as you think it is. I really do wish it was. Now, why don't you and your puppy enjoy the scenery? We'll be in Dodge in a little more than an hour."

While the Cartwrights were on their way to Dodge, Matt was in the Long Branch with Kitty, Doc, Festus, and Quint. He kept checking his watch and finally Doc said, "What is wrong with you today Matt. I declare, that's the sixth time you've checked your watch in the last hour. What are you waiting for?"

"Cat, Ben, and Adam are due in on the train today. I don't want to be late meeting it."

"I had forgotten that Cat is due here today," said Kitty. "Would you mind if I met the train with you?"

"No, not at all. I'm sure that Cat would really like it if all of you were with me to meet the train. In fact, we had better start walking over to the depot. The train is due here in about fifteen minutes." They walked out of the Long Branch and saw the Tanner family coming into town. Matt greeted them and said, "John, Elizabeth, it seems that you are just in time. Cat is due in on the train this morning and it should be here in about fifteen minutes."

Peter and Michael got very excited and started jumping up and down in the back of the wagon, stepping on some of their brothers and sisters. "Can we go and meet Cat at the train?" asked Peter.

"We haven't seen her in forever and want to go fishing with her," added Michael.

"If you two don't sit down and behave, the only meeting you'll have will be the palm of my hand with your bottoms!" said their father. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir," answered the twins together.

"We will meet the train but if either one of you act up while we are there, you will not be going anywhere but home, and we will be having a talk in the barn. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said the twins dejectedly.

The train arrived on time and when Cat saw Matt waiting to meet her, she forgot all about her family and puppy and threw herself into his arms, hugging his neck tightly. Matt hugged her back and teased, "Ben, you know I run a quiet town here. Why did you bring this wild thing with you? I'm just going to have to hang onto her to keep her out of trouble."

Ben and Adam laughed. "We didn't have much choice," said Adam. "We tried to lose her but she kept following us and so did this thing." He picked up Silver Chief and showed him to Matt.

Matt put Cat down and started helping Ben and Adam with the luggage. Michael and Peter rushed up to Cat, began pulling on her and talking at once. "We're so glad you're back. You've been gone for forever. Why did you go away? Who's that with you? Why did they come with you? Are you going to live with us? Let's go fishing."

"Pete, Mike, quit pulling on me! I just got off the train two minutes ago and haven't even had time to say hi to anyone, including your parents. I'm going to be here for two weeks. We'll go fishing but first I have to say hi to everyone, especially your Ma and Pa. You know how they feel about us being rude and not saying hi is being rude. You know that. Also, my puppy needs to do his business and I need to take my things over to Uncle Matt's office."

Peter and Michael ignored Cat's words, spotted Silver Chief, picked him up and started talking at once again. "Is this your puppy? He sure is cute. What's his name? Can we take him home with us?" Then they started pulling on him and arguing over who got to hold him.

When the puppy whimpered in pain, Cat became angry with her friends and yelled at them. " **Pete, Mike, Stop! If you hurt my puppy, I won't go fishing with you for a long, long time, if I ever do! Now give me my puppy, stop being rude and let me say hi to everyone!** " The boys stopped, gave Silver Chief to Cat and apologized for their behavior.

John grabbed the boys by the backs of their shirts, swatted their bottoms and said, "I warned you what would happen if you didn't behave. Now, go and sit in the wagon and wait for the rest of the family. Don't even think about leaving that wagon before I get there. If you do, you will be in even more trouble than you are in now!" The twins reluctantly walked over to the wagon.

Once the twins were gone, Cat was able to say hi to everyone who had met her at the train. Everyone hugged her and Silver Chief also got a lot of hugs. While the twins were talking to Cat, Matt had introduced Ben and Adam to the Tanners. "Mr. Cartwright, I do hope that you and Adam will join us for supper at least once while you're here," said Elizabeth. "We have been looking forward to meeting you ever since the Marshal told us you had adopted Cat. John and I have come to think of her as a member of our family and we're going to miss her very much. Believe it or not, even though the three of them get into mischief, sometimes she's the only one who can handle the twins. You just saw a small taste of what she can dish out to those two. Their father warned them what would happen if they didn't behave but it took Cat to make them settle down."

"Call me Ben. Adam and I will be more than happy to join your family for supper while we're here. I can't wait to find out what you can teach me about this little girl who is now a permanent member of my family."

"That's wonderful. I know that you've been traveling for several days and are probably tired, so why don't you come to supper tomorrow night? We'll expect you too Marshal. Now, we had better go and get our shopping done, especially as Peter and Michael are alone with the wagon. There's no telling what mischief they've been into."

"Cat," said John, "I know that you want to go fishing with the boys, but it will be several days before they're allowed to leave the farm."

"That's ok. I'm mad at them. They almost hurt Silver Chief and wouldn't let me say hi to everyone."

The Tanners said goodbye to everyone and walked back over to the wagon where they found the twins playing marbles in the street behind the wagon instead of sitting in it. Matt picked Cat and Silver Chief up and teased, "I'm just going to have to hold onto you two wild things so you don't disturb the peace in my town."

"Cat, are you going to stay with Adam and me in the hotel or with Uncle Matt?" asked Ben.

"I'm going to stay with Uncle Matt. I'm tired of hotels and trains. I want to sleep in my own bed."

"I don't blame you," said Adam. "We haven't been traveling nearly as long as you have and I'm tired of hotels to. I wish I could have brought my bed."

Cat giggled at Adam's comment. Before she could say anything, her stomach made a loud, growly noise.

Everyone laughed. "Ben, Matt, you had better feed that child before she wastes away to nothingness," said Doc.

"That's a good idea," said Cat. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," said Matt, Ben, and Adam together.

"Let's get your things over to Matt's office," said Ben. "Adam and I will get a hotel room and then we'll all get some dinner." He turned to the others and said, "I hope all of you will join us for dinner and supper. I know that Cat is going to want to tell you all about her adventures."

The others said that they'd be more than happy to join the family for dinner and supper. Festus and Quint took the Cartwright's luggage while Adam got their horses and Matt carried Silver Chief and Cat, who hugged his neck and snuggled in on his shoulder. Ben looked at them and said, "I wish she felt that way about me."

"She will Ben," said Doc. "Just give it some time. Remember, Matt has raised her for almost eight years. Except for when he had to send her out to the Tanners and when she visited you on school holidays, he has been with her every day since Kate brought her here. Matt said the reason for your coming here with Cat is to get to know her better. Spend as much time with her as you can. Also, spend time talking with some of the people who know her best, especially John and Elizabeth, Kitty, Quint, and Festus. I'll be happy to provide you with my insights if you want me to."

"Yes, I would like that. Counting the two days at Lucas McCain's, we've been together for five days and I've already learned a lot about her. I do have a question I hope you can help me answer."

"Of course Ben. I'll be more than happy to try and answer any question you have."

Ben told Doc about Cat running up the ramp into the railroad stock car in St. Louis, how he yelled at her, her reaction to being yelled at and what Mrs. Wilson had told him. "I'm not supposed to yell at her, but she yelled at those two boys and not one adult, including their parents said anything. I'm sorry Doc, but I'm very confused right now."

Doc laughed and Ben gave him a strange look. "I'm sorry for laughing Ben. I do understand your confusion. Peter, Michael, and Cat are the Three Musketeers of mischief. As they have begun growing up, Cat has settled down some but the boys have not settled down as much. There are times, like today, when Cat is the only one who can get them to calm down. Normally, she can do it by just talking to them, but today was different. They haven't seen her in more than two months and I don't think they know why she left all of a sudden. They were overjoyed to see her and forgot how to behave in public. They ignored everything Cat said to them and when they almost hurt her puppy, she yelled at them to get their attention. Sometimes that's the only way to get their attention. They know she's very angry with them right now and when you go there for supper tomorrow night, those two boys will be climbing over each other trying to get Cat to forgive them. She already has but will take several days before she tells them. Until she does tell them, they will act like knaves waiting on their queen and Cat will enjoy tormenting them.

Now, as far as yelling at Cat goes, Matt never yelled at her when she got into trouble, even if she did something dangerous. However, if he caught her in the act of doing something dangerous, he did yell at her to make her stop. I think she and the twins were six when they decided to climb the water tower. Matt saw them and yelled at them to stop. Festus climbed up and brought them down safely. Needless to say, the three of them had a great deal of difficulty sitting down for a few days."

Ben shook his head and laughed. "Hoss hit the nail on the head when he started calling her Wild Cat. I swear that girl went from crawling to running in just a single day. Raising her is not going to be as easy as I thought it would. She's too much like her mother. Kate was wild too, but not nearly as wild as her daughter is. Thanks for clearing that up for me Doc. I won't yell at her unless I catch her in the act of doing something dangerous and then it will just be to get her to stop."

"That's good Ben. As far as what she did in St. Louis goes, tell Quint and let him explain the difference between what she does for him and what she did this morning. He'll be able to explain it a lot better than you or I can. Now, we had better get you and Adam a room in the Dodge House and feed that child before she gets grumpy."

During breakfast, Cat started telling everyone about her adventures since leaving Dodge. They all started laughing when she described how she woke Rip and her Godparents up every morning. When Cat finished telling how Tom and David looked after her and kept her from falling in the lake, Doc said, "Those two young men deserve gold medals for keeping you out of mischief. Too bad they're not here right not to keep you and the Tanner twins out of it. Although, I don't think anyone can keep those two boys out of mischief."

"I know what you mean Doc," said Matt. "And when this wild thing is with them, we've got triple trouble." He gave Cat's braids a teasing tug.

"We're not that bad Uncle Matt. We haven't tried to rob the bank yet, but it would be fun to drive the stage."

"And just what are you three desperados going to use for weapons to rob the bank?" asked Matt.

Cat thought for a minute and said, "Snowballs. We couldn't use mud balls because Ma Tanner would skin us alive if we got mud all over ourselves and everyone in the bank. She'd make us do all the laundry and wash and paint the bank. Snowballs don't get anyone or anything dirty, just wet and things dry fast."

Everyone who heard Cat had a difficult time keeping themselves from laughing at her comments.

"Ok. And how much money would you take?"

"Probably thirty dollars. We would get ten dollars each. That would buy us enough candy to last until we were ten."

"Ten dollars would buy an awful lot of candy. If you ate that much, you could get sick and then Doc would give you bad tasting medicine. Maybe you should think about only taking five dollars each. You wouldn't be able to buy as much candy, but you might not get sick."

"Yuck. I don't want Doc to give me bad tasting medicine for eating too much candy. Pete and Mike wouldn't like it either. I guess we'll just take five dollars each."

"That's a very good idea. Right now, you need to finish your breakfast. Your pancakes are going to get cold and then you won't want to eat them."

Cat finished her pancakes and then had eggs and bacon. When she finished eating, she told Matt that she was going to go and see Julie. "Cat, isn't Julie's Ma the dressmaker?" asked Ben.

"Yes, she is."

"Would you like to take the material we bought in Santa Fe and ask Julie's Ma to make dresses for you?"

"Oh yes, I would. I was going to ask if I could show the material to Julie. Now she'll get to see it when her Ma makes the dresses for me."

"Alright. Wait right here and I'll go, get it for you." He walked over to the hotel and returned with the material.

"Thank you," said Cat as she took the material and ran out the restaurant door, followed by her puppy.

"Cat and her friends aren't really going to rob the bank," asked Adam.

"Probably not," replied Matt. "However, some of the older children have a tradition they've done with Mr. Stevens, the bank manager for many years now. Every year a few days before Christmas, the children challenge Mr. Stevens and the bank employees to a snowball fight. The children tell Mr. Stevens if he doesn't agree to the snowball fight, they're going to rob the bank. So, they get their snowball fight. If the children win, Mr. Stevens buys all of them hot cocoa and cookies at Delmonico's. If the bank employees win, the children go into the bank after it closes and clean it. From what I've seen, it really doesn't matter who wins. The children always clean the bank even if they win and Mr. Stevens buys hot cocoa and cookies for them even if the bank employees win. I know that Cat and the Tanner twins have been looking forward to the day when they're old enough to join in.

Now, as far as driving the stage goes, I wouldn't put it past her to try. Cat's not afraid of anything. I gave John Tanner permission to spank her if she got into trouble at their house with a warning to her if she got spanked by John, she would get worse from me. That didn't stop her and the twins from jumping out of their hayloft. One day when they were seven, they broke open six bales of hay, piled it up and jumped into it from the hayloft. John tanned all three of their backsides and brought Cat home. I punished her too. The boys were restricted to their house for a week and Cat was restricted to my office for the same amount of time, but that didn't stop them from doing it again once they were off restriction. It finally took all three of them having belts applied to their bare bottoms with the promise of razor strops being used the next time, to get them to stop." At seeing the alarmed look on Ben's face, Matt says, "That was two years ago Ben. Cat is growing up but she still loves adventure. Last summer some of the older boys tied a rope to a tree branch so they could swing out over the creek. Cat was right there with the other children waiting to take her turn. Watching her frightened me but she loved every second of it and couldn't wait to take another turn."

They sat there talking for a little while longer when Cat ran in. "Mr. Brown needs me to run a telegram out to the Mitchell farm."

Before she could run back out, Matt said, "No jumping over fences and gates Cat. You dismount, open the gate, lead your horse through, and then close the gate behind you." When Cat started to protest her uncle said, "If you disobey me on this, you are going to have a hard time sitting down when I'm finished with you. We've had this discussion before and you have disobeyed me every time. If you disobey me this time, I will use my belt on your bottom and you will spend an hour standing in the corner. Now, go, take that telegram out to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and remember what I just told you." Cat started to leave and Matt called to her. "Catherine."

"Yes sir?"

"Just so there are no misunderstandings, I am telling you, your Pa, and Adam that the rule about jumping your horse over fences is going to be the same on the Ponderosa as it is here. Your punishment for disobeying will be up to them, but the rule is the same. Now, go and get that telegram delivered." Cat let out a deep sigh, picked up Silver Chief and walked out the door.

After Cat left, Matt said, "Be firm with her Ben, let her know what to expect and follow through if she does not listen. Just make sure she knows the rules before you punish her for disobeying them. As you've probably figured out from that little conversation, this is not the first time Cat and I have had that discussion and it probably won't be the last. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a strong feeling that she's going to end up bottom side up across my knees before these two weeks are over. I hope I'm wrong about it because that's not something I'm going to enjoy doing."

"How will you know if she disobeys you?" asked Adam.

"If nobody tells me, I'll ask her. She won't lie to me. She hasn't told a lie since she was five and I punished her very severely for it. Well, I've got work to do. I'll let you know what Cat says when she gets back if you're not already in my office."


	26. Chapter 26

Cat put Silver Chief in her saddle bags, mounted Ginger and rode off toward the Mitchell ranch. When she got there, Mr. Mitchell was just coming out of the corral where he had been working with some horses. Cat dismounted and handed him the telegram. He read it, picked Cat up, gave her a big hug and called, " **Mary come here! I have some wonderful news!** " Mrs. Mitchell came out of the house and he waved the telegram at her. " **Paul is coming home and he's bringing his girl with him! They'll be here next week!** " He handed the telegram to his wife who also hugged Cat.

"Catherine, you have brought us the most wonderful news," said Mrs. Mitchell. "We haven't seen our son in two years and now he's coming home and bringing his girl. Come into the house and bring your puppy. I just took an apple pie out of the oven and made fresh lemonade. The messenger who brought us such wonderful news must be rewarded. Sit down and I will give you some pie, ice cream and lemonade." Then she walked to the door, called her husband and told him to come in for pie, ice cream, and lemonade also.

"That was very good pie, ice cream and lemonade Mrs. Mitchell," said Cat as she finished the last bite of pie. "I'm glad I was able to bring you such good news. I've got to go back to town now. I'm only going to be here two weeks before going to my new home in Nevada and I want to spend some time with my friends."

"Catherine, please wait a minute," said Mr. Mitchell. He walked into his bedroom, came out a few minutes later and put something in Cat's hand.

Cat looked at what she had been given. " _A silver dollar! Gee thanks Mr. Mitchell! I've never had a silver dollar before! I'm going to keep it forever!_ Come on Chief. We've got to go back to town. I want to show this to Uncle Matt, Uncle Ben, and Adam."

"Catherine," said Mrs. Mitchell. "Isn't your Uncle Ben the man the Marshal said adopted you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"That makes him your Pa now and his sons are your brothers. You need to start calling him Pa instead of Uncle Ben."

"Yes ma'am Mrs. Mitchell. I'll try. I've never had a Pa before so I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not."

"It doesn't matter if you are going to like having a Pa or not young lady. He adopted you and that makes him your Pa. He loves you enough so that he decided to make you his daughter. Start calling him Pa."

"Yes ma'am. I'll try and remember. He's been my uncle all my life, so it's strange to think of him as my Pa."

"I understand that, but you need to do him the courtesy of calling him Pa. Think about it every time you speak to him. If you do, one day, it will feel like he's always been your Pa. Now go on back to town and enjoy your two weeks here. Please come back out next week and say hi to Paul and his girl."

"Yes ma'am. I'll do my best. I would love to come out here next week and see Paul. It seems like forever since he moved to Sacramento. Mr. Mitchell, thank you again very much for my silver dollar. That was very nice of you. Oh, I almost forgot. Do you want to send a reply to Paul?"

"I forgot too," said Mr. Mitchell. "Yes, I do want to send a reply." He wrote his reply and handed it to Cat.

"Let's see, Mr. Brown said it was five cents for the first ten words and then a penny each for the rest of the words. You have eighteen words. That's five cents plus eight cents which equals thirteen cents." Mr. Mitchell handed her a quarter and Cat counted his change back to him. "Fourteen, Fifteen and a dime equals twelve cents change. I'll give your reply to Mr. Brown just as soon as I get back to town. Thank you again for the silver dollar, apple pie, ice cream, and lemonade."

When Cat returned to town, she went directly to the telegraph office and gave Mr. Mitchell's reply and the change to Mr. Brown who handed her a dime. "I know I usually only pay you five cents for every telegram you deliver, but I knew that the Mitchells would want that news right away and if you hadn't been in town, I would have had to try and find an adult to deliver it. I'm just wondering what took you so long. You're usually not gone that long when you deliver telegrams for me. Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I'm just curious."

"Mrs. Mitchell was so happy that she made me come in the house and have some fresh apple pie, ice cream and lemonade."

"You got fresh apple pie, ice cream _and_ lemonade! Wow, if I had known you were going to get all of that, I would have left you in charge here and take the telegram myself. Thank you very much for running that telegram to the Mitchells. I'm going to miss you when you move to Nevada. Are you going to be in town the whole two weeks you're here?"

"I'm mostly going to be in town, I guess. I want to do some fishing and tomorrow, Uncle Ben, oops, I forgot I'm supposed to call him Pa now, Adam and I are supposed to go to supper at the Tanners. I don't know if I want to go. I'm still mad at Pete and Mike because of what they did at the train."

"What did they do at the train?"

"They wouldn't let me say hi to anybody and they almost hurt my puppy because they were fighting over him."

"They were excited to see you. That's why they wouldn't let you say hi to anyone and I'm sure that they didn't mean to hurt your puppy. Remember, you were hurt and had to leave in a hurry, so you didn't have time to say goodbye to your friends. I don't even think they know why you had to go away or that you're not going to be living here any more. Go to supper tomorrow and if they apologize without being told to, forgive them and tell them why you had to go away. You also need to tell them that you're not going to be living here any more. Now, as far as your new Pa goes, give it time. People who keep telling you that you need to call him Pa right away are wrong. They are forgetting that your father died when you were just a baby and that your mother died just as you were getting to know her. I also grew up without a Pa and was eventually adopted by an uncle, so I understand what you are going through. Right now, it's hard to think of him as your Pa but once you're living with him all the time, it will happen. One day you're going to say something to him and instead of calling him Uncle Ben, you're going to call him Pa. Once that happens, it will seem like he's always been your Pa. Now, go and let the Marshal know you're back before he worries himself sick over you. I'll find you if I need another telegram run to a farm or ranch outside of town."

Cat ran over to Matt's office and in through the door, startling her uncle who was busy with some paperwork. "Cat, how many times have I told you not to come running in here like a herd of wild horses. You could fall and get hurt. Now, what are you so excited about? Did you strike gold between here and the Mitchell's ranch?"

Cat laughed. "No, but Mrs. Mitchell gave me apple pie, ice cream and lemonade. Look what Mr. Mitchell gave me." She dug the silver dollar out of her pocket and handed it to her uncle. "I never had a silver dollar before."

"Wow! That must have been very good news in that telegram you took to them. Now, what are you going to do with your silver dollar?"

"I'm going to keep it forever. Will you please put it in your safe for me so I don't lose it?"

"Don't you want your Pa or Adam to hold it for you?"

"No, they might spend it. I want to keep it."

"Ok. I'll put it in the safe for you. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back over to Julie's house. Her Ma said to come back later and she would measure me for the two dresses."

"Ok. Have fun. Don't be late for supper, although, after having had apple pie, ice cream and lemonade, you probably won't be very hungry."

" _Uncle Maaatt, supper isn't for at least two hours yet. I'll be starving by then._ "

Matt laughed. "Go on over to Julie's before I change my mind and lock you up just to keep out of mischief." Cat stuck her tongue out at her uncle and ran out the door just as Doc was coming in. "I'm going to miss her Doc. It's going to be entirely too quiet around here. Did I really do the right thing by letting Ben adopt her?"

"Yes you did Matt and you know it. We're all going to miss her but you know as well as we do that it's what's best for Cat. She's nine now and it won't be many more years before she'll be too old to share that little room with you. What were you planning to do with her then? Thirteen or fourteen is still too young for a child to be on their own, so she'd have to live at Ma Smalley's or the Tanners. She's going to be fine. Remember, she'll be here most of the summer and you always have the option of going to the Ponderosa at Easter and Christmas. Festus, Newly and Quint can look after things here"

"I know Doc. I'm just missing her already and she's going to be here for two weeks."

"I can fix that in a hurry. Give me an hour and I'll bring the Tanner twins to town. Once they get together with Cat and start getting into mischief, you'll be glad Ben is going to have to deal with her wildness."

"Alright Doc. You win. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself. I'll pass on bringing all three mischief makers together for a while. I'm not really looking forward to supper tomorrow night at the Tanners."

"Those boys maybe full of mischief, but I seriously doubt that they'll act up in front of company. Don't forget, Cat is angry at them, so they'll be on their best behavior, trying to earn her forgiveness. Now, I want a rematch on our last game of checkers. It's high time I started winning." As Doc and Matt were setting up their checkers game, Cat came running back in. This time Doc scolded her for running indoors.

"Sorry Doc. Sorry Uncle Matt. I'm in a hurry. Julie's Ma wants to see the dress I wore at Little Bear's wedding."

"I understand, however, you still don't need to run when you're inside," said Matt. "I know you get tired of hearing me fuss at you about it, but I just don't want you to get hurt. I know that your Pa is not going to let you run in the house either. Now, stop running when you're inside."

"I'll try Uncle Matt."

"No Cat. This isn't something you try to do. This is something you do. No running inside. I'm sure if you ask your friends, they'll tell you that they have the same rule. Now, walk into the bedroom, get your dress, walk back outside and walk back down to Julie's house." Cat got her dress and as she was walking past Matt and Doc, Matt called her to him. He gave her a big hug and told her he loved her. He also reminded her that most rules adults had for children were to keep them safe and that's why he fussed at her so much about doing things that weren't safe. Then he gave her a swat and sent her on her way.

About an hour later, Mr. Brown entered Matt's office and told him, "Catherine is going to be late for supper and it's my fault. I had a telegram come in that needed to go out to the Stevens ranch. She is my most dependable messenger and it was important the telegram be delivered quickly, so I asked her to go. I'll have her join you at Delmonico's as soon as she returns."

"Thank you for telling me John. That will give me time to talk to her father and brother to see what they learned about her today. Well Doc, it's almost suppertime. Let's head over to Delmonico's and see if Ben and Adam are there yet."

Ben and Adam were already at Delmonico's when Matt and Doc walked in. "Where's Cat?" asked Adam.

"She took a telegram out west of town. She'll join us as soon as she returns. Did you talk to anyone in town about her? If you did, what did you learn?"

"Yes we did," replied Ben. "We've learned quite a bit. She doesn't get into much trouble, just mischief, but she has gotten into quite a few fights, some of which she started, and won some of them. Also, what's this about a boy trying to kill her? This is the first I've heard about it."

"Unfortunately, Cat does start some fights. She has a quick temper, which I've been trying to work on. Yes, a boy did try to kill her. It happened when she was five. The boy was eight at the time. His father taught him to hate and that it was ok to kill someone you didn't like. He decided to hate Cat because of the way she dresses and took a shot at her. Fortunately, he wasn't a very good shot and missed. His father tore up the school twice and was sentenced to five years in prison for that and teaching his son that killing someone you don't like is fine. He tried to escape twice and had two years added to his sentence. If he stays out of trouble, he'll be released in three years. The judge gave permanent custody of the boy to his uncle and he has been behaving much better than he was. I haven't had any problems with him since his father was sent to prison."

"I am very glad that boy missed and that he won't be anywhere around Cat. I had hoped she didn't inherit her mother's temper, but it looks like she has. We'll have to work on that."

"Pa, you've been 'working' on that with Little Joe for years now and he's still hot headed," laughed Adam.

"Well son, maybe I'll have better luck with your sister. Matt, I don't know what you did to Cat when she was five, but everyone tells me the same thing, she won't lie and that's very surprising for a nine year old."

"I did what I needed to do. I couldn't have her thinking it was ok to tell lies, so I'm afraid I was quite harsh with her."

Cat walked in a few minutes later and Ben called her over to him. "Come here silly girl." He took her in his arms, put her in his lap and asked, "How many telegrams did you take today?"

"I took three of them."

"Did the people send replies?"

"Yes they did."

"Did you have to give them change?"

"Yes."

"That means you used Arithmetic six times today. You used it when you gave the people their change and you also used it when you gave the money to Mr. Brown. I saw you buying some candy earlier, so you also used Arithmetic when you bought the candy."

"I know and it's really awful. Arithmetic needs to go away."

Ben hugged her and said, "You are a silly girl. Arithmetic will never go away. People use it many times a day. Adam and I will work with you and you'll get better at it. Now, what do you want for supper?"

"Chocolate cake."

"Catherine, you know that you can't have chocolate cake for supper. You need meat, potatoes and vegetables. You can have chocolate cake for dessert."

"You sound just like Uncle Rip. When I turn ten and take Uncle Sam's job, I'm going to make a law so kids can have chocolate cake for supper."

"You do that Kitten. But until you do turn ten and take Uncle Sam's job, chocolate cake is for dessert only. Now, go, sit down, and order some meat, potatoes, vegetables and milk." He put Cat down on the floor and gave her a soft swat.

During supper, Cat continued telling everyone all about her adventures since leaving Virginia City. She told them about Little Bear's wedding and how Silver Chief attacked Gray Eagle when he adopted her into his family. Everyone had a good laugh when she told them how the country's two top generals fought duels over her using sticks for swords. They were all very impressed when she told them how she and Mark McCain caught and fixed supper for them, Ben and Adam one night. Shortly after finishing her chocolate cake, Cat began yawning and having a hard time keeping her eyes open. "It's time for you to go to bed Cat," said Ben. "Take your puppy to do his business and go to bed. I'll be over to tuck you in shortly."

After getting good night hugs from everyone, Cat took Silver Chief to do his business, used the outhouse, walked over to Matt's office and got ready for bed. Ben walked in a few minutes later carrying a book. "Would you like to read a little bit before you go to sleep? This is something I did with your brothers when they were younger. We'd pick a book and, depending on how much time we had and how long the chapters were, I would read a page and then they would read a page until we had finished one or two chapters. If you think that's something you would like to do, we'll start right now."

"Yes, I would like that. Uncle Matt sometimes reads to me, but sometimes he's too busy."

"I'm glad you want to read with me. You've had a very long, busy day, so we'll just read one chapter tonight."

"How long will you do it for?"

"What do you mean by how long?"

"Will you still come and read to me when I'm all grown up and have children?"

Ben laughed. "You are a silly girl. I don't think that your husband will like it too much if your Pa comes over and reads with you at bed time, but I will read with you every night I'm home until you tell me you're too old and when you're all grown up, if I ever watch your children, I'll read to them. On nights I'm not home, one of your brothers will read with you."

"Oh ok. That's good."

"Let's see how you like this one. It's called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

After they read a chapter together, Cat said, "I think I'm going to like that book."

"That's good. I'm glad you're going to like it. Right now, it's time for you to go to sleep. I love you and I'm very happy that you're my daughter now." Ben kissed and hugged her goodnight, tucked her in, blew out the lamp and walked back over to Delmonico's. He ordered another cup of coffee and said, "Well, I just learned something else. Cat likes to read and she's very good at it."

"Why don't you and Adam plan on talking to her teacher tomorrow?" said Matt. I'll go and see Miss Jackson after breakfast and see what time she can meet with you. I do know that she wants to give you Cat's grades for this last term and I also believe she wants to discuss her strengths and weaknesses with you. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go and walk around the town to make sure everyone's staying out of trouble."

"That's a good idea Matt. Adam and I will spend more time talking with people to learn what we can about Cat. This has already been a very interesting trip and we've still got two weeks to go before we head back to the Ponderosa."

After making rounds, Matt stopped by his office to check on Cat before going over to the Long Branch. He smiled when he saw his niece and her puppy sharing the pillow. "I'm going to miss this," he thought as he pulled the blanket up over the sleeping child and puppy. "But, as Doc says, I'm doing what's best for Cat. She needs a home and a family and I can't give that to her." He walked over to the Long Branch where he found Ben and Adam sitting with Doc, Festus and Kitty. Noticing the letter in Kitty's hands, he asked, "What are you reading?"

"It's the letter Julia Grant wrote to Ben. Cat sure did have some adventures when she was with her Godparents."

"Tell me about it," said Ben. "That girl's adventures are going to give me more gray hair than I got from Little Joe. Do you know that, after her horse was spooked by a rattlesnake sleeping in the road, Catherine wanted to find the snake and yell at it for sleeping in the road? She was afraid it might get hurt and was happy that the soldiers didn't kill it. The way she loves the wild things, I'm liable to wake up one morning to find a bear cub in my house!"

"I'll tell you what to do if you ever do find a bear cub in your house one morning," said Kitty, handing the letter to Adam.

"What is that?" asked Ben

"Pick it up and put it in bed with her and her puppy. She'll make a pet out of it."

"Just what I need, a pet bear in the house," he laughed. "I'll tell you one thing though. If I wake up and find a skunk in the house, I am **_not_** going to let her keep it as a pet."

"I don't blame you Ben," said Festus. "I shore wouldn't want one of them durn polecats in my house neither."

"Please don't get me wrong. I loved my sister dearly however, I find myself wishing Cat was more like her father than my sister."

Matt laughed. "Don't feel bad Ben. Don't forget, there was a time when I also dearly loved your sister. However, there have been many times in the last eight years when I wished Cat was more like my brother than your sister."

"I'm not so sure about supper tomorrow night with those boys and their family. They're awfully wild and I'm not so sure their parents can control them."

"Don't worry about them Ben. I can guarantee you that when they got home, their father made it very difficult for them to sit down. John Tanner doesn't put up with those boys misbehaving, especially in public. I remember when they were six, the twins and Cat tried to climb the water tower. When I saw him the next day, he told me that he used his belt on the boys' bare bottoms. He won't say or do anything to them in public, but he will take care of the problem when he gets them home. They'll behave tomorrow night. Cat is angry at them and they'll be on their best behavior trying to earn her forgiveness. I think part of their behavior at the train was due to the fact that they didn't know why Cat left town so suddenly and they were happy to have her back. She's going to need to tell them that she's only going to be here until the end of next week and won't be back until next summer. They're not going to be happy, but it will be better if Cat tells them than if their parents do."

Adam finished his beer, stretched and said, "Cat's not the only one who had a long day today. I'm going to check on her and turn in. I'll see everyone at breakfast." Ben decided he was going to go to bed also, so he said goodnight to everyone and walked over to Matt's office with Adam. They looked at Cat and Silver Chief sharing a pillow and Adam said, "She's so well behaved when she's sleeping. Too bad we can't get her to sleep all the time."

"You used to say the same thing about Joseph too."

"I still do sometimes."

"Son, you may not believe this, but you got into plenty of mischief when you were a boy, especially once we moved onto the Ponderosa and you began making friends. Now, we've got another busy day tomorrow, so we should go over to the hotel and get some sleep. There's no telling what your sister has up her sleeves for tomorrow and we need to be well rested. We need to spend time with her too, not just talking to everyone in town." Ben pulled Cat's covers up over her and then he and Adam walked over to the Dodge House.


	27. Chapter 27

To Kathy Seffron, Thank you for your kind comments on chapter 26. I appreciate you taking time to read my story. For some reason, when you post a review, it comes up as a guest review with your name, so I am unable to reply directly to your comments.

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At breakfast the next morning, Adam asked Cat what her plans were for the day. Before she could answer, Mr. Michaels came up to the table and said, "Catherine, I'm glad you're here. If you don't have any other plans, would you please go fishing today? I've had some guests asking for fresh fish."

"Sure Mr. Michaels. I'd love to go fishing. I was thinking about going fishing anyway so I will now."

"Thank you Cat. I'll tell you what. I've been told that you're not going to be living here anymore, so I'll pay you fifteen cents each for large fish and ten cents each for small ones."

"Gee thanks Mr. Michaels. I'm going to be spending my summers here, so I'll still be able to catch fish for you, just not all the time."

"That's fine Cat, but my offer is still the same. Fifteen cents each for large fish and ten cents each for small ones. I'll see you later this afternoon."

After Mr. Michaels left, Adam asked, "Would you mind if I went fishing with you Cat? I haven't gone fishing in a while and it sounds like a nice way to spend part of the day."

"Sure, you can come if you want to but I don't know if Mr. Michaels is going to pay you for the fish you catch."

"That's ok. I don't want to be paid. I just want to go fishing and spend some time with my little sister."

"Ok. I need to go, get my saddle bags so Silver Chief can come too. My fishing pole and small shovel are at Mr. Quint's shop and I can get them on my way out of town."

Cat started to run out of the hotel and Matt called to her. "Catherine, you're running inside again. This is your third warning in two days. The next time, you won't get a warning. Running inside and on the boardwalk isn't safe. You or someone else could get hurt. Now **_walk_** over to my office and get your saddle bags." Cat walked out of the hotel and as soon as she was out the door, she ran over to Matt's office. "That girl is going to hurt someone or get hurt one of these days. Ben, I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've told her about running inside. I scold her and she stops for a little while but as soon as she gets excited or is in a hurry, she starts up again. Sometimes I think I should put hobbles on her."

"Well, she'll have plenty of room to run on the Ponderosa and I'll just have to be firm with her about not running in the house. The last thing I want is for her to fall down the stairs."

"I'll walk over and meet her at Matt's office," said Adam. "Maybe I can keep her from running to the livery stable. Please let me know when her teacher wants to meet us. Since I'll be the one helping Cat with her schoolwork most of the time, I really want to talk with her."

"Alright Adam," said Matt. "I'll let you know what time Miss Jackson would like to meet with you and Ben. Right now, you'd better go if you're going to try and keep that little Wild Cat from running through the town and possibly destroying it."

Adam walked over to Matt's office in time to catch Cat running out of it. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt, gave her a swat and said, "Slow down there little sister. Uncle Matt just scolded you for running inside and on the boardwalks and here you are doing it again. If you don't slow down and stop running inside or in town, either you are going to get hurt or hurt somebody else and nobody wants to see either of those things happen. I promise you that the fish aren't going to jump out of the pond and run away if you walk. What will happen if I tell Uncle Matt that you were running indoors and on the boardwalk again? I know he said that was your third warning."

"I'll get scolded and have to spend thirty minutes standing in the corner behind his desk."

"Well, what would you rather do, go fishing or stand in the corner?"

"Go fishing."

"Ok. Then **_stop running_** where you're not supposed to run."

"I'm trying Adam."

"No you're not Cat. It's barely been five minutes since Uncle Matt scolded you and you're running inside and on the boardwalk again. You keep telling me that you're not a baby any more, so start acting like a nine year old." He put his arm around his sister and hugged her. "I know that you think I'm being mean by scolding you but I'm trying to keep you from getting in trouble. Once we get home, you'll be punished if Pa catches you running in the house. Believe me, I know. Hoss, Joe and I have all ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees for running in the house and Pa hits hard. It hurts bad, even with your pants up. Now, you get our horses, I'll get some dinner to take along, and we'll go fishing."

"Ok Adam. I'll meet you at Mr. Quint's shop. That's where my fishing poles are at. Thanks for trying to help me."

"You're welcome. That's what family members do for each other Cat. Hoss and I have both spent a lot of time trying to keep Little Joe out of trouble. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but the important thing is that we tried. The three of us will do the same thing for you too."

Adam and Cat spent most of the day fishing. At two o'clock, she said, "I need to take the fish to Mr. Daniels. He needs time to clean them before he cooks them."

"Ok Cat. Let's see how many we have. How many did you catch?"

"I caught thirteen. How many did you catch?"

"I caught twelve. So, how many do we have altogether?"

"We have twenty five fish."

"If Mr. Daniels pays you for all twenty five, how much money will you make?"

Cat wrote in the dirt and said, "We have fifteen big fish and ten small ones. I'll get a dollar for the small ones because he said he was going to give me ten cents each for the small ones. He's going to give me fifteen cents each for the big ones so ten times fifteen is one dollar and fifty cents. Half of that is seventy five cents. So, I'll get two dollars and twenty five cents for the big fish and three dollars and twenty five cents altogether."

"That's very good. Now, how much will you earn if he only pays you for the fish you caught?"

"I caught ten big ones and three small ones, so I'll get thirty cents for the small ones and one dollar and fifty cents for the big ones. That means I'll get one dollar and eighty cents for my fish."

"That is absolutely correct. You did a great job figuring that out. See, Arithmetic isn't so bad after all."

Cat gave him a mad look and said, "It's worse than bad. It's awful and needs to go away. Just wait until I'm ten and take Uncle Sam's job. I'm going to make Arithmetic go away."

Adam laughed and said, "Good luck with that little sister. Like it or not, we need Arithmetic. Right now, let's get these fish back to town. Pa and I are supposed to meet with your teacher and we still have to get ready for supper at your friends' house."

They rode back to town and Adam took the horses over to the livery stable while Cat took the fish to Mr. Daniels. She handed her fish to him and said, "These are the ones I caught. Adam caught the others."

"That is wonderful Catherine. My customers will be very happy tonight. Now, let me pay you for them so I can start cleaning them. You have twenty five fish altogether. Fifteen are large and ten are smaller. I promised you fifteen cents each for the large ones and ten cents each for the small ones." He wrote on a piece of paper and then said, "That means I owe you three dollars and twenty five cents."

"But I didn't catch all of the fish. I caught thirteen and Adam caught twelve."

"That's quite alright. I'll pay you and you can give some to your brother if he wants it." He took some money out of his pocket and gave Cat the money for the fish.

"Thank you Mr. Daniels. I've got to go, find Adam and give him his money." Cat walked out of the hotel and found Adam on his way over to Matt's office. "Mr. Daniels paid me for all of the fish. Here is the money for the fish you caught."

"I don't want it Cat. You keep it. What are you going to do with all of your money?"

"I'm going to give almost all of it to Miss Kitty for next year's birthday present for Uncle Matt. I'm going to ask her to give me ten cents. That way I can buy some licorice for now and then I can buy more before we leave for the Ponderosa."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't I buy some licorice for both of us and you can give all of your money to Miss Kitty? Then when it's time to leave for home, I'll buy enough for all three of us to have on the trip."

Cat hugged her brother. "Gee thanks Adam. That's swell."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go buy some licorice and see when your teacher wants to meet with me and Pa." After buying licorice, they walked over to Matt's office where they found him and Ben waiting to go over to the school.

After her family left, Cat decided to go over to the Long Branch to give her money to Kitty. When she got there, she realized it was open and she could not go in. She looked around for someone she could ask to get Kitty for her when she spotted Mr. James. "Excuse me Mr. James. Would you please go in the Long Branch and ask Miss Kitty to come out here? I need to talk to her. I don't know why, but I'm not allowed to go in there."

"Certainly Catherine. I'll be more than happy to go ask Miss Kitty to come out and talk to you. When I see your family, I'll be sure to tell them how polite you were and that instead of going into the Long Branch, you asked someone to go in for you. They will want to know how well behaved you are."

"Thank you Mr. James."

"It's my pleasure Catherine. Now wait right here and I'll get Miss Kitty for you." He came out a few minutes later and said, "Miss Kitty said that she'll come out here in five minutes to talk to you."

"Thank you for telling her for me. I'll sit here on the edge of the boardwalk and wait for her."

Kitty walked out of the saloon a few minutes later and said, "Hi Cat. Mr. James said you needed to talk to me."

"Yes ma'am. I earned three dollars and twenty five cents for the fish Adam and I caught today and thirty cents yesterday for running telegrams. I want to give you the money to put toward next year's birthday present for Uncle Matt."

"I'll be more than happy to do that for you," Kitty said as Cat handed her the money. "Do you know what you're going to get for him?"

"No I don't. He needs a new saddle, but I think they cost more than winter coats. Since the Ponderosa is so far from town, I don't think I'm going to be allowed to have jobs like I do here."

"Well, don't worry about it right now. I'll look and see how much saddles cost and we'll figure something out when you're here next summer. The coat should be here tomorrow. Why don't you give it to Matt before you leave for the Ponderosa? I know his birthday isn't until the end of summer, but you won't be here and I think it would mean a lot to him if you gave it to him before you left."

"Ok Miss Kitty. I'll find out what day we're leaving and give it to him the day before."

Just then, Matt, Ben, and Adam walked up. "Oh there you are," said Ben. "We need to get ready to go to supper at the Tanners. Go, wash up and put some clean clothes on." Cat wanted to argue about changing clothes but thought better of it since there were four adults standing with her.

"She was not happy about being told to change clothes," laughed Kitty. "I can't say that I blame her. When she and those twins get together, they usually end up quite dirty. The three of you should put clean clothes on also. Cat will notice that you're still in dirty clothes and will put up a fuss about having to change clothes when you didn't."

"You're right Kitty. I've tried that before and she put up a big fuss, saying it wasn't fair I made her change clothes while I was still in dirty ones," said Matt. "Well Ben, there's another thing you've learned. You and the boys are going to have to wear clean clothes if you expect Cat to, so we had better go and change." Ben and Adam walked over to the hotel while Matt went into his office and called. "Cat, are you dressed yet? I need to change clothes also."

Cat walked out of the little room they shared, followed by Silver Chief. Matt picked her up and hugged her. "Did Miss Kitty tell you to change clothes?" she asked.

"Yes she did. She said it wouldn't be fair if you had to change clothes and we didn't."

"Good. I'm going to go and give her a hug. Come on Chief." She walked over to the Long Branch and spotted a cowboy getting ready to go in. "Excuse me sir. Could you please ask Miss Kitty to come out here for a minute? I'm not allowed to go in there."

"I'll be glad to help you young lady. Wait right here and I'll get her for you."

"Thank you very much."

Kitty came out of the Long Branch a few minutes later and Cat hugged her. "Thank you very much Miss Kitty. You made Uncle Matt, Uncle Ben, and Adam wear clean clothes too."

Kitty picked the girl up and hugged her. "Of course I did Sweetheart. It wasn't fair for them to make you wear clean clothes if they weren't going to."

"I wish you could come to the Ponderosa too. I don't think I'm going to like being the only girl there."

"You'll get used to it. Just give it time. Hop Sing, Hoss, and Joe will be spoiling you in no time at all. Adam probably will too. They all love you very much and I know how happy they are to have you as a permanent member of their family. Now, I want you to have fun at the Tanner's tonight and remember. Peter and Michael don't know why you went away and they don't know that you're moving to the Ponderosa, so you're going to need to tell them. It will be much better if you tell them than if their parents do."

"Ok Miss Kitty. I'll tell them but what should I do if they get mad?"

"Tell them that you're not going away forever because you'll be here every summer. Also, remind them that you're leaving Spot with them, so they'll always have a little bit of you here with them. Now here comes your Pa, Adam and Matt. Tease them a little bit and tell them that you've been waiting for them for a long time and it's not nice to keep a lady waiting. Don't worry, I promise you won't get in trouble for doing that."

When Adam, Matt, and Ben walked up, Cat said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Miss Kitty says it's not nice to keep a lady waiting."

All three men laughed. Ben picked Cat up, hugged her and said, "Miss Kitty is absolutely correct. It's not nice for a gentleman to keep a lady waiting. So next time, we'll change clothes first because it's perfectly fine for a lady to make a gentleman wait for her. Now, let's go, get our horses and ride out to your friends' house."

When they reached the stable, Cat stuck her tongue out at Adam and said, "I'm going to ride Sport this time."

"Oh. You are, are you?"

"Yes I am."

"Well then, I'm going to ride Fury when we get home."

Cat laughed. "You're silly. You can't ride Fury. He's still a baby. Only Silver Chief can rid him because he's still a baby too."

"Now that's something I want to see," laughed Ben. "I've never seen a puppy riding a foal before."

"Silver Chief is very smart. He can do anything."

They got their horses out of the stable and to her surprise, Adam helped Cat mount Sport and handed her the saddle bags with her puppy in them. She started to ride off when Adam said, "Hold on a minute Cat. I've got to shorten the stirrups for you. Then I've got to lengthen Ginger's stirrups for me."

Once he had the stirrups adjusted correctly, Adam mounted Ginger and they rode toward the Tanner's farm. "Are you sure it's safe for her to ride your horse?" asked Matt.

"Yes, Matt. Cat is a good rider and she's fine on Sport. He's a little taller than Ginger, but he won't give her any problems."

Just then Cat urged Sport into a canter. "Come on Sport. They're being poky and I want to see my friends."

Matt laughed at his niece's comments and said, "Good luck keeping up with her once you're on the Ponderosa Ben, especially once she starts riding her colt. I watched him in the pasture and he's faster then the foals who are bigger than he is. Cat is fearless and willing to try anything at least once, even if she gets hurt. We'd better catch up with her before she decides to take a shortcut and jump fences rather than take the road."

They arrived at the Tanner's twenty minutes later. John Jr. met them in the yard and took their horses. Cat put Silver Chief on the ground and ran into the house. "Doesn't she knock?" asked Ben.

"Not here," answered John. "She's family. My mother would like nothing better than to have her live here permanently. She's a great kid and I wouldn't mind having her for a little sister. In fact, if you want to leave Cat here, I'll give you the twins."

Ben laughed. "No thank you. I saw those two in action at the train yesterday. They're more of a handful than my youngest son and Catherine put together."

"They're not that bad. They were excited yesterday because they hadn't seen Cat in two months and they don't know why she went away so suddenly and didn't even say goodbye. They also don't know that she's not going to be living here anymore, so I expect to hear loud howls of protest when she tells them. Anyway, my parents are waiting for you. Go on into the house. I'll take care of your horses."

Cat ran into the house and hugged Elizabeth and John who picked her up and hugged her back.

Just as Matt, Ben and Adam were entering the house, Peter and Michael walked up to Cat. They hugged her and Silver Chief. Then Michael said, "We're sorry about the way we acted at the train yesterday Cat. Please don't be mad at us. It's just that you went away and didn't even say goodbye and we were happy to see you."

Before Cat could answer, Elizabeth said, "Boys, where are your manners? The Marshal is here and so are Mr. Cartwright and his son, Adam."

The boys walked up to Matt, Ben, and Adam, said hello, and apologized for their behavior at the train. After the boys had apologized for their behavior, John greeted his guests and introduced the rest of the family. One introductions had been made, Elizabeth said, "Supper will be ready in fifteen minutes. Whose turn is it to set the table?"

"Mine, Pete, and Eric's," said Michael.

"Catherine, you can help them," said Elizabeth.

"Yes ma'am," replied Cat, much to Ben and Adam's surprise and proceeded to help the three boys set the table.

During supper Peter asked Cat, "Why did you go away and why didn't you say goodbye?"

"I had to go away because my mother was killed and I had to go to her funeral in Nevada. I didn't say goodbye because I was hurt. It's my fault my mother was killed and I jumped off a cliff. Two men found me and took me back to Dodge."

"We're sorry your ma was killed and you got hurt, but you're back with us now and we won't ever let you get hurt again," said Peter.

"I'm sorry Pete, but I'm not back to stay. I'm only here for two weeks. My Uncle Ben adopted me, so I have to live on his ranch in Nevada now." Both boys put up howls of protest. "Just because I'm not going to live here anymore doesn't mean we're not going to see each other again. Except for spending two weeks with my uncle and the Apaches in Arizona and another two weeks with my uncle and cousin in New Mexico, I'll be here every summer. We'll have lots of fun. Also, remember, you have Spot here and Miss Kitty says that will be like having a little bit of me here. Maybe you can come to Nevada sometime and visit me on the Ponderosa. It's a really big ranch and there's lots to do. We can even go fishing and swimming in Lake Tahoe."

Before the boys could protest any more, Mary asked, "Cat, are you going to the dance on Saturday night?"

"I didn't know there was going to be a dance on Saturday night. I don't have anything to wear to it. All of my clothes are in Nevada."

"I have some dresses I'm going to give to Erin because they're too small for me. You're not much smaller than she is so after supper, come up to the bedroom and let's see if you like any of them. It won't take much time to remake it for you."

"Gee thanks Mary. That's really swell of you to give me a dress for the dance."

"Will you dance with us?" asked Michael.

"Of course I will. Don't I always dance with you and Pete?"

Seeing Ben and Adam's concerned looks at the talk about the dance, John said, "The late spring through mid fall dances are open to everyone six and older. The children really enjoy them and Cat is becoming quite the dancer."

"Cat, will you partner with me for the Virginia Reel?" asked Robert.

"Sure Robert. You're really good at it and I had a lot of fun at the last dance."

Peter and Michael started arguing over which one of them was going to dance the Cotton Eyed Joe with Cat when she said, "If the two of you are going to fight over me like you fight over marbles, I may not dance with you at all. I might dance the Cotton Eyed Joe with David." The two boys quit arguing and just sat there with their mouths open at what they had just been told.

When supper was over, Elizabeth asked, "Whose turn is it to clear the table?"

"It's Erin's, Mary's and my turn Mama," said Rebecca.

"That means it's Robert, Elizabeth and Michelle's turn to wash the dishes."

When the adults took their coffee into the living room to talk, Cat said, "I would like to see Spot. I need to tell him that he's going to be living here now."

"Who is Spot?" asked Ben.

"He's the pony Cat got from the Apaches when she was four," replied Adam.

"Oh, that's right. I had forgotten about that. Matt, I have to admit you were right. Cat certainly does know how to handle those two boys. I can't believe that she's only nine and has them eating out of the palm of her hand. I'm dreading her teenage years. I'm going to need to keep a loaded shotgun by the front door. Did I hear her say she was going to wear a dress to the dance? How did you manage that?"

"Her teenage years won't be all that bad Ben," laughed Elizabeth. "The girls got Cat to agree to wear a dress to the dances because they're special occasions. She wears dresses to church at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas because they are special occasions also."

Cat came back into the house just as the girls finished clearing the table and went upstairs with them to the room the younger girls shared. Mary took several dresses out and showed them to Cat. "I think the green one will look good on you. What do you think Becky?"

"I agree with Mary. I think the green one is perfect for you Cat. Try it on and let's see how well it fits." Cat tried the dress on and the rest of the girls looked at it.

"You were right Mary," said Michelle. "That dress is perfect for our littlest sister. Let's take her downstairs and see what Mother thinks."

"What have you girls done with my daughter?" teased Ben. "That's not my daughter in that dress. The whole family knows that Catherine would rather play with a hornet's nest than wear a dress."

"I agree Pa. My little sister would rather cuddle up with a rattlesnake than wear a dress," teased Adam. Cat ignored both of them.

Elizabeth asked Robert to bring a chair from the kitchen and she asked Mary to get her sewing kit. Robert and Rebecca helped Cat stand in the chair while Elizabeth pinned the dress. When she finished, Elizabeth told Cat to go upstairs and change out of the dress, so Robert and Rebecca helped her down from the chair. When she came back downstairs, Michael asked, "Do you want to go fishing tomorrow?"

"Aren't you forgetting something Michael?" asked his father. "You and Peter are still restricted to the yard for your behavior yesterday. However, since Catherine is only going to be here for two weeks, she can come for dinner tomorrow. If your older brothers will help me, I will hang the swing from the tree and the climbing rope in the barn. Just remember, no climbing the rope unless there is at least one other person in the barn with you and at least two bales of hay under you. In fact, I think I will put four bales of hay under the rope just to be safe."

"I've got an idea," said Elizabeth. "If Cat's father and uncle agree, she can stay for supper and spend the night here."

"Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" asked Ben. "If it isn't, it's fine with me if Catherine spends the night here tomorrow."

"Having Cat here is never any trouble. Didn't the Marshal tell you? I've been trying to steal her away from him ever since your sister left her in Dodge. She is family. The older girls and my two eldest sons call her their littlest sister."

"You know it's alright with me Elizabeth," said Matt. "You and your family have been a Godsend to me ever since Kate left her daughter with me. I don't know what I would have done without your help these past eight years, especially when I had to be gone overnight."

"Why don't you children go back upstairs and play for a while longer?" asked Elizabeth. "Remember, Cat's leaving at the end of next week and won't be back until next summer."

Once the children went upstairs, Elizabeth said, "Ben, besides the fact that I am going to miss that child greatly, I wanted to talk to her about what she said at supper. I know that the Marshal, Kitty, Doc, and others have talked to her about it, but maybe she'll listen to me. She needs to stop blaming herself for something she had no control over"

The adults talked for a little while longer. Then Matt looked at his watch and said, "It's getting late and I need to get back to town. Ben, you and Adam are welcome to stay for a while longer if you want. Cat knows how to get back to town." Ben and Adam decided to leave then too. Adam helped her mount Sport and they rode back to town. Before she went to sleep, Cat and Ben read another chapter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Before going back out to the Tanners the next day, Cat took a telegram out to a farm outside of town. She jumped Ginger over one fence and was going to jump another one when she spotted Quint riding in her direction. Knowing she would be in trouble if he caught her jumping fences, she dismounted and led Ginger through the gate. Quint caught up to her and said, "I saw you jump that last fence. Are you supposed to be jumping fences?"

Cat hung her head. "No sir."

"Then why did you? Everyone has told you how dangerous it is but you still keep jumping them. You are lucky that I'm not heading into town. If I were, I would be stopping by Matt's office to tell him what I saw. The next time I catch you jumping fences, I am going to put you over my knee right where we are and use my belt on your bottom. Then I am going to take you to Matt. I know you think we're spoiling your fun, but we all love you and want you to be safe. Jumping fences is not safe. That's why nobody wants to see you do it. So **_STOP_** jumping fences!"

Quint rode off and Cat hugged Ginger. "I sure got lucky that time girl. If Mr. Quint had been going into town instead of away from it, I would be in really big trouble. Uncle Matt would scold me, give me a whipping and make me stand in the corner. He also wouldn't let me stay at the Tanners tonight. I've got to make sure nobody is around when I jump fences. Festus told me the same thing that Mr. Quint did. I don't want to stand in the corner and I sure don't want a whipping. We'd better get going. I need to deliver this telegram and go back to town so I can go to the Tanner's. I guess we'd better walk through gates in case Mr. Quint is hiding behind a tree." Cat delivered her telegram and rode back to town, being careful not to get caught jumping fences. Once she was back in Matt's office, she put her night clothes in one side of her saddle bags, said goodbye to Matt, Ben, and Adam and rode off to the Tanner's.

Cat arrived at the Tanner's about thirty minutes before dinner. Since the older girls were preparing the meal and the twins were doing chores, Elizabeth took the opportunity to talk to Cat about what had happened to her mother. As everyone else had done, Elizabeth told Cat that she was not responsible for her mother's death. She told the girl that her mother had just been pretending to want to take her back to Australia but was working with the judge to divorce her husband because he was not a nice man and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. Then she told Cat that even if she had agreed to go back to Australia, she might not even be alive because ships are very dangerous places and if there was a very bad storm, the ship could even sink. Elizabeth also told Cat that it takes several months to get to Australia and ships are very small and crowded. People often get very sick on them and some ships don't even have doctors. When she finished talking to Cat, Elizabeth put her arms around her and hugged her. Then she said, "I talked with your mother before she was killed and she did not want to go back to Australia and she did not want you to go there. She was planning on taking you back to Nevada and live in your house on the Ponderosa. Please stop blaming yourself for what happened because it was not your fault. Now, I believe dinner is ready, so let's go and eat. Then you can play with the boys for a while. I also want to take a few minutes and finish fitting that dress for you while the light is good."

After dinner, Cat helped clear the table and put the green dress on so Elizabeth could finish fitting it to her. John, Robert and John Jr. had hung the swing and climbing rope that morning, so once she was back in her buckskins, Cat went outside to play with the boys and the younger girls. They took turns playing on the swing and climbing the rope in the barn. Cat climbed almost half way up before she didn't have the strength to climb any more. Silver Chief started chasing chickens and Cat scolded him. When he didn't stop, Cat put him in the house and left him there. He was so sad that Elizabeth let him back out after fifteen minutes. This time he didn't chase the chickens but ran after Cat and the other children as they chased each other around the yard. Elizabeth supervised as Cat and the younger girls prepared supper. Once supper was over and the dishes washed, John Jr. played his guitar and everybody sang. Since they knew Cat would probably not be spending another night there until the following summer, John and Elizabeth allowed all of the children to stay up late and play with their toys if they wanted to. When they were finally told it was time for bed, all of the younger children went upstairs and got ready for bed. Cat slept in a bed that had been put into the younger girls' room for her and John and Elizabeth kissed and hugged each child goodnight before blowing out the lamp.


	28. Chapter 28

Cat helped the older girls make breakfast the next morning and Elizabeth had her try the dress on one more time while the boys were washing dishes. During breakfast, Cat asked "Pete, Mike, when will you be allowed to go fishing?"

The boys looked at their father who replied, "They can go fishing tomorrow. They are supposed to be restricted for two weeks. However, since you are only going to be here until the end of next week, I will let them off early because I know that you want to spend time with them before you leave. Peter, Michael, listen and listen good. As you just heard me tell Catherine, she is the only reason your restriction has been lifted. If I ever witness behavior like what I saw at the train, I will use a razor strop on your bottoms and you will not leave the yard for a month! Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes sir," said both boys together.

"Good, because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. I hope I never have to follow through on that promise. I love you boys dearly and your mother and I are trying to raise you to be young gentlemen. Your behavior on Monday was anything but gentlemanly. Also think about the example you are setting for your younger brother. Eric looks up to you and you need to show him the correct way to do things and act in public. You are both going to be ten just before Thanksgiving and need to start acting like it."

Once the dishes had been washed and put away, all of the younger children went outside to play on the swing and the climbing rope. About two hours after breakfast ended, Ben rode into the yard and knocked on the door. Elizabeth opened the door and said, "Ben, this is a surprise. Please come in. The children are playing in the yard."

"Good morning Elizabeth. I hope I'm not too early."

"Ben, I have ten children, most of whom wake up early. You are definitely not too early. Breakfast has been over for two hours. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yes please. A good cup of coffee would be wonderful. I rode out here because I wanted to talk to you about Catherine. You are the closest thing to a mother she has ever known and I would like to get some insights into her from you. I know so little about her and I have nobody but myself to blame."

"I'll be happy to tell you what I know about that precious child. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her as did my husband. There have been many times when I wished she was mine. Catherine is a very sweet girl and I don't think there's a mean bone in her body. She loves all animals and I wouldn't be surprised to find her curled up in a nest of skunks. All of my children adore her and, as you saw last night, she is very good at controlling Michael and Peter. They treat her like a queen and are heartbroken when she gets angry at them. Her anger at their behavior when we met the train affected them more than the punishment they got from their father. I'm sure you noticed last night that she will gladly help out when asked. This morning, she helped Rebecca and Elizabeth cook breakfast. Like the wild things she loves, Cat hates to be cooped up and made to stay inside. That's one of the reasons she kept skipping school when she was five. When she misbehaves, sometimes the most effective punishment is to put her in a corner or confine her to her room or the house. She always hated it when, as punishment, the Marshal would not let her ride her pony. She is almost always very well behaved in public. I believe that the last time she acted up in public was because she was getting her permanent teeth and not feeling well. Like all children, she will test the waters to see if you really mean what you say. Since Catherine stays here quite often, the Marshal has given us permission to discipline her as though she was one of ours. John has had to put her over his knees several times when she decided to find out if no really meant no. I'm not going to try and tell you how to raise her, but please give her time to adjust to all of the changes in her life. In the space of one short week, her world and life were turned upside down. She has no idea what to expect and is very nervous about what is going to happen to her. I do know that your sons have told her that you are very strict and a firm disciplinarian. Catherine is afraid she's going to be whipped every time she steps out of line."

"Thank you for telling me all of that Elizabeth. I knew some, but not all of what you told me. Now I know why Catherine has a concerned look in her eyes every time she thinks she's in trouble. My guess is that my youngest son, Joseph told her that last part. He was a very headstrong boy and rebelled against my authority quite often, resulting in him being punished. However, he was not always whipped when he disobeyed me. None of my sons were. Nor will Catherine be. I'm not going to say that she will never be whipped, but it will only be when all other methods have failed or if she puts herself or others in danger."

"That is fair. It's exactly how John handles things around here. If you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to call three of the children in to start fixing dinner. Since it is so close to dinner time, I do hope you will stay."

"Thank you for the invitation. I gladly accept. I'm getting tired of eating restaurant food."

Elizabeth called the younger girls in and supervised as they began preparing dinner. When it was almost done, she called Eric and told him to go, get his father and eldest brother. Then she told the rest of the children to get washed up. When Cat came in the house and saw Ben, she was afraid that she was in trouble. "I don't remember Uncle Matt telling me what time I had to be back in town."

Ben called her over to him and put her in his lap. "Don't worry Cat. You're not in trouble. I rode out here to talk to Mrs. Tanner. I needed to ask her what I'm supposed to do with the stubborn, headstrong girl I seem to have inherited."

"What did she say?"

"She said to do this…" He proceeded to start tickling her.

While Cat helped clear the table after dinner, Ben talked to John and Elizabeth more about Cat. After the table had been cleared, Ben said, "Cat, I need to go back to town. Do you want to ride with me?"

Cat was torn. She wanted to stay at the Tanner's but she had already been there more than twenty four hours, so she said, "Yes, I guess I had better go back to town. I don't want Uncle Matt to get mad at me because I stayed here too long. Pete, Mike, what time are we going to go fishing tomorrow?"

"We'll probably come to town around eight thirty," said Michael.

"That's great. We'll be able to spend almost the whole day fishing."

"I'll pack something for the boys to bring for dinner so you won't have to go back to town and get some," said Elizabeth.

"Gee thanks and thanks for letting me spend the night here. I had fun."

"You're welcome Cat. We always enjoy having you here and will miss you when you leave next week. Remember what we talked about yesterday. What happened to your mother was not your fault, so stop blaming yourself for it."

"I'll try, but it's hard."

"I know it's hard, but I told you the truth. What happened was not your fault. Your Pa used to be a sea captain. Ask him about ships and if he thinks you would have been happy on such a long voyage."

"Ok. I will. Maybe some day I will get to see a sailing ship."

"Maybe you will. Now give me a hug and say goodbye to everyone. Mary, I finished Cat's dress this morning. Will you please bring it out of my room?" Mary brought the dress out and handed it to her mother. "I agree with my daughters. This dress is perfect for you. It matches your pretty green eyes. We'll see you at the dance on Saturday."

Cat said goodbye to everyone and walked outside to where John Jr. was saddling Ginger for her. She thanked him and put her dress over the front of the saddle before mounting. Once she was mounted, he handed her Silver Chief and her saddlebags.

Ben thanked Elizabeth again for the meal and shook hands with John. As Ben was starting to walk out the door, John said, "Ben, why don't you go fishing with Cat tomorrow? Even though the boys will be there too, it will give you time to get to know her a little better before you go back to Nevada next week."

"That's an excellent idea," said Elizabeth. "I'll pack enough food for you too. Don't worry about the boys. They'll be well behaved tomorrow. The three children may do some wrestling, but the boys won't give you any problems."

"You're right John. The purpose behind this trip to Dodge was so Adam and I could get to know Catherine better. Spending the day fishing with her will help. Besides that, I like fishing but don't get nearly enough time to do it. On the way back to town, I'll ask if she'd mind if I went fishing with her and the boys. I think that will be better than telling her I'm going to go fishing with her. Thank you again for dinner and telling me about my new daughter. I'll see you on Saturday."

On the way back to Dodge, Ben said, "Adam and I had a talk with your teacher yesterday. We met her briefly the day before yesterday but she was busy and it was getting late, so we had a talk with her yesterday. Miss Jackson had a lot of nice things to say about you and said she will miss you very much. She would like you to go and see her before we leave next week. She gave us your grades and I am very pleased with them. You did very well in almost all of your subjects and even your Arithmetic grade wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

"That's because the Tanners and Julie help me with my Arithmetic. I won't be getting any more good grades in it now that I'm not going to be living here anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because there won't be anybody to help me."

"What makes you say that? Adam and I will be there to help you."

"No, you won't. The Ponderosa is a big ranch and you and Adam are always going to be busy with ranch work. And because you've got this dumb rule that I have to ask permission before I go anywhere, even if I do find someone to help me with my Arithmetic, I won't be able to go there to get help. I'll never even be able to leave the yard except for school because nobody will ever be around for me to ask if I can go anywhere. I know that the teacher won't help me. Mary said she's mean and never helps anybody except her favorites. Laura said that she won't even let the little kids use the outhouse except at recess and dinner and she whips them if they can't hold it. I don't want to go to school in Virginia City. I want to go to school here. If you try and make me go to school with that teacher, I won't go and I don't care how many whippings I get. I don't need to go to school anyway. I can read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. That's all I need to know. Once Fury is old enough, I'll either go to Uncle Matt or the Apaches."

Ben ignored Cat's last comments and said, "This is the first I've heard of these problems with Miss Smith. I was just elected to the school board and I promise you I will look into this as soon as we get home again. I know that Mary isn't one to exaggerate, so I'll talk to her and see what I can find out. In the meantime, school doesn't start for several months yet and if it's ok with you, I would like to go fishing with you and your friends tomorrow."

"Why do you want to go fishing with me?"

"Because you are my daughter and I want to spend time with you. Also, I like fishing and don't get to do it often enough."

"Ok. You can come fishing with me but I don't know if Mr. Michaels is going to pay me for your fish too."

"That's ok. I just want to go fishing because it's fun and I want to spend time with you. Now that you are going to be a very important part of my life all the time, I need to spend time getting to know you and spending a day fishing is a good way to do that. Now, I'll bet a licorice stick that Buck can beat Ginger back to town."

"You're on," laughed Cat. "Come on Ginger. I know you're faster than that old bag of bones Uncle Ben's riding." She urged her horse into a full gallop and headed for town as fast as Ginger could go with Ben hot on her heels urging his horse to go faster.

Cat easily won the race. "The only reason you won is because you hardly weigh more than a feather. Next time we race, I'm going to add fifty pounds of weight to your saddle and then we'll see who wins," teased Ben. "Let's take care of our horses and then we'll get that licorice I promised you."

Matt met them at the stable and asked, "What was that all about?"

"Remind me to never race with someone who hardly weighs more than a feather. Don't you ever feed that child?"

Matt laughed. "Believe it or not, Cat seems to always be eating. She'll easily put away an order of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast and then ask for more eggs and bacon. Her dinner pails were always over full but when she got back to the office after school, she acted like she hadn't eaten in a week. I asked Doc about her appetite and he said that there was nothing wrong with her."

"I'll tell that to Hop Sing. He insists that child is too thin. Well, we've got to go over to the general store. I owe her a licorice stick."

Cat walked out of the stable and said, "I need to put my dress in Uncle Matt's office before we go and get licorice."

She started to run over to Matt's office when she heard his warning voice behind her. "Catherine Michael. You're running where you're not supposed to again. This is your last warning. The next time I catch you, you will be standing in the corner behind my desk."

"That's not fair. I'm in a hurry. I'm only going to be here for another week and I have a lot to do."

"Yes, I know that you're only going to be here for another week, but that's not important. What's important is your safety as well as the safety of everyone else in town. Running when you're inside or on the boardwalk is not safe. If you want to run, go outside of town where there aren't a lot of people and run, but do not run in town. I don't want to have this discussion with you again. Now walk over and put your dress in my office."

Cat let out a big sigh and said, "Come on Chief. Let's go put my dress away. I have got to hurry up and turn ten so I can take Uncle Sam's job. Then I'm going to make a rule so grown-ups can't always tell kids what to do. What do you think buddy? Chocolate cake for supper, no Arithmetic, grown ups can't always tell kids to do…what other rules should I make? I know, all puppies have to sleep in the house and they get to sleep in kids' beds. What do you think of that one Chief? No more sleeping in barns for puppies." She picked the puppy up and he licked her face.

Matt and Ben laughed at Cat's comments. "Who is going to tell her that she can't become president until she's thirty five?" laughed Matt.

"Not me," laughed Ben. "You raised her, you tell her."

"Oh no. I'm not going to tell her. You adopted her, you tell her."

"We'll let Adam tell her."

"Let Adam tell Cat what?" asked Adam walking up to his father and Matt.

"Matt and I have decided that you get to be the one to tell her that she can't become president until she's thirty five. You already know that she plans on taking Sam's job when she becomes ten. Besides chocolate cake for supper and no more Arithmetic, she has decided that adults won't be allowed to tell children what to do and puppies will have to sleep in children's beds."

Adam laughed loudly. "I wonder what other laws she's going to come up with before all is said and done. Sorry Pa, Matt. I'm not going to be the one to burst her bubble. I think it's cute. Who knows, if the president had been my Godfather, I may have thought about taking his job and passing some of those same laws when I was ten."

Cat came back a few minutes later and said, "Ok. I'm ready. Let's go to the store."

"Why are you going to the store?"

"I was foolish enough to challenge her to a race on the way back from the Tanner's and she won. So, I have to buy licorice for her."

"Well, as long as you're buying, I'll get some too. What about you Matt? Pa's buying. Do you want some licorice?"

"I don't mind if I do. I haven't had any in quite a while and since your Pa is buying, right now seems like the perfect time to have some."

Ben laughed. "Alright, alright, I get the hint. Let's go." Then he gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug and teased, "And as for you young lady, starting with supper tonight, I am ordering double portions of everything for you and the next time we race, I am going to put a fifty pound sack of grain in your saddle. Then maybe I'll stand a chance of winning."

"No you won't. When Fury grows up, he's going to be the fastest horse in the world. I'm going to teach him how to fly as soon as I figure out how to. And I'm not going to eat double portions of anything but chocolate cake. I don't want to get as big as Hoss, no matter how much Hop Sing wants me to."

As they were leaving the store, Mr. Brown walked up to them and asked Cat to take a telegram out west of town. This time she made sure no adults were around before jumping Ginger over the fence gates. After she jumped the last one, Silver Chief whined from the saddle bag he was riding in. "Don't worry Chief. I'm being careful. I won't jump the gates on the way back to town. I don't want to risk getting caught and ending up with a very sore bottom. Not only that, if Uncle Matt punishes me for jumping fences, he might not let me go fishing with Pete and Mike tomorrow and he might not let me go to the dance on Saturday. I guess I'd better not jump any more fences until after the dance. I really want to go fishing tomorrow and I really want to go to the dance on Saturday and I sure don't want a sore bottom.

Part way back to town, Cat was very glad she decided not to jump fences when Festus came riding up to her. "Howdy Cat. I see that yore using the gates instead of jumping fences. I shore am proud of you and Matthew will be too. In fact, when we get back to town, I'll buy you a sarsaparilla and I'll see if I can talk yer Pa into letting you have an extre piece of chocolate cake after supper."

"Gee thanks Festus. That sure is swell of you. I haven't had a sarsaparilla in a long time."

"Yore welcome Cat. Now, I'm not going to race you into town because I know ol' Ruth here can't keep up with that there horse of yours, but I'll ride with you."

"That's ok Festus. We raced Uncle Ben back to town from the Tanner's earlier and we ran all the way out to the Stewart farm with a telegram, so I'm going to walk Ginger back to town. I don't want to take a chance that she'll get hurt from running too much."

"That's mighty good thinking. You shore are growing up little one. There was a time not so long ago when you would have run your pony almost until he dropped."

"That was a long time ago Festus. I was just a little kid then. I'm almost grown up. After all, I turned nine on my last birthday."

"Well, so you did. Next thing you know, some boy will be asking your Pa for yore hand in marriage. Maybe it will be one of them there Tanner twins you're friends with."

"I'm not going to marry Pete or Mike, Festus. They're my friends. Girls don't marry their friends."

"Oh, they don't?"

"No, girls don't marry their friends. They marry boys they don't know. Just like Paul Mitchell is going to marry a girl he met in college."

"Well, don't you think they might be friends now?"

"I suppose they are now. I suppose you would want to make sure you like a person before you marry them. I wish my grandfather hadn't made my mother marry that awful man. Then I wouldn't have had to grow up without her and she might still be alive."

"I do too little one. Yore mother was a very nice lady and she deserved better than what she got. Well, we're back in town. Let's take care of yore horse and Ruth and then we'll tell Matthew what a good girl you are." Once they took Ginger and Ruth to the livery stable, Festus said, "Climb up here on my back and let me give you a ride before you get so's big I can't carry you."

"I can walk Festus."

"I know that young'in, but I want to carry you."

"Ok. I like it when you carry me. It's fun. I remember when you used to carry me all over town when I was little. I kind of wish I wasn't moving to the Ponderosa. I love Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, but this is my home and I'm going to miss everybody."

"Now don't you fret. It's not like yore leaving forever. You'll be here every summer and we'll have lots of fun. The two of us will spend some time hunting and fishing when you're here and we'll have lots of fun."

"I hope so."

"Of course we will. Now, let's go, tell Matthew and your Pa how good you were and then we'll get that sarsaparilla." Festus walked over to Matt's office with Cat on his back. Ben and Adam were in there talking with him and all three of them looked up when the door opened.

"What's going on?" asked Matt. "Did she get into mischief again?"

"Now Matthew, you know darn well that I wouldn't be toting this here young'in on my back ifn she were in trouble. Nope. I've come to tell you how good she was. I seen her coming back from taking a telegram out yonder and watched her. This here little girl got down off her horse and walked through every single gate until she got back to the road. Now that I done tell you how good she was, I'm fixin' to buy her a sarsaparilla. And, ifn she eats all of her supper, she gets two pieces of chocolate cake for dessert."

"Festus, you are going to spoil my daughter," said Ben.

"Nonsense. I ain't gonna do no such thing. She's a sweet little girl and she deserves good things. She ain't gonna get spoiled from having a few extra sweets. I done been doing it for years now and she ain't spoiled yet. Come on Cat, we'll leave them to their own stuff and we'll get our sarsaparilla and maybe some maple candy also."

After Cat and Festus left, Matt said, "I agree with Festus Ben. Catherine is not a child who gets spoiled easily. She is always grateful for little extra things like Festus is doing for her today. She has been punished many times for jumping fences, so it's good to reward her for doing the right thing. She'll remember the sarsaparilla, maple candy and extra chocolate cake and might just think twice the next time she's tempted to jump fences."

Cat walked back into Matt's office a little while later. "The sarsaparilla and maple candy sure were good. I wouldn't mind having them every day. I've got to take my dress for the dance down to Julie's. Her Ma thinks she may have some hair ribbons that will go with it." Cat started to run down the boardwalk, dodging in an out of people until she spotted Doc walking down the stairs from his office. Knowing he would tell Matt that she had been running on the boardwalk, she started walking. "That was another close one Chief. If Doc had seen me running on the boardwalk, he would have told Uncle Matt and I'd be in big trouble. I've been awfully lucky today and my luck could end, so I'd better walk for right now. I'd rather run, it's more fun, but I don't want to get into trouble." Cat walked the rest of the way to Julie's house with her dress.

Julie opened the door and invited her friend inside. Her mother told Cat to put the dress on so she could see how it looked and said, "Yes, Elizabeth was right. That dress does match your pretty green eyes. She did a very good job altering it to fit you too. I have some material that matches it. Bring the dress to me after the dance and I'll add more material to the inside and bottom. That way, you won't outgrow it too soon and you'll be able to wear it again for a while. I do have some hair ribbons that match it. You are going to look very cute at the dance. Now, change back into your other clothes. Leave the dress with me. I'll press it and give it back to you tomorrow. Supper will be ready soon. Would you like to stay and eat with Julie and me? Mr. Brown will also be joining us for supper."

"Thank you for the hair ribbons and pressing my dress. I have to go and ask Uncle Matt if I can eat supper here."

"That's fine. Why don't you and Julie walk down to his office and ask permission? Oh and Cat…"

"Yes ma'am?"

"You need to start asking Mr. Cartwright's permission too. He's your Pa now and it's only right to ask him also."

"I guess you're right. What I've been doing is asking Uncle Matt and he asks Uncle Ben."

"I understand. However if he's in the Marshal's office, you need to ask him. I realize that you're not used to having a Pa and brothers, but you have to start thinking of your Uncle Ben as your Pa. It will be easier once you're living on his ranch, but right now, start trying to think of him as your Pa."

"I do try but I don't remember he's my Pa now until after I call him Uncle Ben."

"That's ok. The important thing is that you're trying. One day you will wake up and it will seem like he's always been your Pa. Now you and Julie go and ask if you can stay to supper."

The two girls walked down to Matt's office where they found Ben inside alone. "Where is Uncle Matt?" asked Cat.

"He had to do an errand and will be back shortly. What do you need?"

"Julie's Ma invited me to supper. Can I please go?"

"Well now, that depends."

"What does it depend on?"

"It depends on whether or not you have a hug for me and if you promise not to catch more fish than me tomorrow."

Both girls laughed. "I might have a hug here for you somewhere, but I'm not going to promise to catch less fish than you. I'm going to catch a lot more fish than you."

"Well, you had at least better find that hug or you're going to be an awfully hungry little girl."

Cat pretended to search Matt's office for the hug and said, "I can't find it here anywhere. Maybe I left it at Julie's house. I'll look while I'm there and give it to you later if I find it." She started to walk out the door then turned around ran back to her father and gave him a big hug.

"You little stinker," he teased. "You had it all the time and just pretended that you couldn't find it. Just for that, you need to be tickled." Ben tickled Cat for a minute. Then he hugged her and said, "Go on and have supper at Julie's house. Enjoy yourself but don't eat too much dessert. Maybe you should use the outhouse before you go over there."

"That's alright Mr. Cartwright," said Julie. "We have a water closet in our house. Thank you for saying Cat could eat supper with us. I'm going to miss her when she goes to live with you."

"You're welcome Julie. Catherine will be spending summers here, so you'll still get to spend time with her. Now, you girls had better go. You're going to want to eat your supper while it's still hot. Adam, Matt or I will come and walk you back here after supper."

"You don't need to do that Mr. Cartwright. Mr. Brown will be eating supper with us and he'll walk Cat back here."

"That's fine. You girls run along now. Enjoy your supper and have a good time. Cat, I'll see you later."

On the way back to Julie's house, Cat asked, "Is Mr. Brown going to be your new Pa?"

"I don't know. I hope so, because he's awfully nice."

"That would be great if he is. Then we would both have new Pas."

The girls arrived at Julie's house and found Mr. Brown setting the table. "We'll do that Mr. Brown," said Julie.

"Nonsense. I started the job, so I'll finish it. Your Ma was kind enough to invite me for supper and I enjoy helping. I'll finish setting the table. You girls go and play until supper is ready."

"Thank you Mr. Brown," said both girls together.

"Let's go outside Cat," said Julie. "Mr. Brown hung a swing from the big tree in the yard. We can play on it until Ma calls us for supper." The girls went out and played on the swing until they were called for supper. When they got in the house, they were surprised to see candles and a bowl of flowers sitting on the table.

After supper, Julie's mother said, "Julie, I have some wonderful news for you. As you know, Mr. Brown and I have been courting for a while now. Today, he asked me to marry him and I accepted. The three of us are going to be a family now." Julie jumped up, hugged her mother and then hugged Mr. Brown.

"When are you going to get married?" asked Julie.

"Well," said her mother. "We talked about it and we want Cat at the wedding, so we're going to get married next week, on Saturday."

"I won't be able to be there," said Cat sadly. "Uncle Ben and Adam want to leave on Friday."

"Don't you worry about that," said Mr. Brown. "I already talked to your Pa and he has agreed to stay for the wedding and leave on the Sunday afternoon train."

"That's great. I've never been to a church wedding. Are they fun?"

"Oh yes," said Julie's mother. "They're lots of fun. After the ceremony is finished, there will be a big party. We'll have food and cake. There will be dancing too. You'll really like it. Oh and Julie, Mr. Brown and I talked. We want you to be part of our wedding ceremony. The three of us will each have a small candle and we'll use those to light a big candle to mean that we're a family."

"That really sounds nice," said Cat. "I guess I could wear the dress I wore the day Uncle Rip got promoted. My Godmothers bought it for me and it's pretty."

"I'm sure it is dear. Why don't you bring it over here when you get back from fishing tomorrow? I'll look at it and see if it needs anything besides pressing. Now, I think this calls for a celebration." She walked into the kitchen and returned with a large chocolate cake. The girls played checkers for a while after supper, then Mr. Brown walked Cat back to Matt's office.

"Goodnight Mr. Brown. Thank for walking me back to Uncle Matt's office. I sure am glad you and Julie's Ma are getting married. Julie really likes you."

"I'm very glad of that Cat because I like Julie and her Ma a while lot too. Goodnight. Have fun fishing tomorrow."

Cat walked into Matt's office, hugged him and said, "Guess what Uncle Matt. Julie's Ma and Mr. Brown are going to get married. Isn't that swell?"

"Yes Cat, that is wonderful news. They've been courting for a while now and I'm very happy that they're going to get married. Now, it's time for you to get ready for bed. Hop on my back and I'll give you a ride to the outhouse." When they returned, Ben was in Matt's office. Cat got ready for bed then she and Ben read two chapters before he kissed and hugged her goodnight, tucked her in and blew out the lamp.


	29. Chapter 29

Peter and Michael walked into Matt's office at eight thirty the next morning, carrying a picnic basket full of food. Cat greeted her friends and said, "Uncle Ben is coming fishing with us. We need to get our horses from the stable and my fishing poles from Mr. Quint's shop."

"Why is your Pa coming fishing with us?" asked Peter.

"Because I want to spend time with Cat," came the reply from Ben. "And because I like fishing and don't get to do it enough."

"Bring your bow and arrows Cat," said Michael. "You promised to teach us how to use them and make some for us."

"No, I'm not going to bring them today. I want to spend the day fishing. "I'll teach you how to use them and try to make some for you before I leave, but I just want to fish today, so let's go." The boys started begging Cat to bring her bow and arrows, causing her to get angry with them. "I said I'm not bringing them. They're not toys. I only use them for hunting. If you're going to keep bugging me, I'm going to get mad at you. Do you want me to tell your Pa that you made me mad again? You know what he said. Now I want to go fishing. Are you going to come or are you going to go back home and tell your Pa that you made me mad at you again?"

"Please don't tell Pa we started to make you mad at us again. We won't do it again. We want to go fishing and play with your puppy. Maybe we can teach him how to fetch things," said Peter.

"Ok then. Stop asking me to bring my bow and arrows. I have to go and get my horse. Meet me over at Mr. Quint's shop so I can get my fishing poles."

The boys walked out of Matt's office, got their horse and walked over to Quint's shop to wait for Cat and Ben. Cat was going to wait for Ben when he said, "Why don't you go and get both of our horses? I'll meet you at Quint's shop in a few minutes."

"Ok. I'll get the horses and then go get my fishing poles. I'll see you in a little while."

Once Cat walked out of the office, Ben looked at Matt and said, "I can't believe how she controls those boys. They seem to listen to her better than they do their father. I think I'm going to have to keep a shotgun by the front door when she becomes a teenager and boys start taking her out."

Matt laughed. "That's not something I ever thought of worrying about. I always figured my job would keep the boys respectful. If things get too bad, you can always send her to Rip. She'll have an entire fort to look after her."

"Just what I need, an entire fort full of young men courting my daughter. No thank you. I'll just keep a loaded shotgun by the door."

"At least you know that they would be respectful. They wouldn't dare be anything else if they're courting their commanding officer's niece. You'd better go. Cat doesn't like to be kept waiting when she wants to go fishing."

Ben met Cat and the boys at Quint's shop. Cat got her fishing poles and the four of them headed for the pond. They fished until dinner time and played with Silver Chief for a while. It took a little while but they managed to teach him how to fetch. After dinner they fished a while longer. At two o'clock, Ben suggested that they fish for one more hour and then go back to town. The boys needed time to clean their fish so their family could eat and Cat needed to get her fish to Mr. Michaels at the hotel restaurant. At three o'clock, they counted their fish. Peter and Michael had caught enough so that every member of their family could have three for supper. Cat caught twenty while Ben only caught ten. "See," she teased. "I told you I was going to catch a lot more fish than you."

"Do you know what happens to little girls who catch more fish than their fathers do?"

"No, what?"

"They get tickled." Ben pulled Cat to him and tickled her for a few minutes. When they got back to town, Ben said, "Boys, please tell your mother thank you for that wonderful dinner. And thank you for letting me go fishing with you and Cat. I had a good time. Maybe we can spend one more day fishing next week. Since you caught the fish, maybe your brothers will help you clean them. I'll see you and your family at the dance tomorrow night. Cat, why don't you take the fish over to Mr. Michaels and I'll take our horses over to the livery stable."

Cat took the fish to Mr. Michaels, who was very happy to see them. "Thirty fish. That's wonderful Cat. I am going to have a lot of happy customers tonight. Let me pay you for them before I take them back to the kitchen. You have twenty five large fish, so I owe you three dollars and seventy five cents for them. You also have five smaller fish, so I owe you fifty cents for them. Altogether, I owe you four dollars and twenty five cents. No, don't tell me you didn't catch all of them. I already know that and I'm paying you for all of them anyway."

Cat found Ben and offered him the money for the fish he caught, but he told her to keep it. She walked over to the Long Branch just in time to catch Matt before he walked in the door. He picked her up, hugged her and said, "Well, I see you're back from fishing. Did you catch a lot?"

"Yes. I caught twenty, Uncle Ben caught ten and Pete and Mike caught thirty six altogether."

"Wow. You certainly had a good day fishing. Would you like me to get Kitty for you?"

"Yes please."

"Alright. Hang on a minute and I'll get her for you." He walked into the saloon, and said, "Kitty, you have a very short customer waiting for you outside."

" _Oh_. How short?" Matt showed her how tall Cat was. "Does this customer happen to have braids and pretty green eyes?"

"Oh yes. Most definitely."

"Well then, why don't you bring that little customer over to the outside door to my office? It'll be easier to talk to her in there than it is outside. Don't worry. I'll keep the inside door closed so she won't see what goes on in here."

"I wasn't worried. I'll get her and meet you at your office door in a minute." He walked back outside and told Cat. "Kitty wants me to bring you over to the outside door for her office. She said it will be easier to talk to you in her office than it is outside."

Kitty met them at the door to her office. "Thanks Matt. I'll see you inside in a few minutes. Hello Cat. Matt says you need to talk to me."

"Yes ma'am. I have more money to give you for Uncle Matt's birthday present next year. Uncle Ben and I went fishing today and Mr. Michaels paid me four dollars and twenty five cents. I also earned fifty cents running telegrams for Mr. Brown."

"That's wonderful Cat. Counting the three dollars and twenty five cents you earned for fish the other day, you now have eight dollars toward next year's gift. What do you want to get?"

"Uncle Matt really needs a new saddle but I think they cost more than a new winter coat."

"I'll tell you what. Tomorrow, you and I will go and look at catalogs and see if we can find a nice saddle that doesn't cost too much. The coat came today. I put the box upstairs in my room so that way Matt won't see it. When do you want to give it to him?"

"I guess I'll give it to him next Friday. Julie's mom and Mr. Brown are going to get married on Saturday, so I think that Friday would be the best day."

"That sounds like a very good plan. Why don't you come over here right after breakfast tomorrow? The Long Branch won't be open yet, so you can come in and I'll show the coat to you. Don't worry, I'll make sure that Matt, Ben, and Adam know that you're going to come here right after breakfast so you won't get in trouble. You wouldn't get in trouble anyway because the saloon isn't open that early but this way, we won't be taking any chances. After you see the coat, we'll go and look at those catalogs."

"Gee thanks Miss Kitty. I sure hope Uncle Matt likes it."

"It's a very nice coat and I'm sure he'll love it. Now, before you leave, I want to show you something. Do you see this little book?"

"Yes."

"This is where I write down all of the money you give me. See, I write down the date you gave it to me, how much you gave me and how much you have altogether. That way, I never have to wonder how much of your money I have."

"That's great. You're really smart."

Kitty gave her a hug and said, "Now, you need to go so I can get back to work. I'll see you at supper." Cat walked out the door, Kitty locked it behind her and went out into the saloon. "Matt, what do you think about the idea of having a farewell party for Cat next Friday? I'll keep the Long Branch closed until two or three and we can have the party here. That way, all of her friends will have a chance to say goodbye to her. Doing that might also make the transition from living here to living on the Ponderosa easier for her, especially with the knowledge that she'll be back next summer."

"That sounds like a good idea Kitty. I'll see what Ben and Adam think about it. I'll let you know at supper."

Cat walked over to Matt's office, found the dress she had worn for Rip's promotion and the material Ben had bought her in Santa Fe and took them over to Julie's house. Mrs. Richards looked at the dress Cat brought with her and said, "Yes, that is a very pretty dress. Since you only wore it once, all it needs is to be aired out and pressed."

"Well, actually I wore it twice but both times were on the same day." Cat told Julie and her mother how everyone wanted Rip to wear his dress uniform for supper but he didn't want to so he said he would only wear it if Cat wore her dress to supper. Mr. Brown had walked in just as Cat started telling the story and joined in the laughter when Cat told how the Sergeant Major had bribed her with an extra large piece of chocolate cake if she would wear the dress again.

"Well, did your uncle wear his dress uniform?" asked Mr. Brown.

"Yes he did. He had to since I said I was going to wear my dress again. He pretended to be mad at the Sergeant Major when he saw my piece of chocolate cake, but he really wasn't. My Godfathers thought they weren't going to have to wear their dress uniforms to supper, but my Godmothers made them."

"Cat, that is a day you and your uncle will remember for the rest of your lives," said Mr. Brown. "It was a very special day for him and you got to be part of it. When you grow up and get married, you will be able to tell your children about it."

"Mrs. Richards, are you going to have time to make two dresses for me before your wedding? Don't you have to make dresses for Julie and you?"

"Don't worry about it Cat. Making dresses for you and Julie hardly takes any time at all. I'll have more than enough time to make four dresses. Now, go and spend some time with your Pa and brother. The whole idea behind them spending two weeks here with you is so that they can get to know you better. You also need to get to know them better, so go and spend some time with them. We'll see you at the dance tomorrow night."

Cat walked down to Matt's office where she found Ben and Adam talking to him. She walked in the door and said, "Adam, I'm going to steal Sport. I love Ginger, but I want to ride a different horse for a while. Besides that, I want to see how high he can jump."

"You can ride Sport if you want to Cat, however, if you jump him over anything higher than two feet, I will warm your backside for you. I mean it Catherine. You are not to jump him over any fences or fallen trees."

"AWWWW. You're no fun Adam."

"Sorry little sister, but you have been told a lot of times that jumping your horse over fences is not safe. I meant what I said, if you jump him over any fences, you will have a hard time sitting down at supper. In fact, I think I'll ride Ginger and go for a ride with you. That way I know you won't jump any fences."

"You can go for a ride with me if you want to. I was going to teach Sport how to fly but since you're being so mean, I'm just going to teach Fury how to fly." Cat walked out the door, followed by her puppy and Adam.

Ben watched her walk out the door and said, "I don't know how you've done it Matt. She has been with you for almost eight years and your hair isn't gray. We haven't even been here a week and I'm getting more gray hairs. She's wilder than Little Joe ever was."

Matt laughed. "I guess it's because I know what to expect from her. She had no intention of jumping Sport over fences. She just said that to get a rise out of Adam and she succeeded. You are going to have your hands full with her. I predict that she and Adam will be butting heads a lot."

Ben laughed and said, "You know, this is all your fault for losing her when she was four."

"No," laughed Matt. "It's all your fault for having a sister as wild as Kate was. Besides that, I didn't lose Cat, Rip did."

"That's right; blame your brother when he isn't here to defend himself. You sound like my sons. Are you sure Cat's not going to jump Sport over any fences?"

"No she won't. Knowing her though, I'm sure she'll find something a little bigger than two feet for him to jump, just to irritate Adam."

Ben laughed. "He's not going to like that at all."

"Well, your eldest son had better develop a sense of humor. Cat will say she's going to do something she's not supposed to do, just to get a reaction. She will push until she's just inches over her boundaries. Sometimes, she'll go farther than that, just to see what will happen."

"Just what I need, a high spirited girl disrupting my nice, quiet, peaceful household."

Matt laughed loud and long. "Ben, your household hasn't been either quiet or peaceful since Little Joe learned how to walk and talk."

"Alright Matt. You win. I don't know how I'm going to survive raising my sister's daughter until she marries. Maybe I should leave her here with you."

"You'll survive. Joe was just as headstrong as Cat and you're still alive. No, you're not leaving her here with me. You wanted her, you've got her. She needs a home and a family. I can't give her either of those things."

While Ben and Matt were talking, Cat was doing everything in her power to drive Adam crazy. She walked Sport out of town and then urged him into a gallop and jumped over everything she saw that was shorter than three feet tall. Just as she reached the limit of what he would tolerate, she turned Sport around and said, "Race you back to town. I'll even give you a head start."

Adam sighed and said, "Little sister, I am going to kill you when I catch you."

"No you won't. Uncle Matt and your Pa will get mad at you."

"He's your Pa now and I think maybe he needs to warm your backside for what you have been doing since we left town."

"I haven't jumped a single fence and everything I did jump was smaller than three feet. I used to jump Spot over a lot of the things I jumped Sport over today. Now, are you going to race me or not? I said I'd even give you a head start."

"No Cat, I am not going to race you. We are going to walk back to town together."

"You can walk back if you want to. Sport and I want to run." She urged Sport into a gallop and took off toward town, leaving Adam behind.

"I'm going to kill her," he said to Ginger and urged the horse into a gallop to catch up with Cat.

When they reached the livery stable, Cat could see how angry Adam was, so she left Sport with Louie and ran to Matt's office. She ran in the door and before Ben or Matt could scold her for running inside, she said, "Help. Adam wants to kill me." The two men exchanged amused looks and started laughing quietly.

Ben stretched his arms out and said, "Come here and sit in my lap. Tell me what happened and I'll protect you from Adam." He took his daughter in his arms and pulled her into his lap.

Before Cat could say anything, Adam walked in the door. "I'm going to kill her!" he said angrily. "When I finish with her, she's not going to be able to sit down for a week!" Ben held Cat tightly. He and Matt started laughing, making Adam even angrier. "I don't see what's so funny!"

"You are son," laughed his father. "What did Cat do that's got you so riled?" Adam proceeded to tell them all about what Cat did on their ride, causing them to laugh even harder. "You were right Matt. Adam, your problem is that you've forgotten what it's like to be nine years old. Cat had no intentions of ever jumping Sport over fences. Everything she did today was to get a reaction out of you and she succeeded. I've lost count of the number of times you and your brothers did the same thing to me and each other over the years."

"Adam, I highly suggest you find your sense of humor," laughed Matt. "You're going to need it now that our little Wild Cat is going to be living on the Ponderosa with you. There are days when she is one hundred percent mischief. If you allow yourself to get riled up and angry every time she does something like today, you will be miserable."

Adam ignored his father and uncle and reached for Cat, intending to give her a sound spanking. "No Adam," said Ben. "Catherine did nothing wrong today. She got you all riled up but so did Hoss and Joe when they were her age. You also got me riled up many times when you were a boy. The only time you boys were punished for your mischief was when you put yourselves or someone else in danger. How high was the highest thing she jumped Sport over today?"

"About two and a half feet. I distinctly told her she was not to jump over anything higher than two feet. Then when I told her to walk Sport back to town, she decided to run him."

"Adam, the reason she jumped objects higher than two feet is because you told her she could only jump objects that were two feet high," said Matt. "She has jumped many of those same objects on Spot many times. Cat, did you try and jump any fences?"

"No Uncle Matt. I wasn't going to. I just said that to make Adam mad and get him to go riding with me."

"Why didn't you just ask him?" asked Ben.

"Because that wouldn't have been as much fun. Little Joe said it's fun to make Adam mad and he's right. It is fun."

Adam felt his temper start to rise again and said, "I'm going to wring her neck, just like I should have done with Little Joe when he was a boy."

"No you're not son," laughed Ben. "I wouldn't let you do it to Joe and I won't let you do it to your sister. You're just going to have to learn to live with her teasing you just the way Joe used to. Just think, now you've got three younger siblings to drive you crazy."

Adam sighed. "Just what I need is three of them. Hoss isn't too bad, but Joe and Cat together are going to be impossible."

Ben and Matt laughed and Ben said, "It's not going to be that bad son. Try and remember what it was like to be nine years old and try to remember what your brothers were like when they were nine. Right now, it's suppertime. Cat, you need to go and wash up. Don't worry; Adam isn't going to do anything to you."

After Cat washed up, Matt said, "Cat, why don't you go and see if Doc is ready to go to super? The two of you can meet us over at Delmonico's." Cat walked out of Matt's office followed by Silver Chief. "Ben, I sent Cat on ahead because I need to talk to you about something. Kitty wants to know how you would feel about her having a farewell party for Cat next Friday. It will give her and her friends time to say goodbye to each other and it might make the transition to life on the Ponderosa a little easier for her."

"I don't have a problem with that," said Ben. "Where is the party going to be held at?"

"In the Long Branch. Kitty will keep it closed until after the party has ended. We've held all of Cat's birthday parties there. We also have the Christmas party for the children at the orphanage there."

"That's fine. What time is Kitty planning the party for?"

"I'm not sure. We can ask her at supper. She'll be meeting us at Delmonico's shortly. Anyway, we had better get over there before Cat talks Doc and Kitty into letting her order chocolate cake for supper."

During supper, Kitty told Cat about the party she was planning for her the following Friday and reminded her that they were going shopping the next morning. After supper, Ben and Cat read another chapter in the book. Then he hugged and kissed her goodnight, put Silver Chief next to her, tucked them in and blew out the lamp.

After breakfast, Cat went over to the Long Branch, knocked on the doors and waited for Kitty to answer. They went over to the saddle and harness shop and looked at the catalog of saddles. Cat found a fancy one that she really liked but Kitty told her that was for things like horse shows back east and not for the kind of work Matt did. Cat found another one she liked that wasn't too plain but it wasn't too fancy either. Kitty thought Matt might like that one, so Cat looked at the price. " _Forty dollars_! Gee Miss Kitty, I'll never be able to buy that. The Ponderosa is so far from town that Uncle Ben will never let me have a job like I do here. I'll earn some more money before we leave next week, but it won't be enough to buy that saddle. I don't know if I'll be able to earn enough next summer when I'm here and I don't know if Jarrod will let me have any more of the money from my grandparents."

"Don't worry about it right now Cat. We'll figure something out next summer. You can always get a saddle that isn't quite as expensive. I know they're not as pretty, but Matt won't care if the saddle is plain because you gave it to him. Now, just in case you can't earn enough money for a saddle, why don't we look in some catalogs at the general store? Maybe you'll see something in one of them that you like. Also, don't be afraid to ask your Pa and brothers for suggestions. They may have some good ideas for you."

They spent the next hour shopping and then Kitty had to go and get ready to open the saloon, so Cat walked over to see if Quint needed any help. He didn't need any help right then but he told her to bring Ginger over so he could check her shoes. Cat did as she was told and Quint said that the horse needed new shoes. "Go find your Pa and tell him I said your horse needs new shoes. I don't want to put them on unless he says to." Cat found Ben who said to tell Quint to put new shoes on Ginger and he would pay him later. After shoeing the horse, Quint looked at Cat's moccasins and said, "Your horse isn't the only one who needs new shoes. I've probably got some here that are your size." He began looking through his shop and found a set of small horseshoes. "Here, these look to be about the right size. Let's try them and see how much work I have to do on them." Cat giggled as he held a horseshoe up to the bottom of her right foot.

Ben and Adam walked in while Quint was measuring the horseshoes on Cat's foot. "That's a great idea Quint," said Ben. "She won't go through her moccasins so fast and I know it's probably going to be impossible to get her into regular shoes. However, there's just one small problem. How will she take them off at night? I don't allow my children to wear their shoes to bed."

"Well, you could pull the nails every night and then put them back in the morning."

"That's true, but it's a lot of work and it's hard to get her to hold still. I'm probably going to have to tie her to the church pew on Sundays and her desk on school days to keep her from getting out of them all the time."

"No you won't," said Cat. "Because I'm not going to go to school or church. They're boring. Besides that, I've already learned everything I need to know, so I don't need to go to them."

All three men laughed at Cat's pronouncement. "I'm not so sure about that Cat," said Quint. "I heard you say that you want to take President Grant's job when you turn ten. I know for a fact that a nine year old does not know enough Arithmetic to become president, so you're going to need to go to school until you do take his job. I don't think your Godfather is going to give his job to someone who doesn't know enough Arithmetic."

All three men laughed as Cat made a sour face as though she had just bitten into a lemon. "That's not fair. When I take Uncle Sam's job, I'm going to make a rule that kids don't have to go to school once they know how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. That's all anyone needs to know."

Quint gave one of Cat's pigtails a playful tug. "You do that. In the mean time, if you don't go to school, I won't let you help me when you're here next summer. Now, let's get you fitted for these shoes. I guess you'll have to wear them sideways so part of your foot won't be walking on the ground." He put the shoe sideways on Cat's foot and said, "Well, what do you think Ben? Will that work?"

"They look a little big to me. I think she needs a smaller size and we can keep those for when she grows into them, which probably won't take too long."

"That's the smallest set I have, so I guess we'll just have to settle for some deer hide I've got in the back." He walked in the back, brought out the deer hide and had Cat stand on it without her moccasins on. After tracing her feet, he said, "Go and play now. I'll have these finished for you before the dance."

Cat thanked Quint and Ben asked what she was planning on doing that day.

"I thought I'd take Ginger and Sport and see if I can teach them to jump over really big trees."

"Oh, how big?"

"As big as some of the trees on the Ponderosa. If I can teach them to jump trees that big, I should be able to teach Fury how to fly."

All three men laughed. Adam picked his sister up and carried her out of Quint's shop while Ben led Ginger out. "You are a silly girl," said Adam. "I don't know of a single animal that can jump over a tree that high. Deer can jump high, but they can't jump that high. I've got an idea. Why don't Pa and I get our horses? Then the three of us can go for a ride."

"I guess that would be ok. Now, which horse am I going to ride today? Maybe I'll ride Sport and Ginger at the same time."

Adam tickled Cat and asked, "How are you going to do that silly girl? You would have to put Ginger on top of Sport or Sport on top of Ginger and I don't think either of them would like that very much."

"Oh. I didn't think of that. Maybe I can ride them side by side."

"Catherine Michael Cartwright, you have got to be the silliest little girl I've ever met. I don't know how I'm going to survive with you being my little sister because I think you are going to drive me crazy. Now, make up your mind which horse you're going to ride or I'll make you ride behind me on Sport and we won't be doing any jumping."

"I guess I'll ride Ginger. She loves me. I hope she doesn't get mad when Fury is old enough for me to ride because I'll be riding him all the time then."

"I don't think she'll get upset Cat. Ginger is a very sweet horse and as long as you pay attention to her and ride her sometimes, she'll be fine. Maybe we'll even find a stallion for her to marry and then she can have babies. If she has babies, she won't have time to be upset that you're not riding her any more."

"Oh ok."

Ben said nothing and just watched to see what Cat's reaction would be to Adam saying she was silly. He relaxed when she didn't appear to mind. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the headstrong girl he had adopted, but he knew that he loved her and wanted her to be part of his family. They walked over to the livery stable, saddled Ginger, got Sport and Buck and spent the morning riding. Ben was amazed at how easily Cat jumped Ginger over objects three feet tall and shorter. He looked at Adam and said, "She rides like she was born in the saddle. I'm just not sure about letting her ride a stallion. I'm wondering if we should geld Fury."

"I don't think we need to worry Pa. That colt loves Cat and follows her around like her puppy does. She wants to train him herself. Joe, Hoss, and I have all agreed that one of us will be there to guide her and we won't let her ride him if we don't think it's safe. Thaddeus, Joshua, Pete and some of the other hands have also agreed to help. I have a feeling that Cat, her dog and horse are going to be best friends and that Silver Chief and Fury are going to protect her when necessary. After all, look at what the puppy did at the Apache wedding when he was only eight weeks old. Not many eight week old puppies would attack a grown man in defense of a child, but he did. Besides that, I don't think Cat would ever forgive you if you gelded Fury. Don't forget, Nick Barkley is supposed to be bringing a filly for him. He's got good blood lines and if we're going to start raising our own horses instead of catching the wild ones, we're going to need more stallions."

"Alright Adam. I'll wait and see what happens when Fury grows up before deciding if I'm going to geld him or not. Right now, I have to figure out how to keep your sister and her horse on the ground. That girl loves jumping things. I swear, I'm getting more gray hairs just watching her."

Cat had found a fallen tree that was about four feet high. Knowing she'd be in trouble if she jumped Ginger over it, she dismounted, climbed on top of the tree, jumped off and called, "Come on Ginger. I know you can jump it." The horse easily cleared the tree and Cat remounted. The three Cartwrights rode until almost dinner time.

After dinner, Cat walked down to Julie's house to get her dress for the dance that night. Mrs. Richards looked at Cat's hair and said, "Why don't you let me rebraid your hair while you're here? That way it will look nice for the dance tonight. Julie, please go and get your hairbrush for me." After Cat's hair had been rebraided, the two girls played for several hours. Then Mrs. Richards called them in, tied the ribbons at the end of Cat's braids, gave her the dress she would be wearing and told her it was time to join her family for supper.

When Cat returned to Matt's office, Quint was waiting for her with a new pair of moccasins. He had made them with fringe on them and tied colorful beads on the fringe. When she tried them on, they were a little bit long. "I made them a little bit long so you won't outgrow them too fast."

Cat hugged him and said, "I really like them. Thank you for making them for me."

Quint hugged her back and said, "You're welcome Cat. I enjoyed doing it. Now, you had better go and get dressed. I know a couple of young boys who are counting on you dancing with them tonight." Cat changed clothes and everyone walked over to the meeting hall where the dance was being held.


	30. Chapter 30

Cat had a lot of fun at the dance. Ben and Adam were surprised at how well she danced for a nine year old. Festus called the sets and Cat danced the Virginia Reel with Robert Tanner and the Cotton Eyed Joe with Michael. She also danced with Peter, Eric, and other boys she went to school with. When Festus took a break and the orchestra played a waltz, she stood on Matt's boots during the dance. Ben vowed that the next time they were at a dance; Cat would be standing on his boots during the waltz. By the time the dance was over, Cat had danced with all five Tanner boys, several of her friends from school and Matt. She was disappointed that neither her father nor brother had danced with her, but she didn't say anything to them. Ben carried her back to Matt's office and Kitty helped her get ready for bed. While Kitty was helping her, Cat asked, "Miss Kitty, why didn't Uncle Ben or Adam dance with me? I thought they loved me, but maybe they don't really."

"Your father and brother love you Cat. I don't know why they didn't dance with you, but I do know that they love you."

When Ben came in to read with her, Cat said that she was too tired, so he kissed and hugged her goodnight, tucked her and Silver Chief in and blew out the lamp. Everyone went over to the Long Branch to have a beer before going to bed. Kitty looked at Ben and Adam and said, "I hope the two of you realize that Cat is very upset that neither of you danced with her. She's questioning whether you really love her."

"We didn't think she'd want us to dance with her," said Adam.

"Hogwash!" exclaimed Doc. "You are her family. Of course she wanted you to dance with her. She sat out two dances, waiting for you to ask her to dance with you. That was the perfect opportunity to show her that you really cared about her and wanted her in your family and you blew it big time! Well, you've got two more chances and those are going to be at the Sunday school picnic tomorrow and next Saturday at the wedding. Don't blow those opportunities also or she'll be totally convinced that you really don't love her or want her in your family! You've got to do more things with her besides going fishing and riding. One thing you can do is ask Quint to show you how to make moccasins for her. She would love to wear a pair made by one of you. She knows how to make her own, but a pair made by one of you would be special. Remember, actions speak louder than words. You can tell her as many times as you want to how much you love her and want her as part of your family but those will just be empty words if you don't show her."

"You're right Doc," said Ben. "We'll play with her at the picnic and we'll be sure and ask her to dance with us at the wedding. Even though I've got more gray hairs than I had when we arrived in Dodge, I do love her and want her to be part of my family."

"Well then, see that you do! That child needs to know that you're there for her, even if it's just at a picnic or a dance."

The next morning, when Kitty came to get her, Cat didn't want to get up for church. "Come on Cat. It's Sunday. You need to get up and dressed so we can eat breakfast before church."

"I don't want to go to church Miss Kitty."

"I don't care. You are going to go to church just like we have done every Sunday since you were little. Do you want me to get Matt, your Pa or Adam?"

"No ma'am."

"Well then get up and get dressed. Don't forget, today is the Sunday school picnic and you wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"

"No, I don't want to go. It won't be any fun. Uncle Ben and Adam will be there and they don't really love me. If they did, they would have danced with me last night."

Kitty sighed. "Your Pa and brother love you Cat and they're sorry they didn't dance with you last night. Doc even yelled at them. Now, get up, get dressed and let's go to church. Give them a chance to make it up to you."

"Doc yelled at them?"

"Yes he did and so did I. If they don't play with you at the picnic, I'll let you yell at them too. Now get up and get dressed. We need to eat breakfast before church."

"Ok. I'll get up." Cat got out of bed and walked out the door to Matt's office five minutes later. She said good morning to Matt and hugged him while ignoring Ben and Adam. Matt noticed and told her she was being rude, so she reluctantly said good morning to them.

During the church service, the minister told everyone that Mr. Brown and Julie's mother were going to be married next Saturday and everyone was invited to the wedding and party after. After church, everyone went out to a small lake near town for the picnic. Kitty provided the food for their group. There were a lot of games for the children and Cat participated in many of them. To her surprise, Adam offered to be her partner in the three legged race and Ben offered to be her partner in the wheelbarrow race. Cat finished first in the three legged race and second in the wheelbarrow race. There was a foot race and Cat finished fifth. Ben and Adam were curious to see what her reaction would be to both winning and losing. She did not disappoint them and they learned that she didn't care if she won or lost, she just wanted to have fun. "Besides that," she said, "When Fury grows up; he's going to be the fastest horse in the world. We are going to race in many races and nobody will be able to beat him. I read in a book that in England and Ireland, they have races where the horses jump over fences and bushes. I am going to enter them too and Fury will win all of them, especially once I teach him how to fly."

Everybody started laughing at Cat's pronouncements. Ben pulled her to him, hugged her and said, "Adam is right. You are a silly little girl. Horses can't fly. Neither can people."

"Horses can too fly! Miss Jackson read us a story about a horse named Pegasus and he could fly. He was such a special horse that when he died, God turned him into a bunch of stars called a consternation."

Everyone had a hard time to keep from laughing at Cat. "Cat, the word you're looking for is constellation," said Adam. "Remember when you came to the Ponderosa at Christmas when you were five? We went for a moonlight sleigh ride and I told you about the constellations. They are groups of stars that form pictures."

"That was a very long time ago Cat," said Ben. "There hasn't been a flying horse since Pegasus died."

"Well, Fury is going to learn how to fly. If Santa's reindeer can fly, so can Fury. I'm just going to have to go to the North Pole and ask Santa to give me some of the magic corn he gives his reindeer so that Fury can fly."

Adam almost choked on his lemonade trying to keep from laughing at his sister. He was beginning to wonder if his father knew what he was doing when he adopted Cat. Just when he thought things on the Ponderosa were going to settle down, this little girl who was unlike any girl he's ever met, was now his sister. Hoss was a grown man. Joe was nineteen now and not getting into much mischief anymore, so things should be starting to quiet down. He had a feeling that it was going to be many more years before things on the Ponderosa were quiet. Cat was wilder than Joe had been when he was a boy and she was just as headstrong and stubborn as his youngest brother still was. Adam also suspected that she had inherited her mother's temper which meant they would be butting heads a lot and she was liable to start fights with other children who made her angry. He loved his little sister dearly but he was convinced she was going to do everything in her power to drive him crazy.

Cat's last week in Dodge passed quickly. She kept jumping fences and managed not to get caught. Matt caught her running on the boardwalk and since she had run into someone and knocked them down, he spanked her and gave her a long lecture on safety before making her stand in the corner. Friday arrived before anyone knew it. Kitty kept the Long Branch closed so she could have Cat's farewell party there. Cat went early so she could give Matt his birthday present. Ben, Adam, Quint, Festus and Doc arrived before Matt did so they were able to see the look on his face when he opened the box. Matt was very shocked when he opened the box and saw his new winter coat. He couldn't believe that his niece had worked and saved almost all of her earnings to buy him an expensive birthday present when she was only eight years old. Ben and Adam had a hard time believing it also until Kitty showed them the book where she kept track of the money Cat earned. Matt picked Cat up, kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tightly.

When Cat left with Matt to put his new coat in his office, Kitty turned to Adam and said, "Maybe now you'll realize that Cat is not a baby and can be trusted with money. I would have gladly given her the money to buy that coat but she wanted to earn it herself. Right now, she's worried about how she's going to be able to afford a gift for Matt next year. As you can see, I currently have thirteen dollars she has earned since you arrived in Dodge. She wants to buy him a saddle that costs forty dollars. She doesn't know if she's going to be able to earn enough money next summer and she doesn't want to ask Jarrod for any of her inheritance. She's only nine and she's more responsible with money than many adults I have known. There's one other thing I don't know if you're aware of…"

"What's that?" asked Ben.

"Cat thinks she doesn't need people. She can pretty much take care of herself. Ask Quint. She's very good with that bow and arrows of hers and is able to catch and cook her own meals. She also knows how to make her own clothing out of buckskins. Once Silver Chief is grown enough to protect her, she'll think she needs people even less. She hasn't left on her own because Matt tells and shows her how much he loves her every chance he gets. I know that you love her very much and she needs to know it too."

"Thank you for telling me that Kitty. I wasn't aware that Catherine thinks that she doesn't need people. We got a demonstration of her abilities when we were at the McCain's. She caught our supper one night and Mark helped her cook it. I was surprised, but it was an excellent meal. We'll all spend as much time with her as we can. Lucas and Mark taught her how to work with cattle, so I'll let her look for strays and help with small groups of cattle. When she's older, I'll let her work with larger groups of cattle. She won't like only looking for strays and helping with small groups of cattle, but hopefully she'll understand those restrictions when I explain them in terms of keeping her safe."

"As long as you tell her that as she grows older, she'll be able to help with larger groups of cattle, she should be fine," said Quint. "It will help a lot if Joe tells her how old he was when you started letting him work with cattle. I know that the two of them are close, so if he explains what his restrictions with cattle were when he was her age; she won't think you're keeping her from working with them just because she's a girl. In fact, it will help a lot if, every time she rebels when you tell her she can't do something because of her age, one of her brothers tells her how old he was before you let him do the same thing."

"That's an excellent idea Quint. Thank you for suggesting it. Oh, and don't worry. I intend to have a long talk with Catherine about safety while on horseback. I'm hoping that once I tell her about Marie, she'll be more careful and stop jumping fences."

Cat and Matt returned and Cat's friends began arriving so the discussion ended. Cat and the other children had fun at her party. There was plenty of food and lots of desserts. The children played games and Mrs. Jones, the church organist played the piano and they all sang songs. Cat enjoyed being able to spend time with her friends and was glad she was able to say goodbye to them. When the party was over, the children surprised the adults by cleaning up.

Julie's mother married Mr. Brown the next afternoon. Julie participated in the ceremony. Mr. Brown gave her the rings to hold until the minister asked for them. Before the ceremony ended, Julie, her mother, and Mr. Brown were each given a small candle that they used to light a large candle to show that they were all a family now. At the party after the wedding both Ben and Adam danced with Cat which made her happy. After church on Sunday, Kitty helped Cat pack all of her belongings in a trunk Ben had bought for her and they left on the afternoon train to Denver. "How long will it take us to get to the Ponderosa?" asked Cat.

"It will take two days to reach Denver," said Ben. "We'll change trains there and it will take another day to reach Carson City. From Carson City, we'll take the stage to Virginia City and that will only take a few hours, so we'll be home in a little more than three days."

"Can't Hoss and Little Joe just meet us in Carson City?"

"Yes, they could, but Roy would never forgive me if we didn't stop in Virginia City so he could welcome you home. I'll tell you what Kitten. When we reach Carson City, I'll let you send the telegrams to Hoss, Joe, and Roy so they'll know when to expect us. Would you like to do that?"

"Yes I would. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now then, Kitty tells me that you want to buy a forty dollar saddle for Uncle Matt's birthday next year. Once you get settled in on the Ponderosa, you're going to have some chores to do. Besides taking care of your horses, I'm going to let you fill the wood box in the kitchen and gather the eggs to start. You'll have more chores to do when you get older. As long as you stay out of trouble and keep your school grades up, if you want to do some extra chores, I'll pay you to do them. I'll pay you depending on what you do. For example, if you weed the vegetable garden for Hop Sing, I'll pay you twenty five cents. It's a long time until next summer and Kitty says that you already have thirteen dollars saved up, so you don't need to rush and start doing things right now. Take time to get settled in and get used to ranch life before you start doing anything extra. I want to introduce you to some of the children who live near the Ponderosa. I know that you, Laura and Mary are already friends, but there are other children who live near them I want you to meet. That way you'll already have some friends when you start school."

"I'm not going to go to school if that mean teacher is still there. Mary loves school and she told me that she doesn't even like going to school with that teacher."

"Catherine, I promise you that I will look into what Mary says about the teacher before the end of next week. I don't want any children going to school with a mean teacher. I am going to talk to Mary and I am going to talk to the teacher. I need to get you enrolled anyway, so I'll take your books and see if you need different ones. If the teacher is rude to me the way Mary says she is rude to the children, I will ask the school board chairman to call a meeting so we can get a new teacher. Don't worry. I promise you that you will not be going to school with a mean teacher."

"Ok. I think Silver Chief needs to do his business. Adam, why don't you put him inside your shirt again?"

"No you little scamp. I'm going to put him inside your shirt. That would be much more fun for me." Cat stuck her tongue out at her brother. Adam picked up the puppy and carried him to the stock car. When he returned, he had the puppy behind his back so Cat couldn't see him.

"Where is Silver Chief?"

"I left him in the stock car. He told me that he wanted to start learning how to ride a horse, so I let him stay there for a while."

"He did not. He's still a baby and doesn't know how to talk yet. I'm going to teach him how to talk when he gets older."

"That's what you think," Adam teased. "He talks to me all the time. Why just last night he told me that he thinks you are a silly little girl and he wants to stay with me. The only problem is that he says if he stays with me, he wants my whole bed and I have to sleep on the floor. I really don't want to sleep on the floor, so he and I are going to have to talk about that arrangement."

Cat giggled. "If Silver Chief wants your whole bed, he should get your whole bed. You can sleep in the barn or the bunk house."

Ben and nearby passengers who heard the exchange between brother and sister laughed quietly. A minister and his wife were in the seat directly behind Cat. They turned around and he said, "That's right young lady. Your brother should already know that puppies are much more important than older brothers. After all, God created puppies before he created older brothers."

"If your puppy wants your brother's entire bed, then by all means, your brother should give up his bed," said his wife.

Ben could no longer keep from laughing. Knowing he was outnumbered, Adam sighed, took Silver Chief from behind his back and handed him to Cat. Cat tugged on Adam's shirt, stood up on her seat and whispered something in his ear. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" he asked.

"Because I didn't need to until just now."

"Alright. Come with me. I have to take you into the car in front of us. Crossing between cars is dangerous, so I need to do exactly as I say without arguing."

A man who was around Ben's age told Adam, "Please allow me to help you with your sister. Once you're safely on the other car, I'll hold one of her hands until she is safely across. I'll wait for you to return and help her back across."

"Thank you Mr.…"

"Dr. Stevens," said the man. "And you're quite welcome. I wouldn't want to see your sister get hurt."

When they went out on the platform between cars, Adam told Cat he was going to cross over to the other car. Then he was going to reach back across and she should take his hand. He also told her not to let go of Dr. Stevens' hand until he told her to. Cat didn't argue and did exactly as Adam told her to do. Once they were back in their own car, Cat asked, "Adam, when will I be able to cross between cars by myself?"

"When you're as big as Hoss."

"But I'll never be as big as Hoss."

"Well then, I guess you'll always need help crossing between cars."

When they reached their seats, they found Ben talking to the minister and his wife. Ben said, "Adam, Catherine, I would like to introduce you to Reverend David Long and his wife, Joanne. Reverend Long, Joanne, this is my eldest son, Adam and my daughter, Catherine. Reverend Long is going to be the new minister in Virginia City. Once they're settled, we'll have to invite them to supper on the Ponderosa."

"It will be our pleasure," said Mrs. Long. She looked at Cat and said, "I'm willing to guess that you prefer to be called Cat."

"Yes ma'am. I do."

"I thought so. I have four sisters. My youngest sister's name is Catherine and she also prefers to be called Cat. I can't wait to see the beautiful ranch your father told me about. As my husband will tell you, I love spending time out in God's creation among the trees and wild creatures. I'll let you in on a little secret that I'm quite certain will shock the ladies in Virginia City. I love to go fishing and can even bait my own hook."

"Wow! I don't know of any ladies who like to fish and can even bait their own hook. Mrs. Tanner likes to go fishing with me, Pete, and Mike, but she won't bait her hook or take the fish off."

"Once my husband and I have settled in, maybe you and I can go fishing sometime."

"Yes ma'am. I would like that a lot."

Before Mrs. Long could answer, Cat's stomach rumbled loudly and so did Reverend Long's. Everyone laughed. "Well Mr. Cartwright, I think your daughter and my husband are hungry. I do hope you brought some food along for Cat."

"Yes we did. A few of her friend's mothers in Dodge packed two picnic baskets full of enough food to hast us until we reach Virginia City. And don't worry. There is enough food for Catherine's puppy too."

"That is excellent. Well, if you'll excuse me, my husband is about to make a mess of the basket I packed, so I had better take care of it." She turned around to get some food for her husband while Adam put food in Silver Chief's bowl and Ben handed some to Cat.

"That was good," Cat said when she had finished eating. "It sure was nice of Mamma Tanner and Julie's Ma to make all that food for us."

"Yes it was," Ben replied. "If Hop Sing wasn't such a good cook, I would steal both of those ladies to come and cook for us on the Ponderosa."

Cat laughed. "You're silly. Mr. Brown and Mr. Tanner wouldn't let them come and live with us unless they brought their families too. Is the Ponderosa big enough for all of the Browns and Tanners, including Pete and Mike?"

"No," said Adam. "The Ponderosa isn't even big enough for you, let alone you, Peter and Michael Tanner. You are already starting to drive me crazy and we're not even home yet. If the three of you along with Hoss and Joe were altogether in one place, I would be crazy before a week was out."

"Now son," said Ben. "The five of them aren't quite that bad. I'm sure it would take all of them at least two weeks before they drove you crazy. Cat, I've got our book in my bag. Would you like to read a chapter or two before it gets dark?"

"Yes, I would. Thank you for bringing the book and not putting it in my trunk."

"You're welcome sweetheart. That's what I'm here for, besides to keep you from driving Adam crazy before we get home."

After they read two chapters, Ben said, "Adam, why don't you take Silver Chief into the stock car to do his business and I'll take cat up to the next car? That way, hopefully both of them will sleep until morning."

The Longs heard what Ben said and Reverend Long said, "That's an excellent idea Mr. Cartwright. If you don't mind, Joanne and I will accompany you. It will be safer for her and your daughter if there are two of us to help them between cars."

"Thank you. I appreciate your offer of help."

While they were waiting for Cat and Mrs. Long to finish, Reverend Long said, "Catherine isn't your natural daughter, is she?"

"No, she was my younger sister's daughter. When my sister was murdered, I adopted Catherine. She was standing next to her mother when she was killed and sometimes relives that moment. Please don't be alarmed if she calls out in her sleep."

"I won't be. Where is Catherine's father?"

"He was killed in the war when she was just a little more than a year old. His eldest brother raised Cat until her mother was killed. The reason for that is a long story I'll tell you some day soon. There are parts of it Cat isn't old enough to understand yet, so I don't want to say anything right here."

"I understand. I'll tell my wife about Catherine's night terrors so she won't be concerned."

"Thank you. I'm hoping that as she begins to settle into life on the Ponderosa, they'll go away."

"Mr. Cartwright, I have dealt with things like this before and it may be a year or more before the bad dreams stop. Is her bedroom near yours?"

"Please call me Ben. Yes, Catherine's room is just across the hall from mine."

"Good. Then you'll be able to get to her in a hurry when the night terrors come. I will keep her in my prayers that the night terrors cease to exist soon. Well, here are our girls. Let's get them safely back to our car."

When they reached their seats, Ben took down the large suitcase Cat's things had been in and took out two large cushions as well as Cat's pillow and blanket. "Mrs. Tanner gave these cushions to me for you to sleep on. She thought they might make you a little more comfortable than just sleeping on the train seat."

"Wow! That sure was nice of her. I wish she was here so I could hug her."

"I know you do Sweetheart. Right now, you and that puppy of yours need to get some sleep. Lay down. I'll give you Silver Chief and cover you up."

"Maybe Pete and Mike can come and spend some time on the Ponderosa with me."

"No!" Exclaimed Adam. "If those two boys come anywhere near the Ponderosa, I'm going to steal your colt and your puppy."

"Good. Then Fury can sleep in your bed with Silver Chief instead of in the barn. He would like that and so would I." Cat got up on her knees, looked behind her at the Longs and asked, "My colt can sleep in Adam's bed with my puppy if he wants to, can't he?"

"Of course he can," replied Reverend Long. "Colts are just as important as puppies and much more important than older brothers."

"Thank you. See Adam, even Reverend Long says Fury and Silver Chief can have your bed if they want it."

Adam sighed and Ben said, "You may as well give up son. You're not going to win this one. Your sister is a lot like her mother in many ways. There were many times when we were young that she was able to talk herself out of being punished for misbehavior."

"Gee," said Cat. "I wish she would have taught me how to do that before she died. Then I could have talked Uncle Matt out of spanking me and making me stand in the corner just because I was running on the boardwalk."

"You were spanked because you ran into a cowboy and knocked him down. When we get home, you and I are going to have a long talk about running in the house and jumping your horse over fences. No, don't make a sour face. Neither one of those things are safe and it's my job to keep you safe. It's getting late. Now lie down and go to sleep." Cat lay down and Ben put Silver Chief next to her and covered both of them up. Once she was sleeping, the Longs invited Ben and Adam to join them.

"Ben, I am curious how you have come to adopt your sister's daughter and why her father's eldest brother has raised her until now," said Reverend Logan. "You touched on it earlier, and I admire your decision not to talk about it in front of Catherine. Judging from the little bit you told me, there are things she doesn't need to know right now."

"Yes, there are things Catherine doesn't need to know right now. She has been traumatized enough. The other revelations can wait until the family determines she is mature enough to understand the details. I am the second oldest of four children. I had two sisters and a brother. My older sister lives with her family in California. My brother became ill and died about six years ago, leaving a son whom I haven't seen since his father's funeral. My younger sister was Catherine's mother. Her husband was killed in the war when Catherine was about eighteen months old. After his funeral, my sister made the decision to go and live with our father in St. Louis. Unknown to us, after our mother's death, he became obsessed with wealth and power. He forced my sister to marry a man who claimed to be a wealthy diamond miner in Australia."

"How did her force her?" asked Mrs. Long.

Ben began to tell the story of how Cat became his daughter. Part way through his narration, he said, "Please excuse me. I need to make sure that Catherine is asleep. I don't want her to overhear something she shouldn't know right now." After making sure Cat was asleep, Ben continued his story.

When he finished Mrs. Long asked, "Why did your sister give Catherine to her husband's brother instead of you, your sister or brother?"

"She was afraid that we would give Catherine to our father. She knew that her husband's brothers would not give into his demands to return the child to him. There is something important you need to know. Unfortunately, Catherine blames herself for her mother's death. She keeps saying that her mother would still be alive if she had gone to Australia. She has been told by many people that her mother was only pretending to try and get her to go to Australia and that she was divorcing her husband because he did not treat her like a lady. However, Catherine still keeps blaming herself."

"I'm no expert in the matter," said Reverend Long. "But I think that is something which will take quite a while for her to overcome. You said that Catherine was eight when her mother was killed and eight year olds tend to see the world in black and white. Whenever she starts blaming herself, just keep telling her about the divorce and as she matures, Catherine will come to see that what happened to her mother was not her fault."

"I am curious," said Mrs. Long. "Why is Catherine dressed in buckskins instead of wearing a dress like a girl should?"

Adam told them the story of how Cat had been visiting Rip in Arizona, wandered away from the fort and was adopted by the Apaches. "She keeps saying that she's going to be an Apache warrior when she grows up and I wouldn't be surprised if she does. She spends two weeks with them every summer and is very independent as a result. Even though she's only nine, she can hunt and cook what she kills. She also knows how to make her own clothing and moccasins. Cat will wear a dress for special occasions. When we were in Dodge, she wore a dress to a dance and for a friend's mother's wedding. She has said that she will wear a dress to church her first Sunday in Virginia City but after that, I don't expect to see her in one again until Thanksgiving."

"All attempts to force her to wear a dress have resulted in shouting matches and Catherine being punished and having hurt feelings," added Ben. "I don't intend on doing that to her. I have been told by several women in Dodge who know her quite well, that as she begins to become interested in boys, she will probably start wearing dresses more. Personally, I'd prefer that she wear buckskins rather than become interested in boys. I am not looking forward to her teenage years."

Ben's last statements resulted in laughter from all who heard it. "Spoken like a true father," said Dr. Stevens. "My brother and I all said something similar when our daughters reached their teenage years. My father kept a loaded shotgun by the front door when my sisters started dating."

"I'm thinking of doing exactly that," said Ben. I would gladly keep her from growing up if there was a way to prevent it."

"Now Ben," said Mrs. Long. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Cat seems like a very sweet child and I'm certain you won't have many problems with her."

"Cat may be sweet, but I know that we will have a lot of problems with her," said Adam. "My brother Hoss started calling her Wild Cat when she was about one. He says that she is as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame, and he's right. Cat is headstrong and stubborn. She will do things her own way, even if she knows she'll get into trouble. She and two of her friends grew bored with school when they were only five. The three of them figured out how to get away from the school without being spotted at least three times. They spent those days fishing and returned to the school at the end of the day, acting as though they had been there the entire day. She was punished by her uncle in Dodge for it each time and only stopped skipping school when my brothers and I told her that she would not be allowed to visit us if she kept skipping school. Cat has been lectured and punished many times for jumping her horse over fences but she keeps doing it. I wouldn't be surprised if she got caught looking under the saloon door to satisfy her curiosity about what happens in them."

"Didn't she do that in Dodge?" asked Reverend Long.

"No. She couldn't. Her uncle is the Marshal there and when she was five, a boy who is several years older than she is threatened to kill her. So, she was never alone in her uncle's office at night after that."

"Well, I'm glad that the people in Dodge cared enough to keep her safe," said Mrs. Long.

"I don't think she was," said Ben. "It's my understanding that she hated school and was angry about being punished for skipping, so she planned to run away when her uncle was making his rounds at night. Her plans were thwarted when she discovered that she wasn't alone."

"Oh, that is so precious," laughed Mrs. Long. "I can only imagine how frustrated she was. Ben, I think you are going to have your hands full with that little one."

"You're right about that. I'm tempted to put hobbles on her just to slow her down a little bit, but knowing her, I don't even think that will work. Well, if you'll excuse us, Adam and I need to get some sleep. The only time Catherine isn't up at dawn is on days she has to go to school. If at least one of us isn't awake when she is, she's liable to try and go between train cars on her own." Ben tucked Cat's blanket in around her, then he and Adam went to sleep, both of them hoping and praying that Cat would not have a nightmare. Their hopes and prayers were answered as Cat slept all night.


	31. Chapter 31

Author's Note: To Neano, Thank you for your kind words about chapter 30. I appreciate you taking time to read my story. Your review came up as a Guest review, so I am unable to reply to you directly.

At first, Cat enjoyed the train ride, but as the second day dragged on, she grew tired of being cooped up and began getting restless. Ben located the conductor and asked if there were going to be any long stops coming up so Cat could get out of the train for a few minutes. He told Ben that their next stop would be a long one as they would be taking on wood and water. Cat and Silver Chief would have thirty minutes to run around and stretch their legs.

When the train stopped, Adam helped Cat down to the ground and then handed Silver Chief to her. The two of them ran around in the grass for about fifteen minutes when the conductor asked her if she'd like to see the engine. "Gee, thanks. I really would like to see what it looks like."

Cat walked with the conductor to the front of the train. When they reached the engine, they walked around the front of it to the side by the train station. Then the conductor talked to the engineer and said, "This little girl would like to see what the engine looks like."

"Well, she is more than welcome to come up here. I'd love to show her my engine." The conductor and engineer helped Cat up into the engine and the conductor handed Silver Chief to her. The engineer showed her how to drive the train and explained the controls and gauges to her. When he had finished, it was almost time for the train to leave, so he let Cat blow the whistle.

When the conductor took her back to Ben and Adam, Cat was grinning from ear to ear. "I got to go in the engine!" she exclaimed excitedly. "The engineer even let me blow the whistle! He said he'd let me drive the train but I'm not big enough. Maybe I'll be big enough next year."

Ben pulled his daughter onto his lap hugged her and said, "Wow. It sounds like you had fun. I never got to do that when I was your age."

"Neither did I," said Adam. "When I was nine, Pa was busy building the Ponderosa and I had to help look after Hoss. You are a very lucky little girl and I think I should tickle you because you got to do something I never did."

Cat snuggled in closer to Ben as Adam reached over to tickle her. "Adam, why don't you get one of the picnic baskets out? It's dinner time and I'm sure that Cat is hungry."

"Matt says that she's always hungry."

"So were you and your brothers when you were nine."

"Hoss is still always hungry."

Ben laughed. "That is the truth. Your brother eats more in one meal than most men do in a single day."

"I am hungry and so is Silver Chief," Cat chimed in. "I eat a lot but I don't eat as much as Hoss does. Is Hop Sing going to be able to make enough food for me and Hoss?"

Once again, Cat's questions and comments brought laughter from all who heard them. "Yes, of course he is," chuckled Ben. "He already makes enough to feed all four of us and I know he'll be able to make enough for you too. If I know Hop Sing, he'll try and feed you so much that you grow as big as Hoss is."

"I don't want to get as big as Hoss. I would have to ride an elephant instead of Fury and even if I did ride him, he couldn't fly if I was as big as Hoss."

Ben hugged her. "You _are_ a silly little girl. Hoss doesn't ride an elephant and you aren't going to either. We don't have room for an elephant on the Ponderosa and it wouldn't be happy. Now, go and sit down on your own seat and I'll give you some food."

After finishing her food, Cat looked out of the train window at the scenery for a while but soon grew bored. "I don't like being on the train any more. When are we going to be in Denver? I miss my friends in Dodge and want to get out and ride my horse for a while."

"I know being stuck inside the train isn't fun but it's a lot faster than taking the stage. We'll be in Denver tomorrow morning around eight. We need to change trains in Denver and we'll be in Carson City around eight o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow. It's only about two hours by stage from Carson City to Virginia City, so we should be there by one o'clock in the afternoon the day after tomorrow. It won't be the same as going out and riding your horse, but you and I can go for a walk up to the very front car and back again. I also know that Adam bought some books for you before we left Dodge, maybe he can get one or two of them while you and I go for our walk. Now if Silver Chief is going to come with us, I think he should ride inside of your shirt. It will be safer for him when we cross between cars."

"Ok. Going for a walk will be nice. I'll put Chief inside my shirt. I guess reading a book would be ok for a while."

"Why don't I get your Arithmetic book and tablet too?" asked Adam. "Then you and I can work on some of the Arithmetic you have trouble with."

" _YUCK! NO!_ It's summer and I don't even want to think about Arithmetic. Why do you want to be mean to me like that? It's not fair. I'm stuck on this train and can't get away! I guess you really don't love me. If you try to make me do Arithmetic, I'll throw my book out the door!"

Mrs. Long spoke up. "Adam, you should not be threatening your sister with Arithmetic when school is not in session. Summer is a time for children to unwind and let their minds relax. Did Catherine fail Arithmetic in the last school term?"

"No, she didn't fail. She got an eighty five but I know she can do much better than that. With a lot of hard work, there is no reason she can't get a one hundred."

"I'll never get a one hundred," said Cat. "I hate Arithmetic and it hates me! Arithmetic needs to go away forever!"

The Longs, Dr. Stevens and Ben laughed. "Adam, there is no reason for Catherine to worry about Arithmetic now," said Ben. "She did very well on her exam and there are still several months before school starts. You can do some review with her two weeks before school begins again. Mrs. Long is correct. Catherine needs time to relax and recover from a very stressful month. Now Cat, are you and Silver Chief ready to take our little walk?"

"Yes I am. I'll put Chief inside my shirt when we get to the door."

"I need to stretch my legs also," said Dr. Stevens. "Ben, would you mind if I accompanied you and Catherine on your walk?"

"No, not at all. You are more than welcome to join us."

They walked to the front of the car and Cat picked Silver Chief up when they reached the door. The puppy didn't want to go inside her shirt, so she said, "You have to go inside my shirt so we can go between cars. I can't hold you and hold Dr. Johnson and Uncle Ben's hands too. I'll put you down when we're inside the other car, but you're going to have to go back inside my shirt every time we go between cars. If you don't, you'll have to stay with Adam. You don't want to stay with Adam, do you?" The puppy quit wiggling and let Cat put him inside her shirt.

Dr. Johnson shook his head in amazement. "Now I've seen everything. That girl is amazing. Her puppy understood every word she said."

"Yes, Catherine is very good with animals. We got a taste of her abilities in St. Louis." Ben went on to tell the doctor about Cat running up to her rearing horse in the train stock car.

They walked forward through all of the cars until they reached the car where all of the wood was kept. Then they walked back to their car and instead of stopping at their seats, they continued into the stock car and the caboose. The conductor told them that they would be making one more long stop before nightfall and Cat would be allowed to run around outside the train again.

Cat and Silver Chief enjoyed being able to run around outside the train again. The conductor took her back up to the engine and helped her into it. "I wish I was big enough to drive the train, she said wishfully.

"Maybe you will be in a few years," replied the engineer.

"How would you like to help me put wood in the fire?" asked the fireman.

"Yes please. I'd love to do that."

He pointed to a stack of wood behind him and said, "The fire is too hot to let you put the wood directly in it, but you can hand it to me and I'll put it in." Cat handed him the wood and he put it in the fire. Once the pile of wood was gone, the engineer let her blow the whistle again and the conductor took her back to her seat.

Once Cat was back with Ben and Adam, she told them all about her adventure in the engine. "The engineer even says that I might be big enough to drive the train in a few years. I hope I am because it sure sounds like fun." Adam rolled his eyes and wondered what she was going to want to do next. After supper, Cat and Ben read another chapter in their book. Then he took her up to the next car while Adam took Silver Chief to the stock car. Once Cat was asleep, Ben, Adam and Dr. Johnson again joined the Longs.

"Ben, I'm a little surprised that you don't insist on Catherine calling you Pa," said Reverend Long. "I keep hearing her refer to you as Uncle Ben but never Pa."

"The time is not right for that," said Dr. Johnson. "Ben has been Catherine's uncle all of her life and just recently adopted her. He is doing the right thing in giving her time to adjust to having a Pa and brothers. When did you say you adopted her Ben?"

"The adoption was effective as of her ninth birthday, which was a little more than a month ago. Finding and losing her mother in the same week was devastating for her and I'm certain that once she settles in on the Ponderosa, she will start calling me Pa. It may not be next week or even next month, but it will happen. Don't forget, except for friends' parents who came to think of her as their own, she hasn't had a mother or father since she was very young. Right now, my main concern is getting her settled in and letting her learn what being part of a family is all about. Since I expect everyone on the ranch to work, Catherine already knows that she's going to have some chores to do."

"I hope you're not going to give her too much work," said Dr. Johnson. "She's not ready for that yet."

"No, she won't have much work at all. She'll be responsible for caring for her horse and colt, gathering eggs and filling the wood box in the kitchen twice a day. As she grows up, she'll have more responsibilities, but those things, along with her schoolwork are enough for now. Dr. Johnson, you never told us where you were going."

"Oh, I didn't. I'm sorry, I thought I did. Like you, I am also going to Virginia City. Your doctor there, Paul Martin is an old friend who has been begging me to come and visit for a long time now. My practice is safely in the hands of a young man who graduated from medical school two years ago. He has been doing his apprenticeship with me and is an excellent doctor. I want to talk to Paul about my youngest son. Paul is Kelly's Godfather and encouraged him to attend medical school. He'll be graduating next year and I want to ask Paul if he'll be willing to take his Godson under his wing."

"I'm sure he will. Paul is an excellent doctor, so I'm sure he'll be more than happy to share his knowledge with a new, young doctor."

Before the conversation could continue, Cat started having a nightmare and Ben went to sit with her. He held her hand and talked softly to her, reassuring her that she was safe and all was well. Silver Chief licked her face, causing her to wake up. "Quit Chief. That tickles. Why are you holding my pillow in your lap Uncle Ben?"

"You had a nightmare, so I came to sit with you until it passed."

"Oh ok. Thank you. I need to use the outhouse."

"Ok Sweetheart, I'll take you to the next car. Adam, will you please take Silver Chief to the stock car so he can do his business?" When they returned, Ben noticed that Cat was still upset from her bad dream so he asked, "Do you know what happens to little girls who have bad dreams on trains?"

"No, what?"

"The same thing that happens when they catch more fish than their Pa. They get tickled." Ben tickled Cat until she started giggling. Then he hugged her tightly, kissed her on the forehead, told her he loved her and tucked her and Silver Chief in. He sat with her until she fell back to sleep. Once he was certain that Cat was asleep, he rejoined Adam, the Longs and Dr. Johnson. They talked for a while longer and then decided to get some sleep.

Cat was hungry when she woke up the next morning. Ben gave her some of the food out of the picnic baskets that had been packed for them. "Just eat a little bit Cat. We'll be in Denver in about an hour and a half. Since we'll be there for two hours, we'll find a restaurant and get a hot breakfast. Then we can explore a little bit. Denver is a lot larger than Santa Fe, so we're not going to be able to explore too much, but at least we will be able to explore a little bit."

When they reached Denver, Ben invited the Longs and Dr. Johnson to join them for breakfast. After breakfast, the small party explored some of the shops near the train depot. They stopped in a toy store and Cat's eyes grew as big as saucers when she saw all of the toys. Adam watched carefully to see which ones caught her eye. After leaving the toy store, they stopped in a bookstore. Once again, Cat was amazed as she had never seen that many books in one place before. Ben told her to pick out as many as she wanted and if there were too many to carry; he would have them shipped to the Ponderosa. With everyone's help, she picked out eighteen books. Ben told her to pick two of them to take with them and the rest would be shipped. Cat looked at him and said, "After I read all of these, can we please come back and get more? I want to take all of the books in here with me."

Ben laughed and hugged his daughter. "Don't worry little one. When you finish reading all of the books we just bought, we'll get more for you. Maybe we can even get Jarrod to buy some for you when he goes to San Francisco. However, I am making a rule right here and now. No reading your books when you're supposed to be doing your chores or schoolwork, especially Arithmetic. Miss Jackson told us how much you love to read and how she has found you reading instead of concentrating on Grammar and Arithmetic." Cat scrunched up her nose and made a funny face causing everyone around her to laugh.

The Longs and Dr. Johnson were greatly impressed by the fact that the only things Cat asked Ben to buy for her were books and told Ben as much. They also told him that they couldn't recall the last time they met a child who was as well behaved in public as Cat.

After they left the bookstore, Adam returned to the toy store while the rest of the group explored more of the shops. Among other things, he bought a yo-yo, marbles, and a set of dolls for the doll house he and his brothers had helped make for Cat when she was still an infant. After paying for his items and arranging for them to be shipped to the Ponderosa, he rejoined the group. Ben gave him a questioning look but he just mouthed the word, "later" and pointed at Cat. As they explored the different shops, the Longs and Dr. Johnson also bought some things for Cat. They seemed to enjoy having a young child to spoil a bit. They all agreed that some of the items they would be given to her once she settled in and the rest would be saved for Christmas. The one gift she would be given when they reached the ranch was a beautiful comb and brush set made from cherry wood that Mrs. Long suggested Ben buy for Cat.

Before long, it was time for the group to go back to the train depot. Since the train wasn't there yet, Ben allowed Cat to ride Ginger around the corral. She wanted to ride out on the other side of the train tracks but Ben said no because the train was due soon. It pulled into the station ten minutes after the group returned from their walk. While Ben, Adam, and Reverend Long took care of the luggage and horses, Mrs. Long and Dr. Johnson walked with Cat to find seats in the last passenger car. With permission from Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Long, Cat decided to play a trick on Ben and Adam and along with Silver Chief, hid under her seat. Ben and Adam spotted her right away but pretended not to. "Where is Catherine?" asked Ben. "I thought she was with you."

"She was," said Dr. Johnson, "but she wanted to explore Denver more and said that she'll take the train to Carson City when she's done exploring in a few days."

"Good," said Adam. "That means more chocolate cake for me. It also means I'll still only have two younger brothers to drive me crazy instead of a little sister and two younger brothers. Hoss is grown now and Joe is nineteen, so he's not as bad as he used to be. I guess Joe, Hoss, and I will have to play cards to see who gets Fury."

"Hold on a minute son. You're forgetting one important thing. As your father, I will decide who gets Fury and I may decide on me. Let's go and make sure the horses are settled before the train leaves the station." Once they entered the stock car, Cat and Silver Chief came out from under their seat. She stood on the seat, took her bag down from the luggage rack, removed a book, and put it back up. Then she sat in her seat acting like she had been there the entire time.

Reverend Long was about to scold Cat when his wife said, "No, David. Don't scold her. Catherine asked us if she could play a trick on her father and brother. Dr. Johnson and I gave her permission."

Reverend Long turned around and said, "It looks like there will never be a dull moment on the Ponderosa as long as you are there. I think Adam may be right. You are going to drive him crazy."

"I hope so. It will be lots of fun doing that. Little Joe says he has lots of fun making Adam crazy and will teach me more ways of doing it."

The minister turned back to his wife and said, "You are correct my dear. Ben is definitely going to have his hands full with that little girl."

Ben and Adam returned to their seats and saw Cat sitting in her seat reading to Silver Chief. "Where were you Cat?" asked Ben. "We didn't see you here when we boarded the train."

"I was right here. Maybe you were in the wrong car. I'm trying to teach Chief to read and we've already read half a chapter of Robin Hood."

Adam reached over, pulled Cat to him and started tickling her. "You are a little stinker. I think that Little Joe started teaching you some of his tricks before you left for Arizona. It's a good thing those Tanner boys don't live near Virginia City. I have a feeling that between you and Joe, I'm going to be crazy before the summer is over. If those boys lived near us, I'd be crazy within a week of getting you home. Now, you cannot teach that puppy to read any more than you can teach your colt to fly."

"I can so teach Silver Chief to read. Just you watch and see." She went back to her own seat, picked up the book and pointed to a word. "What does that say Chief?"

"Woof," said the puppy, causing everyone near them to break out in laughter.

"I guess she showed you Adam," laughed Dr. Johnson. "I think that when Cat makes up her mind to do something, she will be able to move mountains."

Adam sighed. "We're still more than a day away from home and she's already driving me crazy Pa. Can't we just put her on a train back to Dodge? Matt can bring her out later. I'd like to still be sane when we reach the ranch."

"No son," laughed Ben. Hop Sing would never forgive us if we did that. Do you want to lose the best cook in the territory just because your sister and brother are going to drive you crazy? That's their job. Just like it was your job to drive me crazy when you were a boy. Believe me. There will come a time when you'll miss Cat doing that to you. Besides that, just think of what Hoss will do to you if Hop Sing quits because we didn't bring Cat home with us."

"Little Joe told me it's fun to make you crazy Adam," said Cat. "He said he's going to teach me more ways to do it when we get to the Ponderosa."

"Well," said Adam. "I'm just going to have to do something about that right now. Do you know what happens to little sisters who try to make their oldest brother crazy? They get tickled and that's what I'm going to do to you right now." He stood up, picked Cat up, sat down again and tickled her for a few minutes.

When he finished, Ben said, "Now that you've tickled your sister twice in the last hour, take her to the next car before she has an accident in her pants. I'll take Silver Chief into the stock car just in case he needs to do his business."

Their last day on the train passed slowly for Cat. She tried amusing herself by watching the scenery, reading and playing with Silver Chief. The train made one long stop and she was allowed to run around outside with her puppy for a little while. Once she fell asleep that night, Ben and Adam joined the Longs and Dr. Johnson for conversation. "Adam, I am curious, where did you go when we left the bookstore?" asked Ben.

"I went back to the toy store and bought some toys for Cat. I looked through her things in Matt's office and she has no toys to play with. I'll give her some of them when we get home and probably save the rest for Christmas."

"That was nice of you Adam," said Mrs. Long. "What did you get her?"

"Among other things, I got her some marbles, a ball and cup game, a hoop and stick, a yo-yo, tiddlywinks, dominoes, pick up sticks, jacks, and dolls for the doll house Hoss, Joe, and I helped her father make shortly after she was born. We still need to get her a sled for the winter. She kept busy in Dodge by helping the blacksmith, taking telegrams out to farms and ranches outside the city and fishing. The Ponderosa is too far from town for her to do things like help the blacksmith and she's going to need things to keep her busy on days when the weather is too bad to play outside or ride to a friend's house."

"You made her a doll house right after she was born?"

"Yes. Her father had big plans to make a lot of things for her. Unfortunately, he only got to make her a doll house, doll carriage, large blocks with the alphabet and numbers on them, and a rocking horse. He had planned to build a large play house in the yard, hang a swing from the oak tree, and a lot of other things I can't remember right now. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. His friends talked him into going back in the Army and he left home, never to see his wife and daughter again. You have no idea how much my brothers and I hate them for what they did to Cat. Right now, she loves them but she'll hate them too once she's old enough to be told the truth. And I fully intend to tell her the truth as soon as she's old enough."

"Adam," said Ben quietly. "I know how you and your brothers feel about them, but Cat is sleeping right behind us and could wake up at any time. She's been through too much in the last month and a half and doesn't need to have her life upset any more than it has been right now. When she is old enough, the family will sit down with her and explain why her father rejoined the Army. Matt and Rip need to be part of that conversation too. Don't forget, Michael was their brother. Right now, our main priority is to get Cat settled in on the Ponderosa."

"Hate is a very strong word Adam," said Reverend Long. "If you allow it to, it will consume you. For your sister's sake, I beg you not to let it. When you get the opportunity, please go off by yourself to a quiet place and ask God to temper your feelings before the hatred consumes you. There will be times in the coming years when Catherine will need to lean on you. She will not be able to do that if you allow the hatred to rule your life." Adam promised to give some thought to what Reverend Long told him and the subject was dropped.

A little while later, Cat started stirring and Adam decided to sit with her, hoping she would not have another nightmare. She did have a nightmare and when she woke up, she was surprised to find her pillow in Adam's lap instead of Ben's. "Why is my pillow in your lap Adam?"

"You had another nightmare and Pa decided you were too heavy, so I sat with you instead."

"Oh. No he didn't, did he? I need to use the outhouse."

"No, he didn't really say that. I just wanted to sit with you for a while. Come on, I'll take you up to the next car." Then he picked Silver Chief up and said, "I'll take care of you after I bring her back." After Adam brought the puppy back from the stock car, he put him next to Cat and covered them up.

"Adam, when are we going to be in Carson City?"

"It's almost midnight, so we'll be there in about eight hours. Go on back to sleep. We'll be in Carson City shortly after you wake up in the morning. We'll have more than enough time to eat a good breakfast and let you explore a little bit."

"I'm hungry. Can I please have something to eat?"

"Sure. I'll get something out for you." Adam pulled one of the picnic baskets out from under the seat and gave Cat a piece of fried chicken."

"That was good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, go back to sleep. It will make the time go faster."

The train arrived in Carson City on time. After breakfast, Ben took Cat to the telegraph office so she could send telegrams to her brothers and Roy. Once the telegrams had been sent, the group set out so Cat could explore the city. The stage left Carson City at eleven and arrived in Virginia City at one. Roy met the stage along with Hoss and Joe. To Cat, Adam and Ben's surprise, Hoss and Joe had brought Hop Sing with them. Hoss helped Cat off the stage and hugged her tightly. "Hey big brother," said Joe. "Save some of her for the rest of us to hug. We missed her too." Hoss handed Cat to Joe who hugged her and handed her to Roy. After Roy finished hugging her, he set her down.

Cat ran up to Hop Sing who also hugged her tightly. "Missy Cat come home at last. Hop Sing make big suppel to celeblate. Sheliff Roy come to supple too. Hop Sing make big chocolate cake for Missy Cat." After everyone had greeted Cat, Ben introduced the Longs and Dr. Johnson to his sons, Hop Sing and Roy.

Cat picked Silver Chief up and introduced him to her brothers, Hop Sing and Roy who thought he was cute. After handing the puppy back to Cat, Hoss and Joe pretended to argue over him, each saying that he was going to sleep in their bed. Cat laughed and said, "He's not going to sleep with either of you. He is going to sleep in Adam's bed with Fury and Adam can sleep on the floor, or in the barn or the bunkhouse." Hoss and Joe laughed loud and long at the thought of their older brother giving up his bed for a puppy and colt.

"Hoss, Joe, why don't you boys put the Long's things on the wagon along with ours?" Ben asked. "We can take them by the parsonage on our way home. Cat can show you which things are ours. Roy and I will walk Dr. Johnson over to Paul's house."

"Dr. Paul and Dr. Johnson, and Longs come to supple too. Hop Sing make really big supple to celeblate Missy Cat come home."

"We had hoped to unpack tonight," said Reverend Long.

"Unpack tomollow! Eat supple at Pondelosa tonight!" said Hop Sing. "I go to stole and buy supplies for supple."

"One thing you're going to learn is that Hop Sing doesn't take no for an answer," Roy told the Longs. "Supper is usually served around six, so you'll have time to freshen up and do some unpacking. I'll go to the livery stable and bring the buggy to you around five. Paul Martin has his own buggy, so he and Dr. Johnson may drive out with us or they may meet us at the Ponderosa."

"Cat, why don't you go with your brothers and show them which of the luggage is ours?" asked Ben.

"Can't Adam show Hoss and Little Joe which luggage to get? I want to go and say hi to Dr. Paul."

"Of course Adam can show them Sweetheart," said Roy. "My favorite Cartwright can do anything she wants to. Adam, go, show your brothers what luggage to get. I'm taking your sister with me to take Dr. Johnson to Paul Martin's office."

The Longs and Dr. Johnson were amazed at Roy's words. They couldn't believe that the town sheriff would go against a parent's instructions. Ben laughed at their expressions. "Roy believes that Catherine isn't spoiled enough and it's his job to remedy that situation. He thinks she should be able to do anything she wants to as long as it isn't against the law. I can't wait to see what he says if she tells him she doesn't want to go to school."

"I haven't completely made up my mind about that Ben, but I'm leaning toward making her go to school. After all, I've heard her say several times that she intends to take President Grant's job when she turns ten. I know that you need to know a lot of Arithmetic to be president and I'm quite sure that eight year olds don't know enough to be president."

"I'm nine now Sheriff Roy!"

"You can call me Uncle Roy. When did you turn nine? I am positive that we just celebrated your eighth birthday last month before you went to Arizona with your uncle and Godparents. She did just turn eight, didn't she Ben?" he teased.

"I'm not sure anymore Roy. I could have sworn that Joseph was just starting school last year and look at him now."

"You know I'm nine. Hop Sing put nine candles on my birthday cake!"

"Are you sure that Hop Sing didn't make a mistake?" teased Roy.

Cat was starting to get upset. "I am nine! Just ask Little Joe!" She turned to her brother and asked, "Aren't I nine Little Joe?"

"Joe picked his sister up, hugged her and whispered, "Roy is teasing you." Then he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Of course you're nine. I just turned nineteen and you were born on my tenth birthday. Your mamma gave you to me as a birthday present and I intend to keep you."

"Alright, said Ben. "We need to get the Longs over to the parsonage and Dr. Johnson over to Paul Martin's office. Cat, you may come with us to take Dr. Johnson to see Dr. Paul. Adam, please show your brothers which luggage is ours. Hoss, Joe, don't forget to put the Long's luggage onto our wagon also."

Hop Sing went to the store to buy supplies for supper, Adam, Hoss, Joe, and the Longs went to get the luggage, while Ben, Roy and Cat took Dr. Johnson to Paul Martin's office. Paul greeted his old friend warmly and hugged Cat. "While we're here Paul, would you mind checking Cat over? I'm worried about her. She's always hungry but she's as light as a feather. Doctor Adams said she's fine, but I'm not so sure."

Both doctors laughed. "Ben, I seem to remember you saying the same thing about Little Joe when he was nine. Hop up on my scale Cat and let's show your Pa that you're just right for an active nine year old." After Cat got off the scale, he said, "Step over here and let's see how tall you are." After weighing and measuring Cat, Paul said, "Galen is right Ben. There's nothing wrong with her. Cat is a normal, active nine year old child. Take her home and let her eat as much of Hop Sing's cooking as she wants."

"That reminds me," said Ben. "Hop Sing is planning a large supper in honor of Cat's homecoming. He expects you and Dr. Johnson to be there, and you know he doesn't take no for an answer."

Paul laughed. "You are in for a real treat tonight George. Hop Sing is the best cook in the territory. Of course we'll be there Ben. You don't have to ask me twice. I never turn down an invitation to supper at the Ponderosa. I'll be there with bells on. What is Hop Sing planning for dessert?"

"Chocolate cake," answered Cat. "My favorite."

"I know that you little scamp," laughed Paul. "If you had your way, you would have chocolate cake for breakfast, dinner, and supper."

"That would be yummy."

"Alright Ben, take this child home and spoil her rotten. We'll see you at six."

After taking the Longs to the parsonage, the Cartwrights headed home. When they reached the house, Cat wanted to run right out to the pasture where Fury and Lady were and hug her colt. Ben knew what she was planning and said, "Take these two bags up to your bedroom first Cat. Then you can go and see Fury. Your brothers will show you where your new bedroom is."

Cat carried the two bags Ben handed her, Hoss carried her trunk, Adam carried his bag and one of Cat's while Joe carried the rest of her things. Joe went up the stairs first with Cat right behind him. He set one of the bags down, opened the bedroom door and let Cat go in first. "I hope you like it Cat," he said.

Cat walked into her new bedroom and looked around. It was larger than the one she had been using and as Adam had said, it had two windows, one of which had a large tree outside it. She dropped her bags on the bed, turned around and hugged Joe. "I love it and you even painted it green. Thank you for giving it to me."

"You're welcome little sister, but it wasn't just me. Hoss had to help me convince Adam to give it to you. It was Pa's idea to paint it green to match your eyes."

"Adam didn't want to give it up," said Hoss, "But Joe and I convinced him it was the right thing to do. It also helped when Pa agreed with us. Now you take today and look it over and decide how you want it arranged. Then tomorrow, Adam, Joe, and I will move everything around to where you want it. Right now, I think that there's a little black colt out in a pasture that needs to be introduced to a certain puppy. I know he's been missing you, so why don't you take your puppy and go see your colt?"

Cat didn't wait to be told twice. She picked up Silver Chief and started running down the hall toward the stairs. "Cat, no running in the house," said everyone together. Cat slowed down and walked until she reached the bottom of the stairs. Then she ran out the door, set Silver Chief on the ground and ran to the pasture to see her colt.

All concerns that Fury had forgotten her were gone as soon as she entered the pasture. He whinnied and ran up to her, happy that his little girl had returned. Cat hugged and kissed him. Then she picked Silver Chief up and introduced him to Fury. "Fury, this is Silver Chief. Silver Chief, this is Fury. The two of you are going to be friends." The colt and puppy sniffed each other and then Silver Chief licked Fury. The three of them ran around the pasture until Ben called Cat in to eat a little bit of dinner.


	32. Chapter 32

Roy arrived at the parsonage with the church buggy at five. Mrs. Long asked about Hop Sing. "He has been with Ben ever since he built the Ponderosa and Ben considers him to be a friend and part of the family. He helped take care of Adam and Hoss when they were still young boys. When Joe's mother was killed in a riding accident, Hop Sing was there to help take care of all three boys while Ben grieved. When Cat's mother went into labor at Joe's tenth birthday party, Hop Sing took care of her until the doctor arrived. He nursed me back to health when I showed up at the door soaking wet and sick with fever last year. He loves Cat as though she were his own daughter. And, as you will learn tonight, Hop Sing is the best cook in the territory and probably in the state of Nevada. Nobody says no when they are invited to supper at the Ponderosa and nobody who turns up unexpectedly is ever turned away."

When they arrived at the Ponderosa, both doctors were already there. Since supper wasn't ready yet, everyone sat in the living room talking. Roy looked at Cat and asked, "When is my favorite Cartwright going to come, visit me in town?"

"Maybe tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow Cat," said Ben. "Tomorrow your brothers are going to be busy arranging your bedroom."

"Oh that's right. I got a new bedroom Uncle Roy. Do you want to see it?"

"Of course I do and I'll bet that Dr. Johnson, Dr. Paul and the Longs would want to see it too."

"Sure. You can come and see it if you want to. Maybe you can help me figure out where I want everything."

Cat started to run up the stairs when all of the adults said, "Cat, no running in the house."

"You just got home today," said Paul. "I don't want to have you as a patient for a long time. Do your uncles in Arizona and Dodge allow you to run indoors?"

"No sir."

"Well then, don't do it here. It isn't safe and nobody wants to see you get hurt. Ben, I don't know how you're going to slow her down and I wish you luck doing it."

"Matt and I both thought about hobbles," replied Ben. "But knowing Cat, she'd still figure out how to run indoors."

Cat walked up the stairs followed by the guests. She opened the door to her new bedroom and everyone entered. "This is very nice," said Reverend Long.

"I love how you have two windows to look out of," said Dr. Johnson.

"They even painted it green to match your pretty eyes," said Roy. "I should get them to come and fix up my office too."

"I agree Roy," said Paul. "After they finish your office, they can come and do mine."

"I think I'll let your Pa and brothers come and decorate the parsonage too," said Mrs. Long.

"I need to figure out how I want it, but I can't figure out how to put the bed so I can look out of both windows while I'm in bed."

Everyone looked at the room and Roy said, "I'm sorry Kitten. We've looked at this bedroom from every possible angle and the only way you'll be able to look out both windows from your bed is if you block the door with it."

"Oh pooh. I really wanted to look out both windows from my bed."

"I know you did Sweetheart, but you need to figure out which window you want to look out of from the bed."

"I can't make up my mind. Which one do you like?"

"It's your decision," said Mrs. Long. "But I like the view of the mountains. You'll be able to see the sunrise every morning."

"I agree with Mrs. Long," said Dr. Johnson. "The view of the mountains is pretty but it's your bedroom, so you have to arrange it the way you like it."

Roy hugged her and said, "I can't wait to see what you decide. I'll ride out in a few days and you can show me what you decided to do. Right now, I think we had better go back downstairs. I know how upset Hop Sing gets when anybody is late for supper and I don't want him angry at me. He might only give me a small piece of chocolate cake if I'm late."

Cat giggled. "Good. That means I'll get more."

"You little scamp. Just for that, I'm going to hide your chair. Then you'll be late for supper and I'll get your piece of chocolate cake."

"If you two don't hurry up and go downstairs, I'm going to eat both of your pieces of chocolate cake as well as my own," said Paul.

Roy and Cat looked at each other and laughed as they walked downstairs. Paul looked at the Longs and his friend and said, "That is completely normal for the three of us, especially Roy and Cat. If one of them doesn't tease the other about getting their piece of chocolate cake, the other thinks the one is sick. Well, we had better go downstairs or Paul and Cat will have more than their share of chocolate cake and just like them, I absolutely love Hop Sing's chocolate cake."

They went downstairs and joined the family and Roy at the table. Hop Sing had made all of Cat's favorite foods and everyone feasted on steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, spinach, and biscuits. Unseen by Cat, he had carried Silver Chief into the kitchen and filled his bowl with food. Cat filled her plate and ate everything on it, including a second helping of potatoes with gravy, corn, and another biscuit. When dessert was served, Hop Sing gave her a very large piece of chocolate cake. "Cat, you ate an awful lot for supper. Are you going to be able to eat all of that cake?" asked Ben.

"I am never too full to eat chocolate cake. I would eat it for breakfast, dinner and supper if I could."

"It's a good thing you can't," said Paul. "If you did, you would be spending a lot of time in my office with belly aches."

"No I wouldn't. I love chocolate cake and chocolate cake loves me." Everyone burst out laughing at Cat's last statement.

After giving everyone a piece of cake, Hop Sing brought a fresh pot of coffee and more milk for Cat to the table Mrs. Long said, "Hop Sing, that supper was wonderful. Thank you for inviting us. Sheriff Coffee was correct. You are an excellent cook. You simply must give me your recipes for the biscuits and chocolate cake."

"Thank you Missy Long. Hop Sing happy to show you how to make biscuits and chocolate cake. Come to Pondelosa any time and I show you."

Once they had finished their cake, the adults took their coffee, Cat took her milk and everyone went into the living room to talk. Adam asked Cat to go up to his bedroom and bring his guitar downstairs. She started for the stairs, turned around and asked, "Which one is yours now?"

Adam laughed and said, "I traded bedrooms with you. My bedroom is the one you used to have."

Reverend Long said, "Ben, that was very nice of you to give that large bedroom to Catherine."

"It wasn't my idea. That is the room Catherine was born in and Joseph thought that she should have it now that she's going to be living here. Adam didn't want to give it up and it took a lot of persuasion from his brothers as well as some from me to get him to give it to Catherine."

Cat came back downstairs and handed the guitar to Adam. He played for a while until Cat started yawning. The guests said goodnight, Roy hugged Cat and everyone left for town. "Cat, you need to take your puppy outside one last time tonight and you need to use the outhouse too. Then it's time for bed. You've had a very long day and need a good night's sleep. Since I'm not sure exactly where your night clothes are, I'll ask Joe to give you one of his shirts to sleep in for tonight."

"I forgot to feed Silver Chief," she said.

"Hop Sing fed him"

When she came back inside, Cat went into the kitchen to say goodnight to Hop Sing and thank him for feeding her puppy. "Hop Sing vely happy Missy Cat back home," he said as he hugged her goodnight. "You get good night sleep and I fix pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast in molning."

Cat walked upstairs to her new bedroom and found her father and brothers waiting to say goodnight to her. Joe had one of his shirts for her to sleep in. Once she had changed clothes, her brothers hugged her goodnight. She got into bed and Ben put Silver Chief next to her. Even though she was very tired, she couldn't resist teasing Adam one more time. "Enjoy sleeping in your bed tonight Adam because tomorrow night, Fury and Silver Chief will be sleeping in it."

"That's alright," he replied. "I'll just sleep in your bed and find an old train seat for you to sleep on."

"Alright you two," laughed Ben. "That's enough for now. Catherine has had a very long day and needs to go to sleep." He hugged and kissed Cat goodnight, told her he loved her, tucked her and Silver Chief in, blew out the lamp, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The family was getting ready to sit down to breakfast when Cat came downstairs, still yawning and rubbing her eyes. She didn't even see her father and brothers waiting for her at the table and just walked out the front door. After using the outhouse, she walked over to the pump, got a drink and splashed water on her face. "That's a little better Chief. This is one day when I wish morning didn't come so early. I would have liked to stay in bed for a few more hours. Oh well, I'm hungry and I'm sure you are too. Let's go, get some breakfast."

Cat walked back in the house and headed for the kitchen with her puppy. "Good morning Hop Sing. I need to feed my puppy."

"Hop Sing feed puppy. Missy Cat go sit down at table. Bleakfast almost ready."

"But Hop Sing, Silver Chief is just a baby. He's hungry and I need to feed him."

"Missy Cat no wolly about puppy. Hop Sing feed puppy. Missy Cat go say good morning to fathel and blothers. Hop Sing bring bleakfast in few minutes. Missy Cat no argue with Hop Sing. Go to table."

"Good morning Sweetheart," said Ben, giving Cat a hug as she walked up to the table. "I hope you slept well."

"Yes I did."

A few minutes later, Hop Sing walked up to the table and set a large platter of pancakes down on it. Then he went back into the kitchen and returned with a plate of bacon. "Where's Silver Chief's food Hop Sing?" asked Cat. "He can't eat pancakes and bacon. He needs meat."

"Puppy no eat by table. Puppy eat in kitchen."

Cat got upset upset. "No! Silver Chief always eats with me. He never eats in anybody's kitchen. Even when I was with Uncle Lucas or visiting the Tanners, or Julie and her Ma, he ate with me, not in the kitchen. If he can't eat with me then I'm not going to eat here either! Come on Chief. We'll go hunting and get some food for both of us. Then we'll figure out how to go back to Uncle Matt in Dodge."

Ben sighed. The last thing he wanted first thing in the morning was to have his daughter upset, especially on her first morning in her new home. "It's ok Hop Sing. The puppy can eat out here near Catherine. We're all going to have to make some adjustments to the way we do things."

Joe put his arm around her and hugged her to him. "It's alright Cat. Hop Sing is going to bring Silver Chief's food out here. Later on, you, Pa, and I will figure out how things are going to work. Right now, you need to eat breakfast. You won't be able to do anything if you're hungry."

"Ok Joe. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now how many pancakes and eggs and how much bacon do you want?"

Cat took four pancakes, two large spoonfuls of scrambled eggs, and four slices of bacon. Hop Sing came back out and put Silver Chief's bowl on the floor near Cat. He looked at her plate and said, "Missy Cat eat plenty. That vely good. Missy Cat too skinny. Need to eat and get big like Hoss."

"I don't want to get big like Hoss, Hop Sing. I would have to ride an elephant instead of a horse if I got that big."

"Hop Sing no cale. Missy Cat too skinny. Need to eat more."

"You may as well quit trying to argue with him Cat," said Joe. "He's been trying to fatten me up ever since I was born."

"That light. Little Joe too skinny and need to eat more." On his way back to the kitchen, Hop Sing bent down, patted Silver Chief on the head and said, "Good puppy. Eat lots grow big and stlong. Take care of Missy Cat."

During breakfast, Ben said, "Boys, today your sister is queen for the day. Anything she wants to do, you will do with her, starting with arranging her bedroom the way she wants it. If she wants to go riding, you will go riding with her. If she wants to go fishing or swimming, you will go fishing or swimming with her. Adam, Joseph, I expect the pair of you to help move things around in her bedroom. Catherine, I want you to tell me if Adam and Joe help or if Hoss is the only one who does any work. Now, about your puppy and where he will eat…"

"I have an idea about that Pa," said Joe.

"Alright son, what is it?"

"Since Silver Chief is obviously used to eating with Cat, why not let him continue to eat near the table as long as it's just family, including Roy and Paul since they're practically family. Since not everybody likes having a dog near their dining table, when we have company, he can eat in the kitchen."

"Adam, Hoss, do either of you have any objections to your sister's puppy eating near the table?"

"No Pa," said both of them together.

"Well Catherine, what do you think of your brother's suggestion?"

"That's fine. Chief can eat in the kitchen when we have company and in here with me the rest of the time. He doesn't need to eat right by the table. He can eat over by that wall." She pointed to the wall farthest away from the table.

"Now I am going to need to tell Hop Sing what we've decided. I hope he won't be too upset over the puppy eating near the table. I have a few errands to do. When Cat decides what she wants to do today, please leave me a note before you leave and I will join you."

"Cat, Hoss, Joe, and I have some things we need to do right after breakfast," said Adam. Why don't we start working on your bedroom in about thirty minutes? That will give you time to spend with Fury and it will give us time to do some of the things we need to do."

"Ok Adam. I want to spend some time with Fury. He and Silver Chief need to get to know each other better since they're going to be friends."

She watched as Fury and Silver Chief got to know each other a little better. Twenty minutes later, Joe came out to the pasture and told Cat they were ready to help her arrange her bedroom. "Do you know where you want everything?" he asked as they were walking back to the house.

"I think so."

"I hope you do because we want to do something with you today besides moving furniture around in your room."

They walked upstairs and Cat saw that Adam and Hoss had moved her trunk, desk, chair, night tables and dressing table out into the hall. She gave them a funny look and Hoss said, "It will be easier for us to move your bed, chest of drawers and wardrobe if these things aren't in the room. Do you know where you want everything?"

"Oh ok. Yes I think I do."

"That's good. Where do you want the bed?"

"I want the bed so I can look out the window toward the mountains when I'm in bed. That way I can see the sun come up."

"Ok," said Adam. "What about the wardrobe and chest of drawers? We're going to have to move them so we can put your bed where you want it."

"They can go on that wall there," she replied pointing to the wall where she wanted the items.

It took about thirty minutes but Adam, Hoss and Joe moved the bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers to where Cat wanted them. "Alright," said Joe. "We've got the big things moved. Now, where do you want your desk?"

"I want that under the window that looks toward Lake Tahoe," replied Cat.

Fifteen minutes later, all of the furniture was back in the room and Cat's trunk was at the foot of her bed.

Adam opened the trunk and took out the pictures of Cat's parents and her father's hat, neckerchief and sword and laid them on the bed. Hoss and Joe looked at them and admired the sword. They were happy that Cat was their sister now, but sorry that she had lost her parents without ever getting to know them. "Where do you want to hang your parents' pictures and your father's hat, neckerchief, and sword?" asked Adam.

"That's the one thing I can't make up my mind about. What do you think?"

"How about if you put them on the wall between the windows?" asked Hoss and Joe together.

"That way you can see them from your bed and from your desk," added Joe.

"Ok. That's a good idea. We can put them there."

"I'll be back in a few minutes," said Adam. "I need to go and get a hammer and nails." He returned a few minutes later, pulled a nail out of his pocket and put it in the wall. Then he hung the large picture of Cat's parents on their wedding day on the nail. He hung the smaller pictures in a circle around it. After all of the pictures were hung, he said, "Cat, how about if we hang the sword above the pictures, the hat on the left side of them and the neckerchief on the right side? Then the hat and sword won't block the view of the pictures from your desk."

"That's fine. Thank you Adam."

"You're welcome little sister. I'll be done here in just a few minutes. What do you want to do next?"

"I thought we could ride out to Lake Tahoe and go fishing and swimming."

"That sounds like fun," said Joe. "I haven't been swimming in quite a while."

"Me neither," said Hoss.

Cat started looking through her things and said, "I don't know where my swimming clothes are and I don't want to empty the whole trunk now."

"I've got an idea," said Joe. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later carrying a pair of old pants and an old shirt. "These pants are too small for me. I know that they'll be too big for you, but Hop Sing can cut them off at the knees I'll cut a piece of rope for you to use as a belt. That way you can wear them and they won't fall off. This shirt is too small for me, so we can ask Hop Sing to cut the arms short. Then you'll have swimming clothes to use."

"Thank you Joe," Cat said as she hugged her brother.

"You're welcome Cat. Now, put them on and we'll ask Hop Sing to fix them for you."

A few minutes later, Cat and Joe walked into the kitchen. Hop Sing started laughing when he saw Cat wearing Joe's old clothes. "Missy Cat look funny in Little Joe's clothes. They too big for her."

Cat laughed too. "Yes I know Hop Sing. Can you please fix them so I can wear them swimming? I don't know where my swimming clothes are and Joe gave me these to wear."

"You stand on chail and Hop Sing malk pants to cut off. Then he malk shirt." Joe picked Cat up and put her on a chair. Hop Sing marked the pants and shirt sleeves with a piece of chalk.

Once the pants, shirt and belt had been marked, Joe handed Cat's clothes to her and told her to go into the small bedroom off the kitchen and change. Then Hop Sing took the pants and shirt to alter them.

As soon as Hop Sing finished altering the clothes for Cat, Adam handed her the saddle bag Tom and David had given her so she could put the clothes in one side and Silver Chief in the other. Then they all walked out to the barn to saddle their horses and get their fishing poles. Adam put a note for Ben on the armoire near the door and Hop Sing handed him a basket full of food. The four siblings mounted their horses and rode off toward Lake Tahoe for a day of fishing and swimming.

While his sons were arranging their sister's bedroom, Ben rode to the Ingalls' farm. He knocked on the door and Caroline opened it and said, "Mr. Cartwright, how nice to see you again. Please come in and have some coffee."

"Thank you Caroline. I hope that Charles is also at home because I need to talk to the two of you."

"Yes, Charles is home. Do come in and sit down."

Ben walked into the house and sat down. Caroline brought him a cup of coffee and he said, "Thank you Caroline. I am here for two reasons. Adam and I arrived home with Catherine yesterday and I would like to invite your family over for supper tomorrow."

"That is very kind of you Ben," said Charles. "We gladly accept. I know that the girls will be happy to see Catherine again."

"Good, I'm glad. Catherine will be glad to see Mary and Laura again. That brings me to the other reason for my visit this morning. Will you please tell me what you know about the school teacher? While we were in Dodge, Catherine told me some things about the teacher that she said your girls told her. I know that your girls are not prone to exaggeration; however, I believe that Catherine might be. I want to talk to you before going to see the teacher."

"I haven't met Miss Smith," said Caroline. "However, I can tell you that she is not a very good teacher. Mary loves school but ever since Miss Smith took over, she has not wanted to attend."

"This is what my girls have told me," said Charles. "Miss Smith has said that only about four or five of the children are worth teaching and that the rest are too stupid to learn anything. According to Mary, she doesn't explain anything to the children, expects them to do the assignments correctly and punishes them if they don't. She spends the day teaching her favorites and the rest of the children are left to struggle. Both girls have told me that she will not let the little ones use the outhouse except during recess and dinner, but she will punish them if they cannot hold it and have an accident. I am glad she was only at the school for the last two months of the term and sincerely hope that she will not be there for the next term. If she is, I will probably have Caroline teach the girls here at home."

"Thank you for telling all of that to me. Did you express your concerns to any of the school board members?"

"Yes I did, and so have most of the other parents. However, since Miss Smith was Reverend Jonas' niece, nothing was done."

"Well, Reverend Jonas is gone. The new minister, Reverend Long and his wife were on the train when we boarded it in Dodge. As you know, I was elected to the school board shortly before leaving to escort Catherine from her uncle's in New Mexico to Dodge. I want to spend the rest of today with Catherine and her brothers, but tomorrow I will go to town and speak with Miss Smith. Then I will be requesting a school board meeting to see about replacing her. If the school board will not replace her, then I will have to ask Adam to teach his sister at home and I don't think either of them will be happy about that."

"I know that Adam is needed to help on the ranch, so if Miss Smith is not replaced, Catherine is more than welcome to come here," said Caroline. "I will teach her along with Laura and Mary. Before you say anything, it won't be any trouble at all. Catherine and Laura are in the same grade, so I will still only be preparing three lessons." At Ben's puzzles look, Caroline said, "Carrie will be five in August and she would be starting school in the autumn also. Besides that, even though Catherine and Adam love each other, it will be better if she is taught by someone other than her eldest brother. Having an older sibling teach a child full time can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings, so it will be best if I teach Catherine along with my own three daughters."

"Thank you both of you, especially you Caroline for offering to teach Catherine if it comes to that. Now, before I leave, I had better say hello to Laura and Mary. If I don't and they and Catherine find out I was here and didn't say hello, I may never hear the end of it."

"Now, on a different topic," said Caroline. "You have done an excellent job raising your sons; however girls are different than boys in many ways and present their own set of unique challenges. If you ever have a question about what to do or why Catherine does something, please don't hesitate to ask. Charles and I will both be more than happy to help you. Also, even though it's several years away, when it is time for me to explain to my girls the changes that will happen to their bodies as they approach womanhood, I will be more than happy to include Catherine in that discussion. With your permission, when we see her tomorrow, I will tell her that anytime she needs a mother's advice, she is more than welcome to come to me. Now, let me call the girls down so you can say hello to them and then go, spend time getting to know your daughter."

"Thank you for your kind offer. Yes, Catherine may come to you whenever she needs advice from a mother and I greatly appreciate your offer to include her when you talk to your own daughters about becoming women. I don't think I'd know what to say."

Charles laughed. "Don't feel bad Ben. Neither do I."

Laura and Mary came down from the loft and became very excited when they saw Ben. "Where is Cat? Why didn't she come with you?" asked Laura.

"We gave Catherine a new bedroom while she was gone and her brothers are helping her arrange it the way she wants it. Then her brothers will be spending the whole day doing whatever she wants to do. You will see her tomorrow because I have invited your whole family to supper. Also, if you girls can keep your Ma and Pa out of trouble between now and then, we'll have a picnic out by Lake Tahoe next Saturday if the weather holds. We'll go fishing and swimming and of course, Hop Sing will pack a lot of food for us. Now, do the two of you think you can keep your Ma and Pa out of trouble between now and next Saturday?"

The girls giggled and said, "Yes sir. We can do that."

"Good for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go and join my children in whatever they are doing. I will see all of you around four tomorrow afternoon. That way the girls will have time to play before supper."

When Ben arrived back at the ranch, he read the note from Adam, found his swimming clothes, and went into the kitchen to tell Hop Sing he had invited the Ingalls for supper the next day and the two families would be having a picnic in a week. He looked in the barn and saw that his fishing pole was gone, so he rode out to join his children at the lake.

Once they arrived at the lake, Cat and her brothers dug for worms and started fishing. After they had caught almost two stringers full of fish, they changed clothes and went swimming. Before going in the water, Adam pointed to a tree that had fallen into the lake. "Do you see that tree?" he said to Cat. "You are not to swim out past the end of that tree. This lake is wide and deep and I will not have you putting yourself in danger."

"I know how to swim Adam."

"It doesn't matter. This is not the pond you fish and swim in when you're in Dodge. It is a very large lake and you are not to swim out past the end of that tree. It is too dangerous. Listen to me Catherine. I can guarantee that you will not like the consequences if you disobey me on this. Pa will be joining us soon and he will be very upset if you disobey me."

"Adam's right Cat," said Joe. "Hoss and I don't even swim out past the end of that tree. Neither do Pa or Adam. It just isn't safe and we want you to be safe."

Cat decided to test Adam and started to swim out past the tree but Hoss caught her and made her swim back to shore. He pointed to a tree and said, "That was a real dumb thing to do Cat. Did you think we wouldn't be keeping an eye on you? Adam and Joe both told you it wasn't safe to go out past the tree but you decided to anyways. If we won't go out past the tree, what makes you think it's safe for you to do it? The next time you get caught doing something unsafe like that, you're going to have a hard time sitting down. Now, you can just sit against that tree for fifteen minutes and be glad Pa or Adam didn't catch you." Joe and Adam noticed that Cat wasn't in the water and went to ask Hoss what happened. "I caught her trying to swim out past the tree. Before you ask, no, I didn't put her over my knees this time, but I did tell her what would happen the next time one of us caught her. She can sit by that tree for another ten minutes and think about what I told her. I also told her to thank her lucky stars you or Pa didn't catch her Adam. I know what you would have done to her." When Cat's fifteen minutes were up and she went back in the water, her brothers made sure at least one of them was between her and the top of the tree.

Ben showed up just as they were getting ready to eat dinner. Hoss made Cat tell their father what she had done. He didn't scold her but he did remind her that the rule about how far she was allowed to swim out was for her safety and he reinforced Hoss' words about what would happen the next time. After dinner they all went fishing again and laughed as Silver Chief tried to catch a fish. He finally caught one and received a lot of praise from everyone as well as hugs and kisses from Cat. When they had caught more than enough fish for supper, they decided to go swimming again. Having been warned by Hoss and Ben what would happen if she tried to go out beyond the top of the tree again, Cat wisely decided not to try again just then. She spent some time in the shallow water, floating on her back with Silver Chief on her chest. "Did you see that Chief? I'm nine years old and they still act like I'm a baby. Making me sit under that tree for fifteen minutes and threatening to spank me just because I swam out farther than Adam said I could. That was wrong. I'll show them that I'm not a little kid. As soon as I get the chance, I'll swim way out past that dumb old tree. Then they'll know that I can swim good. Maybe then they'll treat me like I'm nine and not four or five." The puppy just wagged his tail and jumped off of Cat to chase another fish.

Cat swam out to join her family. "What were you two talking about?" asked Ben.

"I am going to swim across the whole lake."

"Oh? And when are you going to do that?"

"It's a big lake, so I have to get a little stronger before I do. If I eat a lot of Hop Sing's cooking, I should be able to do it in two or three weeks. I'll probably have to start out right after breakfast so I can get to the other side before it gets dark. I guess Hop Sing will have to fix my breakfast out here the day I swim across the lake so I can start swimming as soon as I finish eating."

"I see. And how do you plan to get back over to this side of the lake? You will be very tired from swimming all that way, so you won't be able to swim back and it will take you two or three full days to walk back. You're going to get awful hungry too. You won't be able to carry your fishing pole or bow and arrows while you swim across the lake. Also, I seriously doubt that Hop Sing will come out here just to fix breakfast for you the day you decide to swim across the lake."

Cat frowned. "Oh pooh! I didn't think of those things. I guess I'll have to figure them out before I swim across the lake."

"It's good to figure everything out before doing something important. Right now, you need to go and splash your brothers. We're going to need to leave soon. We caught a lot of fish and we should help Hop Sing clean them."

Cat swam over to her brothers and Hoss put her up on his shoulders. When Joe got on Adam's shoulders, Hoss told her to try and push Joe into the water. Cat was having a hard time until Hoss helped by tickling Adam who let go of his youngest brother. Ben stood nearby, laughing at his grown sons playing with their little sister, wishing that Kate had stayed on the Ponderosa or trusted him enough to leave the girl with him instead of Matt. He watched them play for a while and then called, "Alright you four, we need to head back to the house. We caught a lot of fish and we need to help Hop Sing clean them for supper."

Her brothers headed for shore but Cat decided to stay and swim a little longer, so Joe picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her to shore. "You need to learn to listen," he scolded her. "When Pa says it's time to go, that means it's time to go, not swim some more. Now, go and change into dry clothes."

While Cat was changing, the others got everything ready to take back home. Once she had dry clothes on she asked, "Joe, can I ride Cochise?"

"Why? What's wrong with Ginger?"

"Nothing, I just want to ride Cochise. Adam let me ride Sport when we were in Dodge."

"Alright. Mount up and I'll adjust the stirrups."

Once Joe adjusted Cochise's stirrups for Cat and Ginger's for himself, the family started for home. Cat wanted to race Joe but since each of them were carrying half of the fish, she decided that she'd race her brother the next time she rode his horse.


	33. Chapter 33

During the ride home, Cat rode ahead on Cochise, giving Ben a chance to talk to his sons. "Boys, thank you for taking care of your sister. As Adam and I found out, she is not afraid of anything and will push her boundaries to see what she can get away with. She loves jumping her horse over fences and other objects. Matt has reached his limit with her and jumping fences. He told her that his rule about that will be the same here. I intend to have a long talk with her about safety on horseback and I will tell her about what happened to Marie. Unfortunately after what she did in Dodge when Adam let her ride Sport, I think it's going to take more than talking to get her to stop. We'll talk more tonight after she's in bed. Right now, we need to catch up with her before she does something we'll all regret."

They urged their horses to go faster and caught up with Cat who jumped Cochise over a small tree that had fallen. "I'm going to kill her," said Joe.

"Hold on a minute son. We're not going to be able to stop her from jumping altogether for a while. Matt has tried and been unsuccessful. He has compromised with her and allowed her to jump objects a pony could jump and no higher, but she still jumps fences despite the fact that she has been punished for it many times. Everyone in Dodge has told her that jumping fences and large objects is not safe, but she doesn't think she'll get hurt. I've got to go to town tomorrow but when I get home, I am going to have a long talk with Catherine about safety on horseback and the consequences for jumping fences and other large objects."

When they reached the house Cat and Joe took the fish to Hop Sing. When they came back outside, Ben said, "Catherine, you rode Cochise home, so you're responsible for taking care of him today. That includes making sure he's cooled out, brushing and feeding him. Joe can show you how much to feed him. Then all of us need to help Hop Sing clean the fish we caught."

Cat looked at her father and said, "Can Hop Sing eat supper with us?"

"Of course he can if he wants to. He is always welcome at our table."

"That's good. I'm glad."

After ensuring Cochise was cool, Cat led him into the barn and started brushing him but had trouble reaching the middle of his back. "Lay down Coach." The horse just stood there. "Come on Coach, lay down."

"What's the problem Cat?" asked Joe.

"I can't reach the middle of Cochise's back and he won't lay down. I've got to find a way to get taller."

"Ok. I'll be there to help in a minute. Do you know how to clean his feet?"

"Yes, Mr. Quint showed me how to take care of Spot."

"Alright. You start cleaning his feet while I finish taking care of Ginger. Then I'll finish brushing his back for you."

When he finished with Ginger, Joe went to help Cat with his horse. He looked at the two feet she had already cleaned and said, "You did a great job on these feet Cat. Finish the other two feet and then get two scoops of grain for him. Give Ginger two scoops also and I'll give both horses their hay."

Once the horses had been cared for, the family joined Hop Sing outside the kitchen door to clean the fish. "You're going to eat with us tonight," Cat told Hop Sing.

"Thank you Missy Cat. Hop Sing always enjoy eating with family."

"You won't mind if Silver Chief eats with us too, will you?"

"No, puppy can eat by Missy Cat. Puppy is family too."

Cat hugged him and said, "Thank you Hop Sing. Silver Chief will eat in the kitchen when we have company except for Uncle Roy and Dr. Paul 'cause they're like family."

"Speaking of company," said Ben. "We will be having company for supper tomorrow night."

"Who's coming?" asked Cat.

"You'll find out tomorrow afternoon."

"But I don't want to wait until tomorrow. I want to know now."

"This will teach you patience. You will find out who is coming to supper when they arrive tomorrow."

"But I don't want to wait until tomorrow."

"Catherine, this is the last time I will tell you this. You will find out who our supper guests will be when they come tomorrow. If you choose to continue this discussion, you will be eating supper in your bedroom. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because I don't want you to have to eat supper alone in your room. Now, let's finish cleaning these fish and wash up. Then I want to see what you did with your bedroom."

"Can you give me a hint about who's coming to supper tomorrow?"

Before Ben could say anything, Joe spoke up. "Sure Cat. I'll give you a hint. People are coming to supper."

"That's right Cat," said Adam, trying hard not to laugh. "People are coming to supper, not horses or cows."

"And no wild critters, dogs or cats either. Just people." added Hoss.

Ben burst out laughing in spite of himself.

Cat just sighed and said, "You win. I give up."

Ben hugged her and said, "Did you really think we were going to give you a real hint about who is coming to supper tomorrow?"

"Well, it would have been nice. I don't like waiting. At least I could have tried to guess who is coming."

Ben hugged her again. "I know Kitten but you need to learn to be patient and wait for things. Nobody likes waiting but they do because they know that they can't have everything right away. Think of it this way. How much fun would birthdays and Christmas be if everyone knew what their presents were before they opened them?"

"They wouldn't be much fun at all."

"That's right, so learning to be patient and wait is important. Now, let's finish cleaning these fish."

After the fish were cleaned, the mess cleaned up, and everyone had washed, they all walked up to Cat's bedroom. "This is very nice. Now tell me, did Adam and Joe help or did Hoss do all of the work himself?"

"Adam and Joe helped too. Adam even hung up the pictures of my parents and my father's sword, hat, and neckerchief."

"Good. I am very glad that they helped too. Now, wait right here. I need to get something." He left the room and returned with the cherry wood comb and brush set. "I got these for you when we were in Denver. Mrs. Long thought you would like them."

"WOW! Those are pretty. I really like them." Cat put the comb and brush on her dressing table and hugged her father.

Adam whispered something to his brothers and they all walked into Adam's room. They returned a few minutes later carrying the doll house, carriage, and rocking horse that they had helped her father make. "Why don't we put these under the pictures?" asked Hoss. "They seem to belong there."

"Yes please. That's a good place for them." After the items had been put in place, Cat hugged her brothers.

Adam slipped out of the room and came back carrying the dolls he had bought for her. "I thought you might like these," he said handing her the package. After she opened it, he said, "A doll house and carriage aren't much good unless they have dolls, so I got these for you from Hoss, Joe and me while we were in Denver."

"Gee, wow. Thank you. I never had any dolls of my own before."

"You're welcome. Yes, I saw that when I helped you pack your things in Dodge. There will be a few more toys for you when I get the things I ordered when we were in Denver." Cat was tempted to ask what the toys were but remembered the discussion she had just had with Ben, and decided to wait until Adam gave them to her.

Just then Hop Sing walked in carrying some flowers in a pot full of dirt with an old pie tin under it. "Little girl bedroom need flowers. Hop Sing plant just for Missy Cat. They look good on desk. Get plenty of sun." He was rewarded with a big hug.

"They're very pretty. Thank you Hop Sing. You'll have to teach me how to take care of them so they don't die." Hop Sing showed her how to check and see if the flowers needed to be watered and told her how much water to give them. He also told her to turn the pot several times a week so all of the flowers would get the same amount of sun. Then he said. "Suppel almost leady. Family go to table now."

After supper, Cat watched as Hoss and Joe played checkers. When they finished, she played two games with Joe. Cat won the second game and Ben told her it was time for bed. She took Silver Chief outside and used the outhouse. Then she hugged her brothers and went upstairs and got ready for bed. Ben went upstairs a few minutes later and they read two chapters in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. When they finished, Ben hugged and kissed her, told her he loved her and tucked her and Silver Chief in. Then he blew out the lamp and closed the door behind him.

When he got back downstairs, he poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat down to talk with his sons. "Well, as you learned today, your sister is going to be a real handful. She seems to think that testing her boundaries is a game and doesn't think she'll get hurt from anything she does. I thought that Matt just allowed her to run wild but I was wrong. He had rules for her and punished her for disobeying them, but that didn't always stop her. I fully intend to talk to her about jumping fences, including what happened to Marie, and tell her what the consequences will be for getting caught. I'm going to have her start doing her chores on Monday. She'll have to gather the eggs in the morning, fill the wood box in the kitchen and take care of Ginger and Fury. Right now, Fury will just need to be brushed once a day and have his hoofs cleaned. We will have to help her train him to hold still so his feet can be cleaned."

"He seems to be a pretty smart colt," said Hoss. "Maybe if we do Lady's feet with him watching, it will be easier to teach him."

"That's an excellent idea son. It certainly can't hurt to try. We are also going to have to teach Cat how much to feed Ginger. Now, as far as discipline goes, for the next month, if Cat needs more than a good swat, let me deal with it. Have her stand in the corner, send her to her room, give her extra chores, etc, but let me deal with spanking her for now. I don't anticipate having to go anywhere in the next month, but if I do and she disobeys you Adam, deal with her as best as you can and I will take care of the rest when I return. Catherine needs to learn that I am her parent now and that there will be consequences for disobeying the rules, especially safety rules. Once she has learned that, I will tell her that if you boys catch her breaking the rules, you will be allowed to deal with her as you see fit. She won't like it. She doesn't have to. But I do want to give her some time to adjust to having a parent before the three of you start dealing with her.

While we were in Dodge, Cat told me some very disturbing things about the teacher at the Virginia City school. She said that Laura and Mary had told her those things. I went to the Ingalls' today and talked to Charles and Caroline. They confirmed everything your sister said. Joe, will you please go upstairs and if Cat is sleeping, try and get her school books out of the trunk without waking her up? Also, let me know if she is showing signs of having a nightmare. She had several on the trip home. I'm going to ride into town tomorrow and talk to the teacher. I want to take Cat's books and ask the teacher if those are the same ones the students here are using. Then I'm going to talk to Ronald Miller and request a meeting of the school board before the end of next week. No child of mine will attend a school with a teacher like that. If the school board will not replace Miss Smith, Caroline will be teaching her girls and Catherine at home. Adam, I know that you are capable of teaching your sister. I had thought about having you teach her, but as Caroline pointed out, I need your help with the ranch. She also pointed out that having one sibling teach another can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. I don't want that to happen, so if it comes to that, your sister will be taught by Caroline."

Joe returned with Cat's school books. "Here are Cat's books. She and Silver Chief are sound asleep. She had kicked her covers off, so I put them back on her. Other than that, everything is fine. She's so angelic when she's sleeping. Why can't she be like that when she's awake?"

His father and brothers burst out laughing. "We used to say the same thing about you little brother," said Hoss.

"Joe, I can't begin to count the number of times I told Pa you were more trouble than you were worth," said Adam.

"Joseph," said Ben. "I guess you've forgotten all the times you got into more trouble than both of your brothers combined, including the time you tripped your teacher because you thought she was your friend Mitch. Catherine is a lot like you. She's going to push her boundaries as hard as she can. Today was just a small example of what she will do. It is up to all of us to do our best to keep her safe while still letting her have her freedom. When I go to town tomorrow, I would like the three of you to take her with you. She can look for strays and help you move the herd." At the strange looks he got from Hoss and Joe, Ben said, "Lucas and Mark taught her how to work with cattle. She also promised Lucas that she would not work with more than ten head at a time unless an adult was with her or if there was an emergency. Before I leave, I'll tell her that the three of you are in charge and she needs to do whatever you tell her to. Now, I suggest we all get some sleep because tomorrow will be another busy day."

"I'm guessing that the Ingalls are our mystery supper guests tomorrow," said Joe.

"Yes they are. I wanted to surprise your sister by not telling her who was coming. Thank you for helping me keep my temper when she wouldn't stop asking who our guests were going to be. I need to remember that she's not used to surprises like that."

At breakfast the next morning, Ben told Cat she was going to be working with her brothers. "Instead of just holding gates open as you have done, this time you are going to be helping your brothers move the herd. I will not be there so they are in charge and I expect you to listen to them. In fact, just so you don't get confused because all three of them are telling you to do different things, I am going to put Hoss in charge of you. Hoss if Catherine does anything that isn't safe, feel free to yell at her. When you get home, tell me and I will yell at her too. Now Catherine, you are in charge of Hoss. If he does anything that isn't safe, you have my permission to yell at him. If you have to yell at him, I will also yell at him."

Cat giggled at the thought of being in charge of Hoss. Adam and Joe found it funny too. "Ok. I'll tell you if Hoss does anything that isn't safe. Do I have time to go out and play with Fury before we leave?"

"I don't know about that, but you do have time to finish your breakfast young lady. You aren't going anywhere until that plate is empty. Are you going to be in this big a hurry to go to school?"

"No, but that's ok because I'm not going to go to school. I only went to school in Dodge because Joe, Adam, and Hoss said I couldn't come here on school vacations. I live here now, so I don't need to go to school. Besides that, school is boring and I already know everything I need to know, so I would just be wasting my time going."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe just looked at each other in amazement. They would never have dared to speak to their father that way, but Cat didn't know any better. Neither Hoss nor Joe had wanted to go to school, but Ben had been adamant. They had to attend school until they were eighteen, whether they wanted to or not. Joe had finished school the year before, two weeks prior to his eighteenth birthday.

Ben took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Catherine, school attendance is not optional. In this family children attend school until they are eighteen. As your brothers can tell you, every one of them attended school until he turned eighteen and Adam also went to college. I would also like you to go to college when you are old enough. Unless you are sick or have injuries that prevent you from attending school, there will be severe consequences for not attending. I strongly suggest that you talk to Joseph and ask him what happened to him when he skipped school. I sincerely hope that you are paying attention to what I am saying because this is the last time I intend to have this conversation with you. Now finish your breakfast."

Cat finished her breakfast and then went out to the pasture to play with Fury. After she left, Ben looked at his sons and said, "That girl needs to settle down and start watching how she speaks to me. I came very close to warming her backside this morning."

"We'll talk to her Pa," said Hoss.

"Don't forget, as you keep reminding me, Cat is new to all of this," said Adam. "I know that Matt and Rip didn't put up with her being disrespectful, but I don't think she thought that she was. According to Matt, she has made it clear from the time she started school when she was five that she didn't like it and wasn't about to go. Just as Joe found it hard to sit still and pay attention in school, so does Cat. Matt said he punished her several times for skipping school but the only thing that got her to attend was the threat of not being able to come here on school vacations. She thinks that because she lives here now, she doesn't have to go to school if she doesn't want to. We may need to have Matt and Rip write to her and tell her that if she doesn't go to school, she won't be able to visit them in the summers."

"I'll talk to her and tell her what will happen if she doesn't go to school, but as Adam said, it may take letters from Rip and Matt to get her to go. Anyway, the start of the new school term is still more than a month away, so we don't need to push her on it right now," said Joe.

"You boys are right. I keep saying we need to give her time to adjust to being here and I'm ignoring my own advice. I'll let the three of you talk to her and we'll see what happens when school begins. I'll write to Matt and Rip then if I need to. Now, you had better get your work done around here so you can take your sister and move that herd. I've got some paperwork to do before I head for town."

Just then, somebody knocked on the door and Ben opened it. Mr. McLeod and his son James were standing there and James had something hidden behind his back. "George, James, this is a pleasant surprise. Please come in. Would you like some coffee?"

"No thank you Ben," said George. "We just came to see your daughter and need to get back to town. The store won't run itself."

"Catherine is out in the pasture with her colt. I'll send one of the boys to get her. Joe, will you please go and get your sister? George and James want to talk to her."

Cat walked in the door a few minutes later. "Hi Mr. McLeod. Hi James. Little Joe said that you want to talk to me."

"Yes we do," said George. "Thank you for coming in so promptly because we need to go back to town shortly. We have something for you."

James brought his hands out from behind his back and handed Cat a squirming collie puppy that was about the same size as Silver Chief. "Here, she is for you. Her name is Lassie."

Cat took the puppy and hugged and kissed it. Then she put her down and hugged James and his father. "Thank you so very much. She is very pretty and I love her." Just then, Silver Chief ran in from the kitchen where Hop Sing had been spoiling him. Cat picked him up and introduced him to the McLeods. "This is Silver Chief. My friend Little Bear gave him to me when I was in Arizona. I hope that he and Lassie will be friends."

"You are very welcome young lady," said George. "My brother raises collies in Virginia. James has been such a big help in the store that I wanted to reward him, so I wrote to my brother and asked him for a puppy for James. When I write to him, I tell him all of the news from Virginia City and I told him about how your mother was killed and your Uncle Ben adopted you to be his daughter. So, when he sent a puppy for James, he also sent a puppy for you."

"WOW! That sure was nice of him. Please tell him thank you for me the next time you write to him."

"I will do that. Here is a letter he wrote to you about your puppy."

Cat took the letter and read it aloud. "Dear Miss Catherine, My brother wrote to me about what happened to your mother and I decided that you needed a puppy. Her name is Lassie, which means young girl. I thought was an appropriate name to give a puppy that was going to be living with a young girl. She knows her name and has been trained to come when called. I am certain that your family can teach you how to care for a puppy. However, I am going to tell you a few things that will help to keep her healthy for many years to come. Do not let her have puppies until she is more than a year old, and do not let her have puppies every year. It is not good for a dog to have puppies when she is still a puppy. Nor is it good for a dog to have puppies every year. If you have any questions about taking care of puppies, please ask my brother. He will be able to answer them for you. Sincerely, Mr. Robert McLeod."

"Mr. McLeod, that sure was nice of your brother to tell me about how to take care of Lassie. I'll do everything he said. Look, she and Silver Chief are friends already."

"That is very good. I am glad that they are friends already."

"I need to take her out to the pasture and introduce her to Fury. I want them to be friends too. Do you want to see my colt before you have to leave?"

"Yes I would," said James.

"That's great. Come with me and I'll introduce you and Lassie to Fury."

Everyone walked out to the pasture and Cat introduced James and his father to Fury. She also introduced Lassie to him and said, "This is Lassie. She and Silver Chief are already friends and I want you and her to be friends too." The colt and puppy sniffed each other then the two puppies ran off to play with each other.

"He sure is a handsome colt," said James. "I'll bet you can't wait until he's old enough to ride."

"Yes James. I already wish he was old enough to ride. I like Ginger, but Fury is my horse and I've never had my own horse or puppy before now. Little Joe says that Fury has to be more than a year old before I can ride him."

"That's right. If you ride him before he's old and strong enough, you could hurt him."

"James, I know that you would love to stay here and play with Catherine, the puppies and Colt, however, we need to get back to town. Your mother is minding the store for us and you know how she feels about that," said Mr. McLeod. "Catherine, I'm very happy that you like your new puppy and your other puppy and colt are adorable. I hope that you and they will be very happy in your new home. I look forward to seeing you and your puppies the next time you come to town."

"Thank you again Mr. McLeod. I'll bring both puppies with me the next time I come to town."

After James and his father left, Adam said, "Cat, go get your saddle bags for your puppies and then get your horse saddled. We need to get moving if we're going to get that herd moved this morning."

"Ok. I want to stop in the kitchen and show Lassie to Hop Sing first."

"That's fine but don't take too long. Remember, moving a herd takes time." Once Cat left, Adam told his brothers, "We need to find a spot where the three of us can sit down and talk to her. She doesn't know how lucky she is that Pa didn't put her over his knees right at the table for talking back and saying she wasn't going to go to school."

Cat ran toward the house followed by her puppies and Ben. She ran into the kitchen and introduced Lassie and Hop Sing to each other. "Pletty puppy. Eat lots, glow big and take cale of Missy Cat." Cat hugged Hop Sing and then ran out of the kitchen where she almost collided with Ben.

"Catherine Michael!" said Ben sternly. "This is your last warning. The next time I catch you running in the house, you will be punished. I know that Matt does not allow you to run indoors and I am quite certain that Rip does not either. Now, stop running in the house. It is not safe and I don't want you to get hurt."

Cat walked up to her room, got her saddle bags, picked up her bow and arrows off the armoire by the front door, and then walked outside to join her brothers in the barn. Ben walked into the kitchen, got a cup of coffee and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl Hop Sing. Even though Matt has punished her many times, she won't stop running indoors. This morning at breakfast, she started talking back to me and said she wasn't going to go to school. It was the same thing yesterday when we were cleaning the fish. How many times did I tell her that she would have to wait until today to find out who is coming to supper, but she kept pressing the issue? When they got to the lake yesterday, Adam told Cat how far she was allowed to swim out but she chose to swim out farther than she was supposed to."

"Missy Cat like Little Joe. He wild when he boy too. Not 'fraid of anything. Little Joe not want to go to school either. Give Missy Cat time. She settle down. Lemember, she not used to family. Evelything here new to her, make her excited and folget mannels. Little Joe, Hoss, and Adam talk to her. Explain rules about talking back and saying she not do something. They explain consequences too. It take long time for Little Joe to lemember lules. He get many spankings before he lemember. Missy Cat maybe need many spankings too."

"I'm afraid you're right my friend. Catherine is a lot like her mother. Kate was wild and wasn't very good at following rules either. Unfortunately, because she was so much younger than Victoria, George and myself, Father tended to spoil her and she didn't face many consequences for her actions. That's why Victoria was so jealous of her. I have always absolutely hated having to punish my children but they needed to have consequences for their misbehavior. It seems that Catherine is going to experience many of the same consequences Joseph did when he was growing up."

"Boys know you love them. Missy Cat will know too."

"I know Hop Sing, but that doesn't make it any easier."

"Hop Sing know. You do what need be done. Boys grow up to be good men. Missy Cat grow up to be good woman."

"Thank you my friend. It is nice to know that I can talk to you about things that are bothering me. Now, I had better head for town. I need to talk to that teacher and then find Ronald Miller to get him to schedule a meeting of the school board."

On their way to move the herd of cattle, Adam found a good spot for everyone to stop so he and his brothers could talk to their sister. "We're stopping here for a little while," he told Cat. "Take your puppies out of your saddle bags so they can play while we talk." She was puzzled but did as she was told. Adam pointed to a tree and said, "Sit down Cat. The three of us need to talk to you." Once everyone was sitting down, Adam said, "Cat, what you did this morning at breakfast was wrong. You talked back to Pa and you told him you weren't going to go to school. You don't know how lucky you are that you are new to our family. If one of us had talked to Pa like you did, when we were your age, we would have been in a lot of trouble."

"That's right Cat," said Joe. "Believe me, I know. There were lots of times when I was growing up that I told Pa no or that I wasn't going to do something and the consequences were severe. I ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees more times than I care to count."

"Yesterday was just as bad as this morning," said Hoss. You were told how far you could swim out but decided you didn't need to listen to us. Then, when we were cleaning the fish, you wouldn't stop asking who is coming to supper tonight, even after Pa warned you to stop. The next time you might not be so lucky. When Pa says stop, he means stop and don't keep asking the same question over and over again. If Joe hadn't jumped in when he did, Pa may just have taken you to the barn and warmed the seat of your pants for you."

"Another thing," said Adam. "When Pa says something to you or asks you a question, you say yes sir or no sir or yes Pa or no Pa. You don't just say yes or no and you do not ever just say yeah. I know that you didn't talk to Matt like that and you don't talk to Pa like that either. It is rude and he does not tolerate us being rude to anyone including himself."

"Cat, I hope you're paying attention to what we're telling you," said Joe. "We're trying to help you adjust to having a family and we're trying to keep you from getting in trouble. We have all done the things we're warning you about and we have all suffered the consequences. Let me tell you how Pa handles it when we disobey, talk back or are rude. You won't usually get a warning. Knowing the rules is enough. The first time you break a rule, Pa takes you out to the barn, puts you over his knees and warms the seat of your pants with his hand. His hand hurts bad, even through pants. The next time, you go out to the barn, he uses his belt on the seat of your pants and that hurts even more than his hand. If you break the rule again, your pants come down when he takes you out to the barn and you get it on your bare bottom. Your punishment doesn't stop when you get spanked or whipped. You have to stand in the corner for a long time and you are restricted to the yard with a lot of extra chores to do. Depending on what you did and how angry Pa is, your restriction can be anywhere from a day to several months. That means no fishing, riding, swimming, going over to your friends' houses or anything fun, including going to Sunday School picnics. You have to stay home and do a lot of extra chores. If you skip school one of us will have to ride with you in the morning to make sure you go. You'll have to apologize to the teacher for skipping and take whatever punishment she dishes out. I should know, because I had to do it a lot. Even if Pa doesn't spank you, you'll still have to stand in the corner and be restricted to the yard with a lot of extra chores to do."

"We love you Cat," said Hoss. "And we're real glad that you're our sister now. We want to be able to do fun things with you, but we can't if you're in trouble all the time. Before you do or say somethin', stop and think if it's going to get ya in trouble. If it is, don't do or say it. Otherwise, you're going to be in a heap of trouble and we won't be able to get ya out of it. Another thing, when Pa ain't home the oldest one of us who is home is in charge and you have to listen to that brother. If one of us is in charge and you don't listen, we will punish you and then Pa will punish you too. When we were boys, Joe and I both found out the hard way what happens when ya don't listen to whoever is in charge, especially when the one in charge is Adam. We're telling ya all this stuff now, sos you know what to expect. We don't want to see ya get in trouble. Now, call your puppies because we need to get that herd moved."


	34. Chapter 34

Author's Note: To my guest reviewer, thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like my story. Thank you for taking time to read it.

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Cat called her puppies and put them in her saddle bags. Then she mounted Ginger and followed her brothers to the pasture where the herd was that needed to be moved. She was still thinking about what they had told her and was having a hard time believing what they said. Not only was Ben going to tell her what to do, her brothers were going to be allowed to boss her around and punish her if she didn't listen to them too. What was even worse, if one of her brothers punished her, her father would punish her too and whatever she got from him was going to be worse than she got from her brother, and it seemed that she was going to be punished just for making mistakes. Also, she was going to have a lot more rules to follow and the consequences for breaking them were going to be worse than what Uncle Matt had done to her. She planned on talking to her puppies when nobody was around to listen and tell them that they had to figure out how to get back to Dodge where she belonged. Fury still needed Lady, so she was going to have to ride Ginger and lead Lady and Fury. First she needed to look at maps so she could plan how to get to Dodge and she needed to tell Laura and Mary what she was going to do and why. Her thoughts were interrupted when Adam called her. "Cat, what is taking you so long? Hurry up. We need to get that herd moved before it gets too late."

Cat sighed, urged Ginger into a trot and caught up with her brothers. When they reached the herd, Hoss decided he wanted to see what Cat knew how to do, so he pointed to a group of six cows that were off by themselves. "Cat, I want you to go and make those cows join the rest of the herd."

"Sure Hoss," she said as she rode toward the small group. Once she was away from her brothers, Cat said, "Come on Ginger. I thought I was going to have fun today but I was wrong. We need to do this right. I don't want to get punished because I made a mistake. Cause if Adam, Hoss or Little Joe punish me, Uncle Ben will punish me more. I'm going to start packing as soon as we get back to the house. Then when everyone is asleep, I'll climb down the tree by my window and we'll go back to Dodge. I know that Uncle Matt won't treat me like that." It took a little bit of time but Cat got the six cows back with the rest of the herd.

Her brothers praised her but that didn't lift her spirits. "What's wrong Cat," asked Joe. "You did a great job getting those cows with the rest of the herd."

"Nothing," came the reply.

Joe rode over and joined his brothers. "What's wrong with Cat? She was in such a good mood this morning when we left the house but now she's all upset."

"I'll tell you what's wrong," said Adam. "The two of you and your big mouths is what's wrong. You weren't supposed to frighten her and make her think she's going to be harshly punished every time she does something wrong or makes a mistake. Joe, Pa gave you plenty of warnings before he punished you for disobeying. And you didn't always end up bottom side up or restricted for weeks or months at a time. Hoss, you weren't supposed to say anything to Cat about us being able to punish her when she disobeys us. Pa specifically said he would tell her when it was time for her to know. Now, I've got to straighten her out. I don't envy the pair of you when I tell Pa how you frightened Cat with your talk. It's barely been two months since her mother was killed, she's only been here for two days and I can tell that she's thinking about how to get back to Dodge. When are the two of you going to start thinking before you tell her things? What you did today is no different than when Joe yelled at her for leaving a lead rope hanging on the pasture fence the day after we buried her mother. If she runs off in the middle of the night, Pa is going to kill you. Now let's get this herd moved. I need to talk to Cat and calm her down and we need to get home. It's nearly dinner time and we didn't bring any food with us."

Adam rode over to Cat and said, "Don't worry about what those two said. They were mostly wrong. You and I will talk later. Right now, it's getting close to dinner time and we need to get this herd moved before they scatter and it takes the rest of the day to round them up again. Now, if you think you can remember how, why don't you go and open that gate? Tie it open then come back and join us. You're going to get these beefs moving. Don't worry, we'll be right here with you. We're not going to let you move five hundred head of cattle alone. At least not today. I haven't made up my mind yet, but we may make you do it tomorrow." He gave one of her pigtails a playful tug and Cat stuck her tongue out at him and rode toward the gate. Once the gate was tied open, she rode back to Adam. "Ok brat. Mark and Lucas showed you what to do, now show Hoss and Joe that you know what you're doing."

Cat rode up near the front of the herd and said, "Ok cow, you need to get moving now." When the cow didn't move, she started getting angry. "I told you to move cow, now move!" She leaned over sideways in her saddle and smacked the cow on its rump. The startled cow started walking toward the open gate.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe sat in their saddles and laughed at their sister. "Well," said Hoss. "That's one way to get them moving. If she's going to be helping us, we'd better get her a hat. Hitting a cow with a hat is a whole lot easier than hitting it with your hand." It took a while but they finally got the entire herd moved to a different pasture. Hoss was about to close the gate when he noticed a cow standing near a large bush. "I don't know how in tarnation we missed that one. Cat go and get that cow will ya?" Cat went to get the cow and returned a few minutes later without it. Hoss started getting upset. "Why didn't you get that critter?"

"Because she's got a hurt leg and it's hard for her to walk. I'm not as big as you and I can't carry a cow."

Adam and Joe laughed at Hoss. "Well big brother," teased Joe. "I guess she told you. Now, just how to you plan on moving a cow with a hurt leg? I want to see you pick it up and put it over your saddle."

"I'm not. I'm going to pick it up and put it over your saddle little brother. Alright little sister, let's go and look at this hurt cow. Even when you're all grown up, I don't want you to ever think about picking up a cow. That's Little Joe's job." Cat laughed at the thought of Joe trying to pick up a full grown cow. They rode over to the cow and dismounted. Hoss looked at her leg and said, "She's got a nasty cut but it's not too bad. Little Joe, ride back and bring me some medicine and bandages from the barn. I'll doctor her leg right now and we'll take her back home and put her in with the mares and foals until the leg heals."

"Why do I have to go and get the stuff?" asked Joe.

"Because I told you to little brother. Besides that, Cat don't know where the stuff is yet. Now git before I do pick this here cow up and put her in your lap. Oh, and bring a rag with you. I want to wash that cut out before I bandage it. I'll bet that little sister wouldn't complain if I asked her to go and get the stuff."

"Well," said Cat. "That all depends on if I was playing with a cute calf or not."

All three of her brothers laughed. "Cat, I've seen you in action," laughed Adam. "As far as you're concerned, every animal is cute, even if they're not. I wouldn't be surprised to see you bring home a baby skunk. Joe, please go and get the stuff Hoss asked you to while we've still got little sister corralled. If she starts to wander, who knows what kind of critter she'll bring home."

While Joe was gone, Adam and Hoss took the opportunity to talk to Cat about what Joe had told her. "Cat, don't you pay no nevermind to what Joe said," said Hoss.

"He exaggerated quite a bit in what he told you," added Adam. "Believe me, he got plenty of warnings before Pa punished him and even then, he didn't always end up bottom side up over Pa's knees or restricted to the ranch."

"Sometimes he just had to eat supper in his room or go to bed early," added Hoss.

"Think about it Cat. How many times have you been warned about running in the house since we got home?"

"I don't know. Four or five."

"Have you been punished yet?"

"No."

"Alright then," said Hoss. "So now you know that Joe was stretchin' the truth some. But if I were you, I'd quit running in the house before you do get in trouble. Pa ain't gonna put up with it much longer."

"Yeah, I know. I almost ran into him after I showed Lassie to Hop Sing and he got mad at me."

"You're lucky you didn't run into him," said Adam. "If you had, you would have been punished. So just stop running in the house."

"I can't help it. I'm always in a hurry."

Adam reached over, took Cat by the shoulders and shook her. "I don't care how much of a hurry you are in. Do not run in the house unless it is on fire and you need to get out in a hurry. It just isn't safe and none of us want to see you get hurt."

"Ok. I'll try."

"No!" exclaimed Hoss. "Don't try. Just stop before you get hurt or end up bottom side up over Pa's knees. Pa gets real upset when we do things to put us or someone else in danger. An accident is one thing but doing it on purpose is something else."

"In fact," added Adam. "Since I know you have been warned at least four times since we got home and I know that Matt has punished you for running indoors and on the boardwalk in Dodge, the next time Hoss or I catch you running in the house, you will get a very strong swat and have to stand in the corner. You can plan on Pa doing worse to you the next time he catches you, especially since you almost ran into him today and he knows that Matt has punished you for the same thing several times."

"That's not fair. I can't help it if I'm in a hurry."

"It's not fair!? How is it fair to the rest of the family to worry about finding you laying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs because you were in a hurry? How is it fair to the rest of the family to worry if you're going to run into Hop Sing when he's got his hands full of hot food, and possibly get both of you hurt? You're only nine years old and don't need to be in a hurry. Don't run where you're not supposed to run. Then you won't get hurt or punished. I mean it Cat. You've had all the warnings you're going to get on this subject. If Hoss or I catch you running in the house you will get swatted and have to stand in the corner. And I fully intend to tell Pa what I told you just now. We love you and don't want to see you get hurt or worse, so slow down and stop running in the house."

Joe rode up a minute later. "What are the three of you talking about?"

"We've been fussing at little sister about runnin' in the house," answered Hoss. "It seems that she about run into Pa earlier when she was runnin' through the house. Needless to say, Pa weren't too thrilled with her."

Joe let out a whistle. "I'll bet he wasn't very happy with her. Cat, you have got to stop running in the house before you end up bottom side up over Pa's knees. You're lucky you didn't run into him or you would have. Now let's get that cow's leg taken care of. Hop Sing is making dinner and I'm hungry."

While his sons and daughter were moving a herd of cattle and taking care of an injured cow, Ben rode to town to talk with the teacher. He took Cat's books and walked into the schoolhouse where he found the teacher reading a dime novel. He introduced himself and said, "I adopted my niece and she's going to be starting school here in the fall. I brought the books she used at her other school and wanted to know if they're the same ones the children here use."

Miss Smith looked at the books and said, "They'll do. If your brat is like the rest of the brats in this school, she's probably too stupid to learn anything. There are only four or five students that are worth trying to teach anything to."

Ben fought hard to keep his temper and said, "That's all I needed to know. Thank you for your time," and walked out of the school. He walked over to the saddle shop to talk to Mr. Miller.

"Hello Ben. What can I do for you today?"

"Good morning Roland. Are you still the school board chairman?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, my sister was killed last month and I adopted her daughter."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I'm sorry for your loss. It was very nice of you to adopt your niece."

"Thank you. I came to talk to you about the school teacher. I would like you to call a meeting of the school board for next week. That woman isn't fit to be a teacher in any school. If she isn't replaced before the school term begins, Caroline Ingalls will be teaching her daughters and mine at home. I will not send my daughter to any school where the teacher says all but four students are too stupid to learn anything!"

"But Ben, Miss Smith is Reverend Jonas' niece. We can't fire her."

"Roland, you know as well as I do that Reverend Jonas left shortly after my sister's funeral. You do not need to allow his niece to continue teaching in the Virginia City school. After all of the complaints Charles Ingalls said were placed against her, allowing Miss Smith to continue teaching at the school as a favor to her uncle was just plain wrong and you know it. Maybe it's time we elect a new chairman for the school board too. Now, are you going to call a school board meeting or I do have to approach every member and request a meeting myself?"

"Alright Ben. I'll speak with the other school board members and let you know when the meeting is going to be."

"Thank you. I need to get back to the ranch. Catherine is out helping her brothers move a herd to a different pasture and knowing her, she's probably giving them a hard time. She likes to do things her own way and thinks she can't get hurt."

Mr. Miller laughed. "That sounds like a lot of young children Ben. In fact, I seem to remember another Cartwright child who felt the same way not too many years ago."

"Yes, that young man did have his growing pains. He has settled down now and is a big help on the ranch. Well, I'd better be going. I should stop and say hello to Roy before heading home or I'll never hear the end of it. He loves that child as though she was his."

Ben left the saddle shop and walked over to the jail where he found Roy reading the daily paper. "Well hello Ben. It's about time you showed up. Where is my favorite Cartwright and why isn't she here with you? What have you done with that precious child?"

"She's out helping her brothers move a herd to a different pasture and I hope she's not giving them too hard a time. I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She won't stop running in the house and nearly ran into me today. And this morning at breakfast, she started talking back and telling me that she wasn't going to go to school. While they're out moving the herd, the boys are supposed to talk to her about what happened to them when they talked back to me and skipped school. When she almost ran into me this morning, I told her that was her last warning and the next time she would be punished. I love that child and don't want to punish her, but I will if I have to."

"I understand Ben. I know you hate having to punish your children, but the alternative is for Cat to get hurt or worse running through the house. I love her too and don't even want to think about anyone finding her in a heap at the bottom of the stairs because she was running up or down them and slipped. I'll try talking to her about everything you just told me. I can't guarantee she'll change her ways, but I will try."

"Thanks Roy. I've still got to talk to her about jumping fences and other large objects on horseback. I'm not going to lose her the way I lost Marie. Her only warning is going to be when I talk to her about it. In fact, I'm giving serious thought to letting Joseph deal with her if he catches her. Right now, until she's used to having a parent to discipline her, I'm only letting the boys give her a swat, put her in a corner, make her stay in her room or give her extra chores. I'll deal with anything else that needs to be done."

"That's good Ben, but hold off on letting Little Joe deal with her for a while. She needs to get used to having a parent. I know that Matt did the best he could, but his job is even more demanding than mine and unfortunately, he wasn't able to be there for Cat all the time. I only have this town to worry about. Matt not only has to worry about Dodge, he has the entire territory. Considering the scope of his job, I'd say he did an excellent job raising her until now."

"Yes he did. I thought he just allowed her to run wild but I couldn't have been more wrong. Catherine had rules to follow and there were consequences for not following them. In fact, a few days before we left Dodge, he punished her for running on the boardwalk and knocking someone down. Adam and I were very surprised at how well behaved she is in public. We went into many shops in Sante Fe and Denver but the only time she asked for anything was when we were in a bookstore in Denver. Would you believe that she wanted to bring all of the books home with her? We settled on eighteen with the promise of more once she finishes them."

Roy laughed at the thought of Cat trying to carry all of the books from a bookstore with her. "That's great Ben. I'll pick a day early next week and ride out to the Ponderosa. Cat and I can spend some time fishing and I'll talk to her. Like I said, I don't guarantee that she'll listen to me any better than she's listened to you or Matt, but I will try and get through to her. The problem is, not unlike a certain other Cartwright, she isn't afraid of anything and thinks she will never get hurt."

"I am all too familiar with the stunts pulled by that certain other Cartwright. Why do you think I have so much gray hair?" Both men had a good laugh then Ben said, "Well, I'd better head for home and make sure the boys haven't killed their sister. I think I'll ask Hop Sing to pack a picnic dinner for after church on Sunday. Why don't you plan on joining us?"

"Now that's one invitation I'd be crazy to turn down. I'll see you on Sunday if not before."

Once Joe rejoined his siblings, they rode over to the injured cow. "Cat, come and help me with this," said Hoss. "You may as well learn how to do it now just in case you ever have to and nobody else is around." Cat watched and helped as Hoss cleaned the wound, put medicine on it and bandaged it. "Cat, go and grab that rope off my saddle."

"Why do you need the rope?"

"Because this leg is going to need some doctoring for several days, so we're gonna take her home with us. She can stay in the pasture with the mares and foals. Then when the leg is healed, we'll bring her back out here with her friends."

"Oh. Ok. Can I keep her?"

"Not this time Cat," said Hoss. "She needs to be out here with her friends. You've only been here two days. Give us some time and we'll find a nice calf for you to raise. It probably won't be until next spring because that's when the calves are born."

"Why are they born in the spring?"

"Because just like many other animals, they need time to grow up before winter when food is hard to find," said Joe.

"But we feed them, so they don't need to look for food."

"That's right. However, it's easier for an animal that's almost grown to survive the cold weather than it is for a baby animal."

"Oh. I see I guess. I don't know if I'm going to like living on a ranch or not. There's an awful lot to learn."

"Yes there is," said Adam. "But you'll learn just like we did. It will take time but you will learn what you need to know. Now, we had better hurry and get this cow home. Hop Sing gets very upset when we're late for meals."

Ben was already home by the time they put the injured cow in with the mares and foals and walked into the house. Cat pretended to ignore him and ran to give Hop Sing a hug after he set the plates on the table. Hop Sing hugged her back and said, "Missy Cat wash up. Dinner almost leady."

"Ok Hop Sing. I'll wash up."

"What about me Cat?" asked Ben. "Doesn't your Pa get a hug too?"

Cat looked at him and said, "Nah. You don't make chocolate cake." She pretended to walk toward the kitchen to use the wash room outside the back door then turned around ran and hugged him.

Ben hugged his daughter, kissed the top of her head and teased, "I think I'm going to make a new rule right now. From now on, if I don't get a hug when you come in the house, you don't get any chocolate cake. What do you think Hop Sing? No hug, no chocolate cake."

"That vely good lule Mr. Cartlight. Missy Cat hug fathel when come home or no get chocolate cake."

Everyone had a very hard time trying not to laugh at the expression on Cat's face. "What if I'm mad at you?"

"That doesn't matter. No hug, no chocolate cake." He gave her a playful swat and sent her off to wash up before dinner.

"Now Pa," said Adam. "That was a cruel trick to play on her. You know that child lives for chocolate cake. In fact, I was thinking you should bribe her with it to get her to go to school."

"Gee, why didn't you think of that when I was in school?" complained Joe. "I wouldn't have skipped school so much if I had known I'd get chocolate cake if I went. Then I wouldn't have ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees so much."

His father and brothers laughed. "Joe," said Hoss. "As much trouble you got into even when school was out, you still woulda ended up bottom side up a lot."

While they were eating dinner, Ben asked, "Cat, did you have fun today?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Did Hoss do anything that wasn't safe?"

"No, he didn't."

"Hoss, did your sister do anything that wasn't safe?"

"No Pa. She did a good job."

"Well boys, do you think we'll be able to make a ranch hand out of her?"

"I don't know Pa. She's awful scrawny," teased Joe.

"Joe's right Pa. She is awful puny. We found a cow with a hurt leg and she couldn't pick it up and put it over her saddle," said Hoss.

"She's so small, I think we should throw her back and catch her again when she's big enough to keep," added Adam.

Ben laughed at his sons' comments. "Well boys, I used to hear the same comments from you about Little Joe, so I think we'll keep her. If we throw her back and wait for her to get bigger, we might not be able to catch her again. You know what happens when you turn wild things loose. They're awfully hard to catch again. We'll just have to make sure she eats a lot of Hop Sing's cooking so she gets bigger and won't be so scrawny. Cat, after dinner, we're going to go out to the pasture and teach you how to teach Fury to let you clean his feet. We're not going to clean his feet yet, but we're going to teach you how to teach him to let you pick his feet up. That's the first step. Then you and I will go for a ride. It won't be a long ride since I'd like you to start putting the things in your trunk where they belong and we have company coming for supper. Don't forget to tell your puppies they have to eat in the kitchen tonight when our company is here."

"Ok. I'll tell them. I'm going to have to get a bowl for Lassie. We got Silver Chief's in Santa Fe, but I didn't know I was going to get another puppy then."

"That's ok. Since we're not on the train any more, Lassie can use Silver Chief's water bowl and we'll ask Hop Sing if he has a big bowl to use for their water."

"That's a great idea. Thanks lots."

"You're welcome Cat. Now, you need to eat. Hop Sing's feelings will be hurt if you don't eat and you do need to put on a little bit of weight before a good strong wind carries you away."

Cat giggled and finished her food. Then Joe put more food on her plate. "Don't do that Joe. I don't want to get as big as Hoss."

"Hop Sing is right Cat. You really do need to eat more. You're not living in town now and ranch work requires a lot of energy, so you need extra food."

After they finished eating, everyone walked out to the pasture. As they passed the barn, Ben told Cat, "You need to get a halter and lead rope for your colt so you can catch him."

"I don't need to catch him. He catches me. He follows me everywhere when I'm out there with him."

Ben was skeptical but didn't say anything. "You need to see it Pa," said Joe. "That colt follows her around like those puppies do."

They walked out to the pasture and Cat climbed the gate. "Cat, you could open the gate and walk through instead of climbing it," said Ben.

"I know, but this is more fun." Ben just sighed and wondered how many more gray hairs his girl was going to give him. She was definitely just as wild, if not wilder than Joe had been. As soon as he saw Cat, Fury ran over to her and butted her with his head.

"Don't let him do that," called Ben. "It may be cute now, but he could hurt you when he's grown. Walk him around. I want to see how he goes."

Cat started walking around the pasture with Fury and her puppies right behind her. The colt started pushing her, so she turned around, pushed him and said, "Stop that right now. If you keep doing that, I'm not going to bring you any carrots and I'm going to tell your mamma what you're up to. Now behave yourself." She turned around and started walking back to her family. Fury followed but didn't push her again.'

When she got back to Ben, he praised her for the way she handled Fury pushing her. "That was very good Cat. If he pushes you again, do the exact same thing you just did. If he butts you with his head again, give him a light smack and push him away. It doesn't have to be a hard smack; just enough to let him know you're upset with him. Now, all you're going to do with Fury right now is get him used to having his feet handled. You're going to start at the top of one of his legs and rub your hands all the way down to his foot. Watch what Joe does with Lily and then do the same thing with Fury." Cat tried her best to copy what Joe did, but Fury was skittish about having his legs and feet touched. Ben praised her again and said, "Do that with him every day for a week. Use a different leg every day and before long, he won't mind you touching his legs and feet. Once he lets you touch his legs and feet with no problems, we'll teach you how to teach him to let you pick his feet up. Now, before we go, please see if you can get him to run around the pasture. I want to see him canter and gallop."

"Come on Fury," Cat said as she took off running. The colt followed her at a canter, passed her and broke into a gallop.

Ben turned to Adam and asked, "Well son, what do you think?"

"We won't know how smooth his gait is until he's old enough to ride, but he is fast and loves to run. He's faster than the other foals. He also loves Cat very much. I've never seen a colt that young leave its mother and follow a human before."

"Neither have I son. But there's always a first time for everything."

"Maybe it's because he knows she saved his life," said Joe.

"Part of the reason could be when she slept with him that first night," added Hoss.

"You may both be right," said Ben. "It doesn't really matter why. Adam is correct though. It is very obvious that Fury loves Cat and she loves him. That is going to make it a lot easier to train him." They all had a good laugh when Fury passed Cat a second time when she was about half way around the pasture.

By the time Cat reached her family, Fury was in the middle of his third time running around the pasture. He walked up behind her and rested his head on her shoulder. She petted him for a minute, then turned around and hugged and kissed him. "No, I am not going to run around the pasture with you again," she told her colt. "You're too fast for me. I have to leave now. Go on back to your mamma and be good."

Adam opened the gate and Cat walked out. She received praise and hugs from her father and brothers for how well she was doing with her colt. "You are doing a great job with Fury Cat," said Ben. "Let's go for our ride now. We need to be back here in about two hours because I would like you to start putting your things that are in the trunk where they belong. There's no need to live out of a trunk when you have a wardrobe and chest of drawers in your room. This is your home now and I don't anticipate having to pack all of your belongings into a trunk again until you get married and move in with your husband. Fortunately for me, that won't be for many years yet. That means I get to keep you for a long time."

They mounted walked over to their horses and Cat said, "Adam, I'm stealing Sport."

"Oh and what horse am I supposed to ride?"

"You can ride Cochise."

"What horse is Little Joe supposed to ride?"

"He can ride Chub."

"Then what horse is Hoss going to ride?"

"He can ride Buck."

"If Hoss rides Buck, which horse is Pa going to ride?

"He can ride Ginger."

"You are a little scamp. You can ride Sport but no jumping anything higher than your knees."

"I promise I won't jump anything higher than the house."

Adam sighed, gave Cat a light swat and helped her mount Sport. He handed her saddle bags to her and put a puppy in each side. Then he adjusted the stirrups and reminded her that she was not to jump anything higher than her knees. She rode next to her father, unsure of where they were going. When they had ridden for about forty five minutes, Ben stopped, dismounted and told Cat to dismount also. She took her puppies out of her saddle bags and looked around. On one side of the trail was a tree filled valley with a tall mountain in the distance. The other side of the trail was a spectacular view of Lake Tahoe. Ben sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree overlooking the lake and motioned for Cat to sit beside him. He hugged her and said, "I want you to know how much I love you and how glad I am that you're my daughter now. I always wanted a little girl along with my three boys and now I have one."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Catherine you can always ask me anything. What's on your mind?" Cat told him what Hoss and Joe had told her. Ben became angry at what his two younger sons had told their sister. Joe had received plenty of warnings before he was punished for doing something wrong and none of them were supposed to say anything to Cat about them being able to punish her. "Did you ask Adam about what Joe said?"

"Yes."

"Ok. And what did Adam say?"

"He said that Joe was eggs-agerating."

"The word is exaggerating and yes, Joe was exaggerating. It means to stretch the truth. He received plenty of warnings about his misbehavior before he was punished and so will you. After all, you've been warned about running in the house at least five times and I haven't punished you yet. However, as I told you this morning, that was your last warning. The next time I catch you running in the house, I will punish you. I don't want to, so I hope you stop running in the house. Eventually, your brothers will be allowed to spank you but not for a while. Right now, they are allowed to give you a couple of swats, put you in a corner, send you to your room or give you extra chores to do. I will deal with anything else that needs to be done.

That brings me to the reason I wanted to come out here and talk to you today. This is the one and only warning I am going to give you on this subject, so listen carefully. It concerns your jumping gates and other tall objects on horseback. I know that you think it's fun, but it isn't safe. I lost Little Joe's mother in a riding accident. She was an excellent horsewoman but she got careless, her horse threw her and she died from her injuries. It happened in the yard right in front of the door. Your brothers saw the accident. I will not have that happen to you and neither will your brothers. If I catch you jumping your horse over anything higher than your knees, I will give you a very hard spanking. If I have to, I will use my belt on your bare bottom. That is something I never want to have to do, so please stay safe and do not jump any fences, gates or other high objects on horseback. Your brothers and I love you and we want you to be with us for many, many more years. We do not want to find you laying in a heap, seriously injured or worse at the bottom of a fence gate or other high object because you jumped it, something happened and you fell from your horse. I know that you think you will not get hurt, but I am not willing to take the chance. Also, horses have been killed from jumping fences and other high objects. Would you want Fury to break a leg because he landed wrong after jumping a gate?"

"No."

"Well then, please think about what I said and do not jump fences, gates or other high objects." Ben hugged her close and said, "I mean it Catherine. This is your only warning. We love you dearly and do not want to lose you due to a riding accident the way we lost Little Joe's mother. Now, call your puppies and let's go home. We have company coming for supper and I want you to start putting your things away." He helped her mount Sport and then put a puppy in each side of her saddle bags.

Once Ben was on his horse, Cat looked at him and said, "When we get home, I'm going to tell Adam that I jumped Sport over that mountain."

"You do that and you can tell him I said you could. Won't that make him angry?"

Cat giggled. "Yes it will make him mad. It's funny when he scrunches up his mouth and nose."

Ben laughed. "Yes it is. Oh and Cat?"

"Yes?"

"I meant what I said earlier. You can ask me anything at any time except when I'm sleeping. I promise you that I will be very grumpy if you wake me up to ask me something silly."

"Ok. I'll wake you up tonight just to ask you something silly."

Ben reached over and gave one of Cat's pigtails a playful tug. "You are a little scamp and if you wake me up in the middle of the night to ask me something silly, I will tickle you until you have an accident in your pants. Now, let's get home. I have work to do and so do you."


	35. Chapter 35

Adam walked out of the barn just as Ben and Cat rode into the yard. He walked over to the hitching post, helped his sister down off his horse, and took her puppies out of her saddle bags.

"Guess what Adam."

"Let me see now, you climbed the tallest tree on the Ponderosa."

"No, not yet. Maybe tomorrow."

Ummmm, you swam all the way across Lake Tahoe and back again."

"No, not yet. I'm not strong enough yet. Maybe in a few weeks I will be, but not yet."

"Hmmmmmmm, you didn't climb the tallest tree and you didn't swim across Lake Tahoe and back again. I know. You put Buck on top of Sport and rode both horses together."

Cat giggled. "No silly. I jumped Sport over a really high mountain. It must have been at least ten miles high."

"WOW! Ten miles high. That's really high. I didn't know we had any mountains that high on the Ponderosa and I didn't know that Sport could jump that high. Once Fury's big enough to ride, I'll have to see if he can jump that high too."

"But Fury's my horse."

"Well, Sport is my horse and you just jumped him over a really high mountain, so I think it's only fair that I try the same thing with Fury when he grows up."

"I guess you're right, but you can't jump him any higher than ten miles high. I want to be the one who jumps him over a higher mountain than that."

"That's fair. I promise I won't jump him over a mountain any higher than ten miles. I hope Pa gave you permission to jump Sport over that mountain. If he didn't, I'm going to have to tickle you and throw you in the water trough."

Cat giggled. "Yes he did. He didn't think we could do it, but we showed him we could."

"Alright, as long as Pa said you could, I won't tickle you and throw you in the trough." Then he pretended to become angry with his father. "Pa, why did you tell Cat she could jump Sport over such a high mountain? He could have been hurt. She should have jumped one that was only five miles high." He picked Cat up and hugged her as all three of them had a good laugh.

"Adam, I need to speak with your brothers," said Ben. "Starting on Monday, Catherine will be responsible for taking care of Ginger. Will you please take her into the barn and show and explain everything that is involved in taking care of a horse?"

"Sure Pa. Come on Squirt. Bring our horses and I'll start showing you what you need to know. If you do a good job with Ginger and you're lucky, I'll let you take care of Sport for me."

"If I take care of Sport for you, you have to get the eggs, fill Hop Sing's wood box and do all of my schoolwork."

"That's a lot more work than just taking care of Sport."

"Yeah, but I'd be taking care of Sport and Ginger and filling Hop Sing's wood box, and getting the eggs and doing my schoolwork and you wouldn't be doing anything, so I think it's fair. I'll bet that Hoss and Little Joe will think so too."

"Yes, they would. They would even think it was more than fair if I did their work too. I've changed my mind. Leave our horses here for a few minutes. I need to teach you how to muck out a stall. First we need to go into the tack room and get a rake, shovel and broom." Cat started to try and carry all three tools at once when Adam stopped her. "No, don't try and carry all three at once. You're much too small. You'll fall and get hurt, then Pa will be angry at me. That's not the correct way to carry a rake either. If you trip, the prongs will go right into your legs. Carry it with the handle pointing down and the tines facing away from you. When you're doing any work on a ranch, your first priority has to be safety. If you watch Pa, Hoss, Joe, or myself, you'll notice that a lot of times we wear thick gloves. That's to protect our hands from getting hurt when we're working, especially when we're out mending fences. We'll get you some gloves too, but you won't be mending fences for a long time to come. You might help by handing us hammers and nails, but we'll be doing the work, not you. We won't let you do anything around here until you have been taught what to do, how to do it and worked alongside us for a while. You also won't be doing anything we feel that you're too young or small to do. Just like working the cattle today. You weren't alone with the cattle because it isn't safe. None of us will move that many cattle at once without having at least one more person with us. Now, I'm going to start mucking out Ginger's stall. Watch and see what I do and then you'll do some."

After leaving Adam and Cat, Ben walked into the house and yelled for Hoss and Joe. Joe came downstairs and Hoss walked in from the kitchen carrying several pieces of fried chicken. Ben took one look at his younger sons and started yelling at them. " **WHAT IN TARNATION DO THE TWO OF YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, SCARING YOUR LITTLE SISTER LIKE THAT?** "

"Um Pa, I can explain," said Joe.

" **EXPLAIN WHAT? WHY YOU FELT IT WAS NECESSARY TO FRIGHTEN CATHERINE? THIS IS ONLY HER SECOND** **DAY** **HERE** **AND** **SHE'S TALKING ABOUT MOVING BACK TO DODGE! HOW DO YOU** **PLAN** **TO EXPLAIN THAT?** "

"I wasn't planning to scare her. I just thought that she'd be less likely to get into trouble if I kind of exaggerated what kind of punishment she'd get."

Ben sighed loudly. "Son, you were well aware of the consequences of your actions but you still chose to break the rules when you were younger and you still do. You were only supposed to talk to Catherine about not skipping school, nothing else. Neither one of you were supposed to say anything to her about being allowed to punish her. Did you think I wouldn't talk to her about the consequences of breaking the rules? That brings me to another bone of contention. When Adam and I left for North Fork, I gave you a list of things I expected you to accomplish while we were gone. Everything on that list should have been finished before I got back home. Imagine my surprise when I arrived back here only to find that the two of you didn't even do half of the things on that list. Don't try and tell me you didn't have time to do the items on that list. The pair of you had enough time to spend drinking in the Bucket of Blood, so there is no reason why that list is incomplete. Therefore, for the next two weeks, the two of you are restricted to the ranch. You will complete everything on that list and do your regular chores as well as Adam and Catherine's. There will also be plenty of extra chores to keep you busy. Hoss, go out and start on the barn. I need to talk to your younger brother alone."

Joe looked down at the floor nervously. He knew exactly why his father wanted to talk to him alone and he wasn't looking forward to the outcome of that talk. Once Hoss had closed the door behind him, Ben looked at his youngest son and said, "Joseph, you know how I feel about gambling and that I have forbidden you from doing any such thing."

Joe looked down at the floor and said, "Yes sir."

"Joseph, look at me when I talk to you. Do you know how I feel about gambling?"

"Yes sir."

" **THEN WHY DID I COME HOME** **AND** **LEARN THAT MY YOUNGEST SON** **HAS** **BEEN SPENDING TIME IN THE SALOON GAMBLING? HAVE I EVER ALLOWED YOU TO GAMBLE OR** **BET** **MONEY ON ANYTHING?** "

"No sir."

"How much money did you win?"

"About two hundred dollars."

"Go and get it."

"But Pa, I earned that money."

" **MONEY GAINED FROM GAMBLING HAS NOT BEEN EARNED! NOW GO** **AND** **GET** **THAT MONEY FOR ME!** "

Joe went upstairs, came back downstairs and handed the money to his father. "Thank you son. I will be taking this into town tomorrow and using it to open a bank account in your sister's name. It can be the start of a college fund for her should she want to attend college when she's old enough. Now, you and I need to finish this discussion in the barn."

"But Pa, I'm nineteen now and I'm too old for that."

"As long as you live in my house, you are not too old to suffer the consequences of your actions. I have never allowed you or your brothers to gamble or bet on anything. Did you think I wouldn't find out? Now go out to the barn, tell your brothers and sister to find something else to do and wait for me."

Joe slowly walked out to the barn and told his brothers and Cat they needed to find something else to do. They walked out of the barn and Adam gave Hoss a questioning look. "It seems that little brother decided to do some gambling while you and Pa were gone."

Adam let out a low whistle. "Boy, I sure wouldn't want to be in his boots right now. Just when I thought he was starting to grow up, he goes and pulls a stunt like that. He knows how Pa feels about gambling. Did he actually think that Pa wouldn't find out? And where were you when our little brother was getting himself into trouble? Why didn't you keep him from gambling? Don't say he wouldn't leave with you because you are more than strong enough to pick him up and carry him out. You had better hope Pa doesn't think of that."

"Yeah. I'm already in enough trouble with Pa."

"How come you're in trouble Hoss?" asked Cat.

"Well you see, when Pa and Adam left to get you from Lucas', he gave me and Little Joe a list of things that needed to be done on the ranch before the three of you got back home. We didn't get many of the things on that list done and Pa is pretty sore about it. I'm gonna to go and check on that cow we brought home. You two better find something to do before Pa finds a reason to get mad at you."

"Come on Cat," said Adam putting his arm around her shoulders. "We've still got a few more hours before our supper company arrives. Let's see if we can get Hop Sing to give us a snack."

"Little Joe's in big trouble, isn't he?"

"Yes he is. Pa doesn't like gambling and has never allowed us to do it."

"Yeah, Uncle Matt says that gambling is bad. He says he wishes he could make it against the law in Dodge but he can't. He says that there's nothing wrong with playing cards but gambling is bad. He let Miss Kitty teach me how to play poker, but we don't play for money. We play in Uncle Matt's office. Sometimes, Doc or Festus or Mr. Quint or Uncle Matt play with us. Miss Kitty always brings some bags of peanuts and we play for peanuts. When we're all done playing, the peanuts get divvied up between everyone and if there are any left over, the winner gets to pick who gets them. Uncle Matt says that's not gambling because nobody loses and everybody shares the peanuts. When I win, I always give him the extra peanuts."

Adam laughed and hugged Cat. "That's a good way to do it. What do you do with the extra peanuts if Matt isn't in town?"

"I give them to whoever wants them. If nobody wants them, then I get to eat them. I like peanuts. They're good. They're not as good as Hop Sing's chocolate cake, nothing is that good, but they are good."

Adam laughed and said, "You are a silly little girl. Let's go and start taking your things out of the trunk and put them away. I'll help you so it won't take as long to do it."

On his way out to the barn, Ben stopped to talk to Adam and Cat. "How did Cat do with learning how to clean out a stall?"

"She's picking things up fast Pa. She did a good job. It takes time to learn to do it properly, but she did pretty good for the first time."

"That's good. Cat, I'm proud of you for trying to do the things Adam is showing you. Neither of you will need to worry about your chores for at least the next two weeks. Your brothers will be doing them for you."

"Alright Pa," said Adam. "I'm going to help Cat start taking her things out of the trunk and put them away. That way the trunk will be empty in case I want to ship her somewhere far away, like Boston."

Ben laughed. "Adam, do you have any idea how much the freight charges will be on that trunk if you pack your sister in it and ship her to Boston?"

"Not as much as they would be if I packed Little Joe and Hoss in it." That comment got laughs from Cat and Ben.

While they were talking, Cat started looking around. "Where are my puppies? I haven't seen them since we got back from our ride. I hope Hoss didn't get hungry and eat them."

"Don't worry Cat," laughed Ben. "Hoss didn't eat your puppies. I think they're in the kitchen being spoiled by Hop Sing."

"I'm glad that Hoss didn't eat my puppies. I would be really, really mad at him if he did."

Adam and Ben both laughed at the expression on Cat's face. "Go on you two. Find Cat's puppies and start getting Cat's things put away," said Ben. "Remember, our supper company will be here around four. I've got to finish my discussion with Joseph."

"Why do you need to talk to Little Joe in the barn?" asked Cat.

"Ask Adam. He'll explain it to you." Ben walked toward the barn.

Adam sighed. His father should be explaining this to Cat, not him. "Little Joe is in very big trouble and Pa's going to have what he calls a necessary discussion with him. Sometimes, it means Pa's going to give one of us a spanking. In this case, it means that he is going to use his belt on Joe's bare bottom."

"Oh. You and Hoss never got in trouble, did you?"

"Yes, we got in plenty of trouble with Pa when we were much younger and we suffered the consequences of our actions as will you. Now let's go, get a snack and start unpacking your trunk before Pa gets angry at us." They walked into the kitchen where they found Hop Sing throwing meat scraps to the puppies while he was preparing supper.

"Don't give them too much Hop Sing," said Cat. "I don't want them to get fat."

"Puppies too skinny like Number One Son, Number Three Son, and Missy Cat. Fathel too skinny too. Need to eat more and get big like Hoss."

Both Adam and Cat burst out laughing at Hop Sing's proclamation. "It's still several hours until supper," said Adam. "May we please have a snack?"

"Yes. Have snack but not spoil suppel. Go thele and make sandwich but not mess." He pointed to a small table.

"Thank you Hop Sing," said Cat as she hugged him and was hugged in return.

They ate their sandwiches and walked upstairs to Cat's room. Cat opened her trunk, started taking things out and put them on the bed. "Where am I supposed to put my things? I never had my own bedroom before."

"That's why I'm here to help you. Hang your dresses, shirts and pants in the wardrobe. Your winter coat, hat and mittens go in there too. Everything else goes in the chest of drawers." Cat had no idea what Adam was talking about and looked at him like he was insane. He saw the look on her face and realized that she had no idea what he was talking about. All of her belongings had been kept in crates under her bed in Matt's office. "Here, I'll help you. Watch me and then you'll know what to do." He took one of her dresses out of the trunk, shook it out, put it on a hanger and hung it in the wardrobe. He did the same thing with a pair of her pants and one of her shirts. Then he took an empty hanger out of the wardrobe and handed it to her along with one of her dresses. Cat shook the dress out but had trouble figuring out how to put it on the hanger. He showed her again and this time she was able to do it.

"This is dumb. Why can't I just keep everything the way I had it in Dodge? Everything was right under my bed where I could get to it when I needed it."

"Because this is the way people live in houses," came Ben's voice from the doorway. "When people live in houses, they keep their clothes in chests of drawers and wardrobes, not in crates under the bed. Adam, thank you for helping your sister. You can go and tease your youngest brother about getting himself into that kind of trouble and I'll finish helping Cat. Alright Kitten, let's see how much you still have to put away." He looked in the trunk and said, "Well, you're off to a good start. I'll help you and we'll be done before our company arrives for supper. I'll shake out your clothes that need to be hung in the wardrobe and you can put them away." It took a little bit of time but Ben and Cat got all of her clothes put away. He was surprised at her lack of underclothes and socks. He also noticed that some of the clothes she was putting away appeared to be too small for her and made a mental note to talk to Caroline Ingalls about those things. When he pulled Cat's winter coat out of the trunk, he thought it looked small, so he said, "Cat, try this on before you hang it up. I want to see if you need a new one." As he suspected, the coat was too small. "Yes, that's what I thought. It's too small for you. We'll have to get you a new one before winter starts. You'll probably need a new hat and mittens too. I can't have my little girl riding around the ranch in a hat, coat, and mittens that are too small. You're liable to catch cold and get sick and nobody wants that to happen."

The shelf at the top of the wardrobe was too high for Cat to reach, so she tried jumping up a few times to put her hat and mittens on it. Ben watched her and laughed as she got frustrated and said, "Dumb ol' shelf. What dumb person put it so high nobody can reach it? I ain't gonna put my hat and mittens on it. They can go on the floor."

"Don't worry about it Kitten," laughed Ben. Just put them in one of the drawers. You have got to be the silliest little girl I've ever known. If you can't reach to put something where it belongs, don't worry about it. Just put it where you can reach. I'm not going to scold you for putting things where you can reach them. I just expect you to keep your room neat. Now, go and wash up. Our company will be here soon and you don't want to greet them with a dirty face." Ben went back downstairs, sat in his chair and started reading the book laying on the table next to the chair.

Cat washed up and then started looking at her room trying to decide if that's how she really wanted it. She thought about moving her desk under the other window but decided to leave it under the window looking toward Lake Tahoe. She didn't want to have to climb over her desk if she wanted to use the tree growing near the other window to get out of the room when she wasn't supposed to leave it. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Ben opened it and invited the Ingalls family inside. He walked over to the stairs and called, "Catherine, I need you to come down here. Our company is here."

Cat started to run down the hall and stairs when she felt Hoss' hand on her shoulder. "You need to slow down before you get in trouble. If Pa catches you runnin' in the house, you'll be in big trouble. Now, let's go and say hi to our company." They walked down the stairs with Hoss keeping his hand on Cat's shoulder."

"Hoss, why are you holding on to your sister?" asked Ben.

"Because she was thinkin' of runnin' down the stairs and I figured I'd better keep her from doing what she was thinking about."

"Thank you for looking after your sister. Catherine, I think you and I are going to have to have another talk about you running in the house, especially down the stairs. It just isn't safe. Now go and say hello to our company."

Hoss took his hand off Cat's shoulder and she walked down the stairs. She couldn't believe her eyes when she looked toward the door and saw her friends standing there with their parents. The three girls squealed, ran toward each other hugged and began talking all at once. "Catherine," said Ben. Don't you think you should say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls and Carrie too?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Cat walked over to Charles, Caroline, and Carrie and said hello to them. They hugged her and welcomed her home.

Just then, Joe walked into the house, trying not to show how bad he was hurting from the whipping he had received, followed by Cat's puppies. "Look," said Carrie. "Cat's got puppies."

Cat picked Lassie up and introduced her to the Ingalls. "This is Lassie. Mr. McLeod's brother gave her to me." She handed the puppy to Mary, picked up Silver Chief and said, "This is Silver Chief. My Apache brother, Little Bear gave him to me." Cat handed Silver Chief to Laura. Both puppies decided that the girls' faces were dirty and began washing them, causing the girls to giggle.

"Cat," said Ben. "Why don't you show your new bedroom to the Ingalls? I'm sure they'd love to see it."

"Ok. I was going to do that in a few minutes. I wanted to show Fury to them first."

Ben laughed. "Alright Sweetheart. Go and introduce your colt to everyone. I know that the girls are going to want to see him." Ben decided to walk out with them and talk to Charles and Caroline on the way. "Caroline, I need some help with Catherine's clothing. We got everything put away out of her trunk today and it appears to me that many of the clothes are too small for her. She also doesn't seem to have enough underclothes or socks. When you go and look at her room, would you please look in her chest of drawers and wardrobe and give me your opinion? Charles, I went to town this morning and spoke with Roland Miller he is going to contact the other school board members and schedule a meeting, probably for next week. I'll let you know when the meeting will be so you can attend if you want to."

"Mr. Cartwright," said Caroline, "I will be more than happy to look at Cat's clothing to see what she needs and which items may be too small. She won't want to try clothing on right now, so I'll pick another day to come over and have her try her clothes on."

"Why don't you and the girls come over tomorrow? Cat can try her things on and we can all go to town and buy her what she needs."

"That's an excellent idea," said Charles. "I'm sure that the girls would enjoy spending the day together."

"Great. I'll send one of the boys over to pick you up in the morning. I wonder what they're arguing about over there." He pointed to where his sons were standing under a tree, having a heated discussion. Ben walked over to them and asked, "Why are the three of you arguing? We have company and that is very rude. The three of you know better than that."

"We're not arguing Pa," said Adam. "We're having a difference of opinion as to the best place to hang a swing for Cat. Joe and Hoss think we should hang it in the tree by her bedroom window, but I think it's too close to the house. I think we should use this one. It's got a good, sturdy limb and it's far enough away from the hitching rail, house, barn, and other trees so she won't bump into anything."

Hoss and Joe looked at the tree they were standing under and Joe said, "I hate to admit it, but Adam is right. Just once I would like him to be wrong about something like this."

His father and brothers laughed. "That's never going to happen little brother. I'm always right about things like this. I'm surprised you haven't learned that by now. Why don't you and Hoss go and get the rope and swing? We may as well hang it up now so the girls can use it before it gets dark."

Ben shook his head and rejoined Charles and Caroline as they walked to the pasture to see Cat's colt. "They were having a difference of opinion about where to hang a swing for Cat. Much to his brothers' frustration, Adam was right again." They reached the pasture where Fury was already being hugged, kissed, and petted by all four girls. "I have a feeling that my house is going to be occupied by more than just one little girl from now on. I have discovered that puppies and foals are little girl magnets."

Charles and Caroline laughed. "We'll make sure that they don't make pests of themselves," said Charles.

"They are welcome here any time. It will be good for Catherine to have girls her own age to play with and I'm hoping that your girls will have a calming influence on her. I can't begin to tell you how much I wish Kate had brought her to me instead of taking her to Matt. She wouldn't be so wild if I had raised her. Don't get me wrong. Matt did the best he could and he had a lot of help, but his job took him out of town so much that he didn't have the time to spend with her that I would have had."

"Ben," said Charles, "That was many years ago. You cannot dwell on the past. Your sister did what she thought was right. Look deep into yourself and answer this question. Would you have said no to your father when he showed up on your doorstep, demanding that you give your sister's daughter to him? Matt did a very good job raising Cat. For the most part, she is polite and well behaved. I know that she will not always be, but she is a child and as we all know, part of childhood is making mistakes and paying for them. Even my Mary gets into trouble occasionally. You did an excellent job raising your sons. You know that there will be days when Catherine is angelic and other days when she is mischief personified. Just keep telling and showing her how much you love her. There is one thing you do need to know about girls. Besides the obvious differences between boys and girls, girls get their feelings hurt easily. I know that your sons like to tease each other and that they will tease Cat. Pay attention to her facial expressions and you will know what to do. Now, I had better go and admire that colt before I hurt her feelings because I have a feeling that she is going to be at my house just as much as my daughters are going to be here. And, as we have told you, she is welcome at our house anytime."

After everyone had admired Fury, Ben suggested that Cat show her new bedroom to the Ingalls. The girls loved Cat's bedroom and admired the doll house and other things her father had made for her. "Cat, may I please look in your chest of drawers and wardrobe?" asked Caroline.

"Sure, but why do you want to look in them?"

"Because I'm a mother and mothers like to make sure that children have all of the things they need."

"Oh. Ok. You can look in them if you want to."

"Thank you Cat." Caroline looked at Cat's clothes and said, "Some of your clothes look like they're too small for you and you need some underclothes and socks. Why don't the girls and I come over tomorrow? Then you can try on the clothes that appear to be too small and we can go to town and buy the things you need."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

"There is one more thing I need to talk to you about. I know that when you were in Dodge, there were several women you could go to when you needed advice about things a girl needs to know. I have already talked to your Pa and you may come to me whenever you need a mother's advice. That means anything you aren't comfortable talking to your Pa or brothers about. Just as your Pa has said that Laura and Mary are welcome here anytime, you are welcome in our house anytime."

Cat hugged her and said, "Thank you very much. When I was in Dodge, I could talk to Mamma Tanner, Miss Kitty, Julie's Ma, and Ma Smalley. I didn't know what I was going to do here."

Caroline hugged her back. "Well now you know. As little girls grow up, there are things that they need to learn from their mothers and I will teach those things to you when I teach them to my daughters. Now, why don't you girls play up here for a while and we'll let you know when supper is ready. "Also, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe are working on something for you outside. I'm sure that they'll let you know when they're finished."

Charles and Caroline left the girls in Cat's room and walked back downstairs. "You and the boys did a great job on Cat's bedroom," said Charles. I have a feeling that my girls are going to want to move into it along with Cat."

Ben laughed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with one daughter, let alone three or four, but your girls are welcome here anytime, as are you. Did Cat give you any problems with looking at her clothes?"

"No," said Caroline. "She was curious why I wanted to and I simply told her that I'm a mother and that's something mother's do. As you suspected, she does not have enough socks and underclothes and some of her things do appear to be too small. She agreed to let me come over with the girls tomorrow and try her clothes on. We'll let her decide what to do with the clothes that are too small, but I'm going to suggest that she give them to an orphanage. That's what I plan to do with Carrie's things when she outgrows them. When Mary outgrows her things, they are passed down to Laura and then they are passed down to Carrie. Cat doesn't have a younger sister to pass her things down to and that's why I'm going to suggest she give them to an orphanage."

"That's a great idea. I'll tell her that's what we're going to do with her clothes that are too small."

"No Ben," said Charles. "Let it be Cat's decision. It will be better that way."

"Alright, I'll let Caroline make her suggestion and Catherine can decide what she wants to do."

Cat's brothers finished hanging the swing and Hoss stood in it to make sure the limb it was attached to would hold. Adam walked in the house and upstairs to Cat's room. "Come on outside girls. Joe, Hoss, and I have a surprise for you."

The four girls walked downstairs and toward the door. "Where are you girls going?" asked Ben.

"Adam said that he, Little Joe, and Hoss have a surprise in the yard and we're going to see what it is," answered Cat.

"Well then, by all means go and see what the surprise is. In fact, I think that Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls and I will join you." Everyone walked out into the yard and the four girls squealed with delight when they were shown the swing.

"Did you boys test that swing to make sure the limb is going to hold?" asked Ben.

"Yes we did," replied Adam. Hoss stood in it and jumped up and down. We've got it on a good strong limb. If it will hold Hoss jumping up and down, it will hold little girls. Now, which girl is going to go first?"

Laura, Mary, and Cat whispered for a minute. Then Mary picked Carrie up and put her on the swing. Joe pushed Carrie for a while, then stopped the swing and said, "Ok. Who's next?"

"Mary is," said Cat. "She's the oldest." After Mary took her turn, Joe again asked who was next. "Laura is, because she's company." After Laura finished her turn, Joe pretended to ignore his sister and sat down on the swing and was immediately attacked by Mary, Laura, and Carrie who tried to push him off the swing.

"That will teach you to ignore our little sister," said Adam. "I think you had better get off that swing before the girls decide to hurt you. Also, if you don't, either Hoss or I will throw you in the trough, which means you'll be late for supper and Hop Sing will yell at you. Also, if you are late for supper, Pa will yell at you."

"You win. I give up. Pa already yelled at me enough today and I don't need him doing it again. Come on Cat, take your turn because it's almost supper time." Knowing that Joe was still hurting from the whipping he had received earlier, Hoss swatted his younger brother on the seat of his pants when he stood up. Joe yelped and gave his brother a dirty look. Adam and Hoss just laughed at him.

Cat no sooner finished her turn on the swing when Hop Sing came outside and yelled, "Suppel almost leady. Evelybody go to table."

"Girls, time to wash up for supper," said Ben. "The four of you can use the wash room outside the back door. One of you boys can use that wash room also." Cat took her puppies into the kitchen and told them they would have to eat there because there was company. Then she joined her friends and Hoss at the washroom.

Everyone washed up and sat down at the table. Instead of being seated between Ben and Joe, Cat was allowed to sit between Laura and Mary. Hop Sing brought the food to the table and said, "Plenty food. Evelybody eat lots. Little girls too skinny. Need to eat lots and get big like Hoss."

All four girls giggled and Mary said, "We're girls Hop Sing. We're not supposed to be big. If we get too big, no man will want to marry us when we grow up."

"Hop Sing no cale! Little girls need get big like Hoss!"

Everyone had a good laugh at Hop Sing's proclamation. "You won't win that argument Mary and may as well give up trying. I've been hearing that argument about Adam and Joe for many years now."

Once again, Hop Sing had made all of Cat's favorite foods and everyone feasted on steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, spinach, and biscuits. Laura, Mary, and Cat all had second helpings of potatoes with gravy, corn and biscuits. Carrie even had a second biscuit. Dessert was chocolate cake. All four girls looked at it and said, "Yummy. Chocolate cake is my favorite food."

After supper, everyone took their coffee and milk into the living room. Cat set her milk down and walked upstairs. She entered Adam's bedroom and got his guitar. She started to run back to the stairs and, realizing that she'd be in really big trouble if she fell and broke it because she was running, stopped and walked. She carried the guitar back downstairs, handed it to Adam and said, "Adam, play something please."

He took the guitar, gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug and said, "What would you like me to play?"

"I don't know. I just want you to play for us please."

"Alright. Give me a minute and I'll think of something."

Adam played his guitar and the four girls sang and danced for nearly an hour. After the tired girls sat down, Charles said, "It's time we headed for home. Ben, thank you for inviting us and Hop Sing thank you for a delicious supper. We had a wonderful time and look forward to doing this again sometime soon."

"You're very welcome. I'll talk to Hop Sing and if he doesn't object, we'll plan on doing this once a month. I'll send one of the boys over to pick up Caroline and the girls tomorrow morning. Have a safe trip home." Mary, Laura, and Carrie said goodbye to everyone and kissed and hugged Cat's puppies one more time. Then the Ingalls' got in their wagon and started for home.


	36. Chapter 36

Author's Note: To my guest reviewer: Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like my story. Don't worry, Cat will still be wild even after she's grown up. She will continue to wear dresses to church for special occasions and to dances, but that's about it. (Her 1st Sunday in Virginia City will be considered a special occasion.) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once the Ingalls were gone, Ben asked, "Joseph, do you still have any of the balls you used to play with?"

"Yes I do. I was planning on giving them to Cat."

"Would you please go and get one?" Joe walked out to the barn and returned a few minutes later with a ball in his hands. "Thank you son. Would you please walk upstairs and roll the ball down? Catherine, I want you to pay close attention to what that ball does after Joe sends it down the stairs." Joe rolled the ball down the stairs and it rolled from side to side, skipping some stairs and hitting the railings on its way down to the main floor. "That is what could have happened to you today if Hoss hadn't stopped you from running down the stairs. Instead of having an enjoyable evening with your friends, Dr. Martin would have been here, trying to save your life. You are not in trouble because you did not run down the stairs, but I wanted you to see what could have happened to you. Please remember what I told you this morning. You have received your last warning about running in the house. The next time you are caught doing it, you will be punished. I do not want to punish you, so please do not run in the house. Now, it's time for you to get ready for bed."

"I want to help Hop Sing clear the table first. He made that nice supper for everybody and it's not fair for him to have to clean everything up by himself too. I'll go and get ready for bed after I help him."

"That is very thoughtful Cat. You learned a lot when you stayed with the Tanners. In fact, I don't see any reason why all of us can't help Hop Sing. We'll all help clear the table and maybe your brothers will help wash and dry the dishes and put them away while you and I read a chapter in our book."

With everyone helping, the table was cleared in no time at all and Cat went upstairs to get ready for bed. A few minutes later, Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Hop Sing walked out of the kitchen. "We figured we'd say goodnight to Cat before we got the dishes washed," said Hoss. "Since Hop Sing here is family too, we all figured he should get to say goodnight to her too."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure your sister will enjoy having all of you say goodnight to her."

Just as Ben finished speaking, Cat came walking down the stairs in her nightclothes, followed by her puppies. "I forgot to let Lassie and Silver Chief go outside and I need to use the outhouse."

"That's fine except you're forgetting one small thing."

"What did I forget?"

"You have bare feet. You can't go walking across the yard with nothing on your feet."

"Oh. I didn't think about that. I guess I'd better go and get my moccasins."

"Hold on a minute little sister. How about Ol' Hoss gives you a ride to the outhouse? Then you won't have to go back upstairs for your moccasins and you won't get your feet dirty runnin' across the yard in bare feet."

"Gee thanks Hoss. That would be swell."

"It's no problem Cat but you really do need to remember to wear shoes in the future."

"Ok. I will."

"Alright, climb up on my back and let's get you outside and then up to bed." Hoss carried Cat outside to the outhouse, back inside and up into her bedroom. He kissed her on the forehead, hugged her and told her he loved her before going back downstairs. Adam, Hop Sing, and Joe followed suit a few minutes later. Then they all went into the kitchen to wash the supper dishes. Ben walked upstairs, picked the book up from the night table and read another chapter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with Cat. Then he put the puppies under the covers with her, kissed her on the forehead, hugged her, told her he loved her and was glad she was his daughter and tucked them in.

Cat looked at the puppies on either side of her and said, "Look. I'm the middle of a puppy sandwich."

"And so you are. What are you going to do when they grow up and there isn't enough room on your pillow for all three of you?"

"I'll take one of Adam's pillows and one of yours for them."

"We'll just have to see about that silly girl. I don't think Adam will like it if you take one of his pillows for your puppies and I know that I won't. Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day." He blew out the lamp and left the room, closing the door behind him. He said a silent prayer thanking God for the little girl who had been entrusted to him and asked that she not have any nightmares. Then he walked downstairs to talk with his sons. "Thank you for helping Hop Sing with the dishes boys. Catherine was correct. It's not fair of us to expect Hop Sing to cook and clean up after a large meal like tonight by himself. So, from now on, whenever Hop Sing makes a large meal like that, the entire family will assist in the clean up afterwards. Joseph, I am sorry that I had to punish you like I did today, but you know my rule about gambling. And no, I don't care if you are nineteen or twenty nine. As long as you live in my house, you will obey my rules, especially when it comes to gambling. Don't forget, you now have a younger sister you need to set a good example for."

"Speaking of gambling," said Adam. "Were you aware that Cat knows how to play poker?"

Joe started to complain that he was punished for gambling while his nine year old sister was allowed to, but Ben spoke up. "Yes, Matt told me. He allowed Kitty to teach her. They play for peanuts and when they're finished playing, the peanuts are divided up between Cat, Kitty, Doc, Festus, Matt, and Quint. If there is an uneven amount of peanuts, the winner decides who gets the extra. That is not gambling Joseph because nobody loses and everyone shares the peanuts equally. From what I was told, your sister is a good player. If the three of you want to play with your sister like that, I will not object. You can play for match sticks or marbles and put them all back where they belong when you're finished playing. However, you will not play for money even if it all goes back to the person who provided it.

I would like the three of you to continue teaching her how to do things around the ranch. I'll get her some gloves when we go into town tomorrow. She can go with you and watch you mend fences and do other things. Knowing her, she's going to want to try everything herself. I don't have to remind you about keeping her safe. Use your best judgment about the things you let her do. Remember, she's not afraid to try anything on her own, which is why Lucas taught her how to work cattle. He was afraid she'd try on her own and get hurt. If you see her attempting to do anything dangerous on her own, stop her, explain why it's dangerous, and offer to help her. Once you have done those things, if you catch her doing it again, give her a couple of swats, bring her to me and I'll deal with her. As you heard tonight, she has received her last warning about running in the house. If you catch her, give her a couple of swats and bring her to me. If I'm not home, put her in a corner and I'll deal with her when I return. That girl is so reckless, I'm afraid she'll be seriously hurt before she's been here a month. Joseph, you and Hoss have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow, so I recommend the two of you get a good night's sleep."

After his brothers went upstairs, Adam asked, "How much of that list did they get done?"

"Almost none of it son. They spent almost the entire time we were in town or goofing off. That's why you and Cat have no chores for at least two weeks. Your brothers won't be leaving the ranch except for church on Sunday until that list has been completed. I made Joe give me his gambling winnings. I'll use that money to open a bank account in your sister's name when I go to town tomorrow. It will be the start of her college fund if she decides to attend when she's old enough. Now, we'd better get to bed. This ranch won't run itself and I'll be taking your sister, Caroline and her girls to town tomorrow morning. We'll eat dinner in town. When we return, maybe you and I will take Catherine out and let her look for strays."

"You'd better be careful about letting her look for strays Pa. She's a lot like Hoss and liable to come home with almost anything."

"You're right about that son," laughed Ben. "Their definition of 'stray' is different than ours. That's why we're going to be with her. The last thing we need is for her to bring a baby skunk or rattlesnake home."

"Knowing her, she's liable to bring a cougar, bear or wolf cub home."

"Let's hope not. I had enough of things like that when Hoss was growing up. Go and get some sleep I want to write in my journal for a little while." Ben sat at his desk, writing in his journal as he had done every day since he first went to sea as a cabin boy. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard Joe yelling for him.

"Pa, it's Cat. She's having a nightmare." Ben hurried upstairs and found all three of his sons sitting with their sister, wanting to wake her up, but knowing that the bad dream had to play itself out, they just held her hands. Lassie and Silver Chief kept trying to lick her face, so Hoss gently put them near the end of the bed.

When the nightmare had passed, Cat woke up to find herself surrounded by her family. "I dreamed about the day my mother died. I wanted to stop her from being killed but I didn't know how."

Hoss pulled her onto his lap, hugged her tight and said, "I know Punkin'. But there was nothin you coulda done. What happened was not your fault and the only way it coulda been stopped is if someone had seen the killer before he shot and stopped him. You're safe here and none of us are gonna ever let anything bad happen to you again. Now, I think maybe you and your puppies had better go, use the outhouse."

"You're silly Hoss. Puppies don't use outhouses."

"Well, these are pretty smart puppies and I'll just bet that you could teach them if you wanted to."

"Climb up on my back," said Ben. "I'll take you to use the outhouse. Will one of you boys please put her puppies on the floor so they can go outside too?"

Cat climbed up on Ben's back and he decided to tease her a little bit. "Well come on Catherine. Climb up on my back so I can take you to the outhouse. We don't have all night. I need to get you back in bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day."

"I am on your back." Cat laughed and hugged Ben's neck tightly.

"Oh well, I guess you are. I declare you don't weigh much more than a feather. Hop Sing is right. We do need to fatten you up. Starting at breakfast, you get triple portions of everything. We can't have a good strong wind come along and blow you away."

"That's alright Pa," said Joe. "I'll just tie a rope around her waist and fly her like a kite."

"Say, that's a swell idea," said Hoss. "What do you think Adam?"

"It sounds like an excellent idea to me. I haven't flown a kite in many years. I'll bet that Hop Sing has some rags we can tie together to make a tail for her. In fact, I'll wager a day's chores that I can fly her higher than either of you."

"That sounds like fun," laughed Cat. "When can we do it?"

"Not tonight, that's for certain," said Ben. "Right now, I need to get you and your puppies outside and back to bed." Once Cat and her puppies were back in bed, Ben went back downstairs to write more in his journal. 'Catherine had another nightmare tonight. She keeps reliving her mother's murder. I wish there was a way to keep her from having them. I've spoken to Paul Martin and he says I just need to be patient and they will eventually stop. I have decided to ride out and talk to the Shoshone and **Paiute** next week. Maybe one of their medicine men will have something to keep the bad dreams from happening. I need to introduce Catherine to Silver Hawk and Winnemucca anyway. She will never forgive me if she finds out there are Indians living near the Ponderosa and I don't introduce her to them. Since she insists on wearing buckskins, I'll need their help making them.' Ben closed his journal, put it in his desk drawer, blew out the lamp and went up to bed.

During breakfast, Ben asked Adam if he would hitch up the buggy and pick up Caroline Ingalls and the girls afterwards. "After all, if I'm going to be escorting five ladies to town, I had better not take them in a wagon." Cat giggled at being called a lady.

"Sure Pa," replied Adam. "I think I'll start teaching little sister how to hitch up a team while I'm at it."

"I'll go and get them Pa," said Joe.

"No Joe. You seem to have forgotten our discussion yesterday in regards to the work you did not do while Adam and I were gone. With the exception of church on Sunday, you and Hoss are restricted to the ranch for at least two weeks. Whether it extends beyond that period of time depends on if you complete the work you did not do while I was gone, along with Adam and Catherine's chores as well as any other work I choose to assign you. Also, I still haven't decided on the rest of your punishment for gambling."

"But Pa, you gave me a whipping and took all of my winnings. Isn't that enough punishment?"

"No son, I'm afraid it's not. I have taught you ever since you were five years old that I will not tolerate my children gambling and you chose to break that rule. I think that an extra two weeks or being restricted to the ranch with extra chores to keep you busy might serve to get my point across. You're going to be a man in three years and I expect you to set a good example for your younger sister. The next time I hear of you gambling, I'll use a razor strop instead of my belt. Now finish your breakfast. You and Hoss have a full day's work ahead of you and you won't be able to do much of anything if you're hungry."

"Can I take Lassie and Silver Chief to town with us?" asked Cat.

"May I," corrected Adam. Cat shot him a nasty look that he ignored.

"Yes you may," answered Ben. "I think Mr. McLeod would be angry with me if I made you leave them at home."

"Can I drive the buggy? Uncle Luke and Mark taught me how to drive their buckboard."

"May I," corrected Adam again which resulted in another nasty look from his sister.

"Not this time Sweetheart. I want to watch you drive the buckboard here on the ranch before I let you drive a buggy full of people."

Cat was disappointed but all she said was, "Oh, ok."

Joe gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "Don't feel bad Cat. I was twelve before I was allowed to drive the buckboard and I had to have either Pa or Adam with me for six months."

After breakfast, Hoss and Joe went to work on the list of things they were supposed to have done while Ban and Adam were gone. Adam went to get Caroline and the girls, Cat ran out to the pasture to play with Fury, while Ben decided to work on the books for a little while.

Adam returned about an hour later. Caroline and the girls walked into the house and Ben said, "Girls, I believe that Catherine is out in the pasture playing with Fury and her puppies. Why don't you go and join her for a little while? Someone will come and get you when we want you to come in." The girls went out to the pasture and Ben poured Caroline a cup of coffee. They sat down in the living room and Ben said, "Cat had another nightmare last night. She keeps reliving her mother's murder and I don't know how to stop it. Caroline, please tell me how to keep those awful nightmares from coming. I hate seeing my little girl relive that terrible moment in her life."

"I wish I could help you Mr. Cartwright, but unfortunately, there is no way that I know of to prevent nightmares. The only thing that will ease that painful memory for Catherine is time. In the meantime, the best thing you and your sons can do is be there for her when she wakes up. Bringing her into your bed afterwards might help her to realize that she is safe. Now I had better get the girls as I'm sure you have a lot to do today."

"Caroline, please sit and relax. You have three children, so I know that peace and quiet aren't things you get much of, so just enjoy them for a little while. Here, have another cup of coffee. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that you and the girls will be my guests for dinner while we're in town today. I've already told Hop Sing that Catherine and I won't be home for dinner." Caroline started to protest but Ben interrupted her. "I won't take no for an answer. We will already be in town so we may as well eat while we are there. Besides that, I know that you and Charles can't afford to eat in town, so it will be a treat for all of you. Think of it as a small payment for all of the help I am going to need from you with raising Catherine. And one more thing. Please call me Ben. We are neighbors and friends so there is no need to be so formal with me." Ben and Caroline talked for a little while. Then he got up to get the girls from the pasture. He opened the door and saw Joe who had just gotten off his horse. "Joseph, will you please go out to the pasture where Fury is and tell your sister to come in the house?"

"Sure Pa. Give me a minute to get a cold drink from the pump and I'll go and get them."

"Thank you son." He walked back inside and told Caroline that the girls would be in the house shortly.

Cat and her friends walked into the house a few minutes later. "Joe said you wanted us to come in."

"Yes I do. It's time that you go and try on your clothes for Mrs. Ingalls so we can go to town and get you some of the things you need."

"Ok. I need to use the outhouse first."

"Alright Catherine. Go and do what you need to do and then try your clothes on for Mrs. Ingalls."

They went upstairs a few minutes later and Cat started trying her clothes on. Almost all of her clothes were too small and some were so small, she couldn't even put them on.

"What do you want to do with all of these clothes?" asked Caroline.

"Carrie can have any of them that fit her but I don't know what to do with everything else."

With her mother's permission, Carrie looked at Cat's dresses and selected four that fit her. "I have a suggestion," said Caroline. "Why don't you give them to an orphanage? Most of the children in orphanages don't have many clothes and I'm sure they would appreciate getting yours."

Cat thought about it for a minute. While she was thinking, Mary spoke up. "That's a great idea Cat. These clothes are still in great shape. Just think of all the children you'll be helping. Not counting the dresses that Carrie picked out, you have twelve in all different sizes. You also have a lot of buckskin shirts and pants in all different sizes. Those clothes sure would make a lot of children who don't have many things, very happy."

"Uncle Matt always said I should help people who weren't as lucky as me, so I'll make the children happy and give my clothes that are too small, to an orphanage. But I don't know where one is."

Caroline hugged her. "That's my good girl. I'm sure that there's an orphanage in Carson City. We'll ask your Pa when we go downstairs. We're going to need two crates to pack everything into." When they went downstairs, Caroline said, "As you suspected, most of Catherine's clothing, including her underclothes, are too small for her. Not counting the buckskin dress, she only has four that fit her and one looks like it's for Thanksgiving."

"That's what I was afraid of. Catherine, what are you going to do with your things that are too small?"

"Carrie got four of my dresses that fit her and I'm going to give the rest to an orphanage. Uncle Matt always said it was good to help people who weren't as lucky as me and Mary said I would make a lot of children happy if I did that." Ben hugged her and told her how proud he was of her. "Mrs. Ingalls says we need two crates to pack all of those clothes into, but I don't know where any are."

"I'm sure that Hop Sing would know. Why don't we go and ask him?" They walked into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later carrying two crates. "Caroline, are these big enough?"

"Yes, those are just fine. Come on girls, let's go and pack these crates so we can go to town."

"Once they're packed, just leave them on the floor in Cat's bedroom," said Ben. "I'll have one of her brothers carry them downstairs later." Fifteen minutes later, Caroline and the girls came back downstairs. "Once you girls use the outhouse, we'll leave for town. While they're doing that Caroline, would you please write down what I need to buy for Catherine? I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help in all of this. I'm afraid I'm out of my league when it comes to outfitting a little girl."

Caroline laughed at the expression on Ben's face. "It's my pleasure Ben. If I ever have another child and it is a boy and lives, Charles and I will come to you for advice."

"That will be just fine. Now, we had better go outside before the girls decide to drive themselves to town." They walked outside and started laughing. All four girls and both puppies were in the buggy and Carrie was holding the reins.

"We took a vote and decided that Carrie was going to drive," said Mary.

"Well, I'm glad that you chose the fair way to decide," said Ben. "Taking a vote is always a good idea. You girls forgot one thing. The horses are still tied to the hitching rail."

"We didn't forget Mr. Cartwright," said Laura. "We were waiting for you and Ma before we untied them."

"That was very thoughtful of you girls," said Caroline. "I am very proud of all four of you."

Ben helped Caroline into the buggy, untied the horses and climbed in. "Carrie, may I please help you drive? Those horses don't always behave for people they don't know. You can sit in my lap and I'll keep my hands over yours in case the horses act up."

"Ok Mr. Cartwright. Thank you."

"You're welcome Carrie. Now, let's go to town." Cat felt a twinge of jealousy rising to the surface. That should be her, not Carrie helping to drive the buggy. But she couldn't say anything. After all, the joke had been her idea. She just had no idea it would backfire on her. Ben chuckled to himself. He had a good idea of what Cat was thinking and wanted to see how she would handle herself. He decided that if she controlled her jealousy, he would allow her to drive the buggy home from the Ingalls'.

Part way to town, Laura asked, "Carrie, is it fun to drive the buggy?"

"Yes it is."

"Maybe when Laura, Mary, and I are grown up like you, we will get to drive the buggy," said Cat.

"When do you think we'll be big enough to drive the buggy?" asked Mary.

Carrie giggled at her sisters and friend saying that she was grown up. When they reached town, Ben endured some good natured teasing from some of his friends. "Well Ben," said Mr. McLeod as the group walked into the mercantile. "Aren't you the lucky one, getting to escort five beautiful ladies all at once? If I weren't happily married, I would be a jealous man." He bent down and picked up Lassie and Silver Chief. "Miss Cat, I am very happy to see that you brought these two with you. They sure are getting big. Where do they sleep?"

"They sleep in my bed. I'm the middle of a puppy sandwich." James had walked into the store just as his father asked where the puppies slept and started petting them also. Everyone had a good laugh at Cat's comment.

"Let me go and get my puppy," said James. "I'd like to see how he gets along with Lassie and Silver Chief." He left and returned a few minutes later carrying a collie puppy that was the same size as Cat's puppies. "This is Prince. My uncle said that his grandfather is Lassie's grandfather's brother. Maybe one day, Lassie and Prince can have puppies."

"That would be nice," said Cat. "Look, the three puppies like each other."

"Yes, they do. Why don't I take the three puppies out back so they can play with each other while you shop?"

"That would be an excellent idea," said his father. "When you go into the house, would you please ask your mother to come in here?" Mrs. McLeod walked into the store a few minutes later and greeted Ben, Caroline, and the girls.

"Hello Mary," said Ben. "I don't believe you've met my daughter. Catherine, this is Mrs. McLeod. Mary, this is my daughter, Catherine. I need to buy some clothes for her and Caroline was kind enough to come along to help me."

"I'll be more than happy to help you Ben. Caroline that was very nice of you to offer to help Ben with his daughter. What kinds of things does Catherine need?" Caroline told Mrs. McLeod what Cat needed. She picked out some underwear in several different sizes and took Cat into the back room so she could try it on. Once she found the right size, they came back out into the store. "Ben, you're going to want at least ten sets of everything. Yes, I know that Hop Sing does laundry every week, but you have raised three children already. Accidents happen and children do like to go swimming in the summertime. Now, what about some material for dresses?"

"Cat," said Ben. "Why don't we get you some material for more dresses? Caroline says that you only have four and there are several dances coming up between now and Thanksgiving. One thing I do remember from when my wives were alive is that ladies don't like to wear the same dress to every dance or special occasion."

"How many would I need to get?"

"I think that four would be enough. We've got more than enough time to get material for a Christmas dress for you." Cat thought about it for a minute and then got an idea. She got a look on her face that was pure mischief. "Uh oh," said Ben to Caroline and Mrs. McLeod. "I know that look. I've seen it on Joe's face many times and it's pure mischief. I wonder what she's thinking?"

"Alright, I'll get four dresses if Mary and Laura can get some too."

Everybody who heard Cat's comment started laughing. "Well," said Mrs. McLeod. "Now you know what that mischievous look was all about. I take it that Catherine doesn't like wearing dresses very much, does she?"

"No," said Ben. "She will only wear them to church for special occasions and to dances. She did wear one in Arizona when her uncle was promoted to major and in Dodge when her best friend's mother got married, but that's it. All attempts to force her to wear a dress have resulted in Cat having hurt feelings and being punished. Her happiness and well being are more important to me than having her wear dresses is. Well Caroline, do your girls get dresses too or does my daughter stick with having four?"

"I should say no because you've already done so much for us, but Mary and Laura do need some new dresses and Catherine does too. So, yes, my girls can get some new dresses also."

"Catherine, Mary, and Laura," said Ben. "Please pick out material to make four dresses for each of you. I guess the three of you will need hair ribbons too. Please pick out some hair ribbons also. Caroline, am I forgetting anything that Catherine needs?"

"Yes Ben. You're forgetting that she also needs socks. As with the underwear, I would recommend getting at least ten pair."

Once the girls picked out their material, Mrs. McLeod cut enough from each bolt to make the dresses and the girls put the material back where it came from. She also helped the girls pick out hair ribbons. While the girls were getting their material, Ben walked up to Mr. McLeod and said, "George, do you have any work gloves that are small enough for Catherine? I know that she's going to want to help with things around the ranch and I don't want her hands getting all cut up."

"I don't know if I do Ben. Let's look." They walked over and looked at the gloves. Mr. McLeod held up a pair of gloves and said, "This is the smallest pair I have and I think that they're going to be too large for Cat. Catherine, if you've picked out your material and hair ribbons, would you please come and try these gloves on for your Pa and me?" Cat walked over and tried the gloves on. "Yes, that's what I was afraid of; they're too large for her. Gerald Miller might be able to make some for her."

"That's an excellent idea George. Thank you. We'll go there after we visit the dress maker and have dinner." Ben paid for all of the purchases and the girls stared carrying everything out to the buggy. While they were doing that, Mrs. McLeod went out back and told James that Ben, Caroline, and the girls were getting ready to leave. He walked back into the store followed by all three puppies. Once the buggy was loaded and everyone was in it, Ben drove over to the dressmaker's shop where everyone got out. "Girls, please bring your material with you. Mrs. Hansen is going to need it." They walked into the shop and Caroline explained what they needed. After each girl handed her their material, Mrs. Hansen took a piece of paper, wrote a girl's name on it and placed it on top of her material.

"I need to measure you girls so I can make your dresses the correct size. Which one of you is going to go first?"

"Please measure Catherine first," said Ben. "There is something I need to do with her while you are measuring Mary and Laura." Once Cat had been measured, Ben said, "Caroline, I'm taking Catherine over to the bank to open an account in her name. Once we're finished, we'll go and get something to eat. I'm sure that the girls are getting hungry. Come on Cat let's walk over to the bank."

While they were walking over to the bank, Cat asked, "Why are you going to open a bank account for me? I thought Jarrod already did that with the money I got from my grandparents."

"I don't know if he opened one here or in California or just left the money in my father's account. We'll have to ask and find out."

When they entered the bank, the manager greeted Ben. "Hello Ben. What can I do for you today?"

"Hello Sam. This is my daughter, Catherine. Cat, this is Mr. Jamison. He runs the bank." Cat and Mr. Jamison said hello to each other. "Sam, can you please tell me if my nephew, Jarrod, opened an account in Catherine's name when he was here in June? If he didn't, I want to open one for her today."

Mr. Jamison looked and said, "No Ben. The only Cartwright accounts I have are for the Ponderosa and your sons. I'll be more than happy to open one for Miss Catherine. How much do you plan to deposit today?"

"I have two hundred dollars to put in her account."

"Two hundred dollars!" exclaimed Cat. "I've never seen that much money before. Can I please see what it looks like?"

"Yes, you may see what two hundred dollars looks like." He took the money out of his pocket and handed it to Cat.

"Wow! That's a lot of money. Here, you'd better take it back. I'm afraid I'll lose it."

Ben and Mr. Jamison laughed. "I don't think you'll lose it just standing here," said Ben. "You can keep it until Mr. Jamison asks you for it." They finished setting up Cat's bank account, rejoined the Ingalls and went to dinner.

Eating dinner at the restaurant in town was a special treat for Mary, Laura, and Carrie and they enjoyed everything, especially the apple pie with ice cream. After dinner, they walked over to the saddle shop to have some work gloves made for Cat.

"I'm happy to see you Ben," said Mr. Miller. "You just saved me a ride out to the Ponderosa. The school board will be meeting on Tuesday night at seven thirty. Now, what can I do for you today?"

Ben introduced Cat to Mr. Miller. "I was wondering if you could please make a pair of work gloves for Catherine. She wants to help with the ranch work and I don't want her hands to get cut up. We were over at the mercantile and George suggested you might be able to make a pair for her."

"Sure Ben. I'll be more than happy to make some gloves for your daughter." He got some leather and traced Cat's hands on it. "I should have these finished today and I'll give them to you tomorrow at church."

Everyone left the saddle shop and walked back toward the buggy. While they were waiting to cross the street, a boy ran up behind Cat, pulled one of her braids hard and pushed her into the street. Cat turned around, chased and tackled him. They rolled around on the boardwalk. Cat managed to get a few good punches in and finally pinned him. She sat on his stomach, grabbed the front of his shirt, shook him and said, "If you ever touch me again, I will pound the stuffing out of you!"

Before Cat could let him up, Roy Coffee yelled from down the street. "Don't let him up Cat. I've been chasing him all day. He's in big trouble."


	37. Chapter 37

Author's Note: To my guest reviewer, Thank you for your kind words. Cat will be getting more buckskins. I think that there would be a war if Ben tried forcing Cat to wear dresses all the time.

To my other guest reviewer, Thank you for reading my story. It will eventually be finished, just not for a while. Cat is only nine and still has many adventures ahead of her.

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Cat sat on the boy until Roy reached them. "Alright Cat, you can let him up now. Thank you for sitting on him until I could get here." The boy started to run away and Roy grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Mitchell Harris, you are in more trouble than a boy your age should be in! When I finish with you, I am going to lock you in a cell and look for your Pa. If I know your Pa, you won't be able to sit down comfortably for a week when he finishes with you. Well Ben, it looks like our little Wild Cat has inherited Little Joe's temper. Don't be too hard on her. After all, she was defending herself and she did me a very big favor. I've been chasing this boy all around town all day. You wouldn't believe the things he's done and the damage he's caused. Well, I'd better get him back to my office. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What did he do Roy?"

Well Ben, I'll tell you. Mitchell here has been going around town causing trouble all day. He has pushed at least six people, including Cat and several ladies, into the street. He has been knocking packages out of people's hands, causing at least two dozen eggs to break. He is also responsible for two broken windows. He threw two rocks, breaking a window at the hotel and another at the gun shop. I have a feeling that his Pa isn't in town or he wouldn't be doing all of these things."

Ben looked at the boy and said, "You're Ted Harris' son, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so what of it?"

Roy shook the boy. "Watch how you talk to Mr. Cartwright boy. Your Pa will be hearing about you being disrespectful to him also."

"The Harris ranch is on the way to take Caroline and the girls back home. I'll stop there and if Ted is home, I'll tell him that you've got his son in custody. Don't worry about Cat. She isn't in any trouble. We'll see you tomorrow." Once Roy had walked off with the boy, Ben turned his attention to Cat. "Cat, did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm not hurt, but he will be if he ever touches me again."

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, we need to get Mrs. Ingalls and the girls back home. I just want to be sure that boy didn't hurt you. He's much bigger than you are. Caroline, do you think I should take Catherine to Dr. Martin?"

"No Ben, I don't think that's necessary."

"Alright Caroline. I won't take her to the doctor if you don't think she needs to go. Now, we had better start for home before Charles thinks I've kidnapped you and the girls. We'll stop at the Harris' on the way home and if Ted is there, I'll tell him that he needs to see Roy about his son." Since it was getting late and they had a stop to make, Carrie sat between Ben and her mother. Ben drove into the Harris' yard where Mr. Harris was mending the corral fence. He stopped working and greeted his guests.

"Hello Ben. Aren't you the lucky man to be surrounded by five beautiful ladies? I declare, I should be jealous of you. I recognize Caroline and her girls, but who's this pretty little girl in buckskins?"

"Hello Ted. Oh that's right, you haven't met my daughter yet."

"Your daughter!? When did you get married again?"

"I didn't. Catherine is my younger sister's daughter. She was killed in June, so I adopted my niece." He introduced Cat to Mr. Harris. "We were in town getting some things that Catherine needed and Roy asked me to stop and tell you that he's got Mitchell in custody. I'll let him fill you in on the details, but it seems that the boy has been causing a lot of trouble in town today."

"I wondered where he had gotten to. I needed his help with work here on the ranch and haven't been able to find him since we finished breakfast. What did he do?"

"I'll let Roy tell you everything, but among other things, he was disrespectful to me, pulled Catherine's hair and pushed her into the street. However, he picked on the wrong girl. Cat has inherited her mother's and Little Joe's temper. She tackled him, punched him twice and pinned him down until Roy could get to where we were."

Mr. Harris walked to the back of the buggy, reached over Laura, picked Cat up and hugged her. "Young lady, I want to congratulate you. Not many children, especially girls, will stand up to Mitchell because he is so big. I can assure you, he will not be bothering you or anyone else again. Nor will he be causing more trouble in town. He's twelve now and ever since his baby brother died last year, his mother has been babying him and starts crying whenever I try to discipline him. To tell the truth, I've been pretty easy on him because of it too. That stops as of right now. I'm going to go, get him from town and, except for church on Sunday, he won't be leaving the ranch for a long time. I may not even send him to school when it starts next month. It will also be quite a while before he can sit down comfortably."

Silver Chief started growling at the strange man hugging his little girl. "It's ok Chief. He's a friend."

Mr. Harris looked at both puppies and asked, "Catherine, are both of those puppies yours?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Mitchell. They are."

"Will they bite me if I try and pet them?"

"No sir. I'll tell them to be nice. The one that growled at you is Silver Chief and the collie is Lassie."

Mr. Harris petted both puppies and said, "When these two are old enough to have puppies, I would like to buy one from you. I know that they are very young right now, but when they do have puppies, please have your Pa let me know. I meant what I said about wanting to buy one."

"Now Ted," said Ben. "The boy is only twelve and needs his education. This ranch will be his some day and you know as well as I do that a good education is the key to making it successful. All three of my sons attended school until they turned eighteen and so will Catherine. Adam went to college and I'm hoping that Catherine will too."

"We'll see Ben. If that teacher isn't replaced, Mitchell won't be returning to school."

"There is a school board meeting on Tuesday night. I was elected to the school board last month and I plan on voting to replace that teacher. We don't need a person like that teaching our children. Well, I have got to get Caroline and the girls home before Charles thinks I've run off with them. Then I want to spend a little bit of time teaching Catherine more about ranch life. Adam and I plan to take her out to look for strays but we need to keep a close eye on her. It seems that she and Hoss have the same definition of stray and it doesn't always apply to cattle."

Mr. Harris laughed. "Yes, I do seem to remember some of the strays Hoss brought home. How long did it take you to get the skunk smell out of the outhouse?"

"We never did," laughed Ben. "We tore it down, burned the wood and built a new one. I made Hoss do most of the work. Good luck with Mitchell. Some parental discipline may make all the difference in the world with his attitude. We'll see you in church tomorrow."

After ensuring that Cat was sitting down, Ben drove the buggy out of the yard and pulled into the Ingalls' yard a little while later. Ben helped the girls out of the buggy. All of them ran to greet their father and they all started talking at once. Charles laughed, hugged his daughters and greeted his wife. "Girls," said Caroline. "Aren't you forgetting something?" All three of them ran back over to the buggy and thanked Ben for everything. After they had thanked him, their mother told them to go and put their things away.

Charles walked over to the buggy. "Ben, thank you for taking all four of my girls to town with you today. I'm sure I'll be hearing all about their adventures for the rest of the day."

"It was my pleasure. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate Caroline's help with Catherine. If it hadn't been for her, I'd probably still be in the mercantile trying to figure out what to get. Oh yes, the school board meeting is Tuesday night at seven thirty. I fully intend to vote that we fire Miss Smith. A person like that has no business teaching children anywhere. I almost forgot, Hop Sing is packing a picnic dinner for after church tomorrow. You and your family are invited to join us and I hope you will. Don't worry about how much food is needed. Remember, Hop Sing is used to feeding Hoss. If you want to bring something, you can bring some of that sweet cider Caroline makes. It's some of the best I've ever tasted."

"Alright Ben. We'll join you for a picnic after church. Now, I had better go and listen to what my girls have to tell me about their adventures today. We'll see you tomorrow in church."

After Charles walked into the house, Ben turned around and said, "You don't need to sit in the back seat any more, Put your puppies up here, climb over the seat and join me. I want my little girl next to me as much as I can have her there." Cat did as she was told and then, much to her surprise, Ben handed her the reins. "Alright Kitten, let's see what Lucas taught you." She got the horses moving but had a hard time turning them around, so Ben put his hands over hers. "You're doing fine. Just remember, everything takes time and practice to master. Let me help you get the team turned around." Once the team was turned around, Ben took his hands off Cat's and let her drive the rest of the way home, offering advice and encouragement.

On the ride back to the Ponderosa, Ben asked, "Cat, what was Uncle Matt's rule about fighting?"

"I can defend myself or someone else but I'm not allowed to start fights."

"Good. That is the same rule I have. You can defend yourself or someone else, but if you start a fight, you will be in big trouble. You will be wearing buckskins instead of dresses and some boys may tease you about the way you are dressed. Being teased is not a reason to start a fight. I meant what I said. If you start a fight, you will be in big trouble." Ben hugged her and said, "I truly hope that you do not start any fights because I don't want to have to punish you."

When they pulled into their own yard, Ben said, "You did a very good job. With some more practice, you'll be fine on your own. In fact, once I'm comfortable letting you drive on your own, I'll lie down in the back seat of the buggy and take a nap while you drive."

Cat giggled. "If you do that, I'll go over every bump, hole and rock in the road."

"You are a little stinker. I'll just bet you would do that just for fun. Do you know what happens to little girls who do that?"

"No, what?"

"They get tickled." Ben pulled Cat over his lap and started tickling her. Then he helped her sit up and said, "Go and see if you can find one of your brothers to take care of the buggy and horses for us. Then go into the house. We'll get a snack, see if we can find Adam and go, look for strays. And by strays, I mean cattle, not wild creatures. You and Hoss are too much alike in that respect and the last thing I need is you trying to make pets of wild animals."

"Oh good. I'm glad I can do that. I'll see if I can find a baby cougar to bring home." Cat stuck her tongue out at Ben and ran off to find one of her brothers.

Ben shook his head and walked toward the house. One of his long time hands, Pete, walked up to him and said, "You look puzzled boss. What's wrong?"

"That girl is going to drive me crazy before she's been here a month." He told Pete what he had told Cat and what her response was.

Pete laughed. "Yes, she is a wild one. It's going to be fun watching her grow up. I wouldn't worry too much about her driving you crazy. Little Joe did that years ago."

Ben laughed. "I think you're right about that. When I think about all of the trouble that boy got into, it's a wonder I didn't wear out his backside and pull all of my hair out."

"Now Ben, he's grown up to be a fine young man. You do have one thing to be thankful for when it comes to Little Joe and Miss Cat."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"They're not the same age. Just think of all the chaos that would be happening around here if Little Joe and Miss Cat were both nine."

Ben laughed so hard his face turned red. He clapped Pete on the back and said, "Thanks for the laugh. I haven't laughed that hard in years."

Just then Adam walked up, looked at his father and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Pete just reminded me that I had something to be thankful for."

"What's that?"

"Your sister and youngest brother aren't both nine years old."

Adam laughed until he had tears in his eyes and said, "Oh, that is priceless. Joe and Cat, both nine years old. The Ponderosa would never survive that particular pair of hurricanes. That is truly something to be thankful for. Cat said you wanted me to take care of the buggy and team."

"I'll take care of them for you Adam," said Pete. "You need to go and corral that nine year old whirlwind before she does something you and she will regret."

"Adam, where is your sister?" asked Ben.

"I thought I saw her and the puppies heading toward the pasture where the mares and foals are," answered Pete.

"Great. I told her to find one of her brothers and then go into the house. That girl listens about as well as Joe does sometimes."

"I'll take the horses over to the barn and then I'll go and tell her that you want her in the house," said Pete. "It won't hurt this pair to stay hitched up for a few extra minutes."

"Thank you Pete. I appreciate it."

Pete led the horses and buggy over to the barn. Then he went out to the pasture where Cat was playing with Fury. "Miss Cat, your Pa said you were supposed to go in the house after you found one of your brothers. I suggest you quit playing with that colt of yours and do like you were told. One thing I know about your Pa is that he doesn't hold with his children disobeying him. Now scoot before your Pa decides to warm your bottom for not doing what you were told!"

Pete shook his head and laughed as Cat ran past him. He stood there petting Fury for a minute and said, "That girl is going to end up getting a good tanning if she doesn't start doing what she's told. Ben Cartwright won't tolerate her disobedience any more than he tolerated it from his sons. Well young fellow, I'd better go and take care of that team and buggy. You behave yourself and tell that little girl of yours she needs to start minding her Pa."

Cat walked into the house and said, "Pete said you wanted me."

"What did I tell you to do?" asked Ben.

"To find Adam, Hoss, or Little Joe and come in the house."

"Did you do what I told you to?"

"I found Adam."

"What about the other part? Did you come in the house as I told you to?"

Cat looked down at her feet and said, "No."

Ben put three fingers under Cat's chin and lifted it up. "Look at me when I am speaking to you. No, what?"

Cat looked up at her father. "No sir."

"Where did you go?"

"I went out to see Fury. I wanted to tell him what we did in town today."

"Did I tell you to go out to the pasture?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"In this house, I expect my children to do as they are told and to speak respectfully to all adults, including myself. There may be times when your obedience will save your life or that of someone else. Did Matt or Rip allow you to disobey or be disrespectful?"

"No sir."

"This is your only warning. The next time you disobey me or are disrespectful, you will be punished. I do not enjoy punishing my children, but I will not tolerate them being disobedient or disrespectful. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. Now, go and get your snack from Hop Sing. We still have work to do." As Cat walked toward the kitchen, Ben reached out and gave her a firm swat on her bottom. She turned around and looked at him with hurt and confusion in her eyes. "That was just a reminder of what will happen next time only we will be discussing it in the barn."

Joe walked into the house just as Ben swatted Cat. "What was that all about?"

"I told her to find one of you boys and come into the house. She found Adam and then decided to go out to see her colt instead of coming into the house."

"Oh. What ever happened to explaining the rules to her before jumping all over her for breaking them?"

"She knows about doing what she's told. I'm quite certain that neither Matt nor Rip allowed her to disobey."

"You're forgetting something Pa," said Adam. "Matt has been raising Cat since she was a little more than a year old. I'm sure at one point he talked to her about obeying him just as you did with us when we were little. I'm certain that Rip did too. You didn't tell her that you expected her to do everything you told her to. You just assumed she would know that rule applied here too. She does know that the rules about running indoors and jumping fences apply here because Matt told her they do. She also knows that the rule about being respectful is the same here because I told her that yesterday. I'm sure that the reason Lucas didn't have any problems is because she followed Mark's example."

"Cat's only nine Pa," said Joe. "When I was nine and went to visit a friend, how often did you tell me that the rules there were the same as they are here? I seem to remember you telling me almost every time I went to someone's house. Even though your rules for how Cat is supposed to behave in school are probably the same as Matt's, you're still going to need to tell her before school starts next month."

Ben listened to his sons and said, "You boys are right. It's been so long since you were nine that I've forgotten that nine year olds need to be reminded that certain rules apply no matter where you are. Now, if we're going to look for strays, I'd better get her out of the kitchen."

"Did you remember to get her a hat and leather gloves when you were in town today?" asked Adam.

"I remembered the gloves but forgot about the hat. George didn't have any gloves small enough for Cat so Gerald is going to make some for her. Since we're going to have a picnic dinner with Roy and the Ingalls after church, buying her a hat will have to wait until Monday."

"Since she doesn't wear sunbonnets, she really should have one for today," said Adam. "My old one is too large for her. Joe, do you still have any of your old hats?"

"I'm pretty sure I do. Let me go upstairs and look." He went upstairs and returned with one of his old hats. "This is the smallest one I have. I think it's still going to be too large for her."

"Well," said Adam. "I guess there's only one way to find out." He walked into the kitchen. "Cat, are you finished with your snack?"

"I will be just as soon as I finish my milk."

"Ok. When you finish your milk, please come out into the living room. We need to get going if we're going to look for strays." He returned to the living room and said, "Cat just needs to finish her milk. She'll be out here as soon as she does."

When Cat walked out into the living room, Joe put his hat on her head. "It's not as big as I thought it was, but it's still too big for her. She'll spend more time chasing it than wearing it unless I can find a way to keep her from losing it. I've got an idea. Give me a few minutes." Joe walked into the kitchen and talked to Hop Sing. He returned a little while later carrying the hat. He had put a hole on each side of the hat and each hole had a thin strip of leather through it. Each strip was knotted at the top to keep it in its hole; the ends had been threaded through a wooden bead and then tied together. "This is the best I could do for now. It may not keep the hat on her head, but it will keep it from flying away while she's riding. Let's see what Hop Sing thinks." He put the hat on Cat's head, pulled the bead up under her chin, picked her up and carried her into see Hop Sing.

"Vely good. Missy Cat look like cowboy now. Little Joe, take Missy Cat to look in mirror." Joe took Cat into Hop Sing's bedroom so she could see herself in his mirror.

Cat looked in the mirror, hugged Joe and said, "Thank you Joe. Hop Sing is right. I do look like a cowboy now."

"I'd say that you look more like a _cowgirl_ than a cowboy but at least you won't lose your hat. Hop Sing helped me fix it for you, so you need to thank him too."

They walked back into the kitchen where Cat hugged Hop Sing and thanked him for helping Joe fix the hat for her. "Missy Cat welcome. Now she no lose hat when riding horse and playing with cows."

"While we're in here Cat, we need to talk," said Joe. "I know that Hop Sing will agree with everything I'm going to say. When Pa tells you to do something, you need to do it when he tells you to do it, and not when you want to. You also need to do everything he tells you to do. When you got back from town, he told you to find me, Adam, or Hoss and then go in the house. You found Adam, but instead of coming in the house, you went out to see Fury. You're going to get into big trouble if you keep doing that. Pa expects us to obey him. I got a bare bottom whipping yesterday and I'm restricted to the ranch for four weeks because I didn't obey him while he and Adam were gone to get you. Also, you need to watch how you talk to Pa. Adam told you yesterday how to talk to Pa but you didn't do it. You're lucky that you only got a good scolding and one swat. You won't be so lucky next time. Pa's hand hurts real bad and his belt hurts even worse. The next time you go out to the barn, take a good look at the belt he keeps hanging out there and think what it would feel like on your bare bottom. Hop Sing, am I right about what I just told Cat?"

"Little Joe right. Missy Cat need listen to fathel and do what he tell her to do. Missy Cat also need to be lespectful when talking to fathel. If not, fathel punish Missy Cat. Then Missy Cat get spanking, have to stand in corner for long time and do plenty extla choles. Missy Cat no lun in house either. Hop Sing catch Missy Cat lunning in house, Hop Sing use wooden spoon on Missy Cat bottom and tell fathel!"

"Thank you Hop Sing. Cat, I sure hope that you were listening to what Hop Sing and I told you. We don't want to see you get in trouble. Now, we'd better go back out to the living room. Pa and Adam are waiting. I think you should apologize to Pa for not doing everything you were told and for being disrespectful."

While Joe and Hop Sing were talking to Cat, Ben was getting impatient. "What is taking so long in there? Your brother was just taking your sister to show Hop Sing how the hat was fitting."

"Relax Pa. If I know Joe and Hop Sing, they're probably talking to Cat about her behavior today. I intend to talk to her about it too, especially because I just talked to her about being respectful yesterday."

When Joe and Cat returned to the living room, she walked up to her father and said, "I'm sorry I went out to see Fury instead of coming in the house like you said. And I'm sorry I was disrespectful too."

Ben hugged her and said, "I forgive you. Now, I need to apologize to you also. Your brothers scolded me while you were having your snack."

"You do? They did?"

"Yes I do and yes, they did. I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you that Uncle Matt's rule about doing what you are told to do isn't just when you're with your uncles or at the Tanners. It's for everywhere. Will you please forgive me?"

Cat hugged him and said "Yes I will."

"Thank you. Now, get your puppies and let's go. Those strays won't go back where they belong unless we make them."

"Can Little Joe come with us?"

"Well now, that all depends. Do you think that you can keep him out of trouble while we're out looking for strays?"

Cat giggled. "I'll try and I'll get Silver Chief and Lassie to help me."

"Well then, that's all anyone can ask. Boys, bring a pack horse and some rifles. Maybe we'll get some deer while we're out chasing strays. Cat, you can bring your bow and arrows too. If you and your puppies can get enough rabbits to feed Hoss, you can show Hop Sing how to make that rabbit stew you and Mark made."

"Are there enough rabbits on the Ponderosa to feed Hoss?"

Ben, Adam, and Joe laughed loudly. "I don't know Cat," answered Joe. "I suppose there are. We'll just have to find out, now won't we? Go, get your saddle bags for those puppies and if older brother here thinks he can manage to get some rifles, I'll saddle Ginger for you and get a pack horse ready."

"Don't you worry about me baby brother. I can take care of getting three rifles. Do you think that you can take care of a pack horse and Cat's horse?"

Ben decided to put a stop to his sons' sparring before it got worse. "Alright boys, that's enough. Adam, go and get the rifles. Joseph, go and take care of the pack horse and Catherine's. Ask Pete to saddle Buck for me." He turned to tell Cat to go, get her saddle bags when he spotted her coming downstairs with them over one shoulder.

Cat looked at her father and brothers still standing in the living room and said, "I thought we were supposed to be going hunting and to look for strays. If we're not going right away, I'm going to go, ask Hop Sing for some cherry pie and ice cream."

Ben laughed. "We're getting ready to leave. Adam is supposed to be getting the rifles and Joe is supposed to be saddling Ginger for you and getting the pack horse ready."

"That's going to take them forever. I'll probably be fifteen before they stop arguing. I'm going to ask Hop Sing for pie and ice cream."

"Alright, alright," said Joe. "I'm going out to the barn. Older brother, do you think you can manage the rifles by yourself do you need little sister to help you?"

"I can manage just fine baby brother but I'm not so sure if you can even saddle Cat's horse for her."

" **Boys**!" said Ben. "You're not setting a very good example for your sister. Now, go and do what you are supposed to be doing. Adam, after you get the rifles, you can saddle Buck for me. Come on Cat. While they are being slow, you and I will see if Hop Sing will give each of us a small piece of pie. We don't have time for pie and ice cream, but we do have time for a small piece of pie."

Ben and Cat finished their pie and walked out into the yard where Adam and Joe were waiting with the horses. Cat put her saddle bags on Ginger and then put a puppy in each side. She looked at the puppies in the saddle bags and said, "Silver Chief and Lassie are getting too big to ride in my saddle bags but they're still too small to keep up with the horses. I don't know how I'm going to take them with me everywhere I go."

"Don't worry about it Cat," said Joe. "We'll think of something. They haven't outgrown your saddle bags yet, so we don't need to worry about it right now."

"Joe is right," said Ben. "We'll figure something out before your puppies outgrow your saddle bags. Right now, we have strays to round up. Now mount up and let's go. Remember, it's your job to keep Joe out of trouble."

Cat giggled, mounted Ginger and rode off with her father and brothers. They found a dozen strays and put them back with the herd. Then they started looking for deer and rabbits. Joe had a good laugh when Silver Chief found a rabbit and tackled it. He was amazed when the puppy eventually killed the rabbit. "That pup is a good hunter. I can't wait to see what he does when he grows up. How come Lassie isn't doing any hunting?"

"I don't know," answered Cat. "Maybe she doesn't know how or maybe she doesn't like hunting. If she wants to hunt, Silver Chief will teach her how. If she doesn't want to, that's ok too. She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."

Ben, Adam, and Joe each got a deer. Then they started helping Cat look for rabbits. When they had enough for supper, they headed back to the house. When they reached the yard, Ben said, "Joseph, Adam and I will take care of the deer. Find Hoss and help your sister with the rabbits. Catherine, take the rabbits outside the kitchen door where we clean the fish. Then you can get Hop Sing and show them to him. You'll also have to see if he has everything you need to make your stew."

Cat did as she was told and Hop Sing was surprised to see all of the rabbits. "Who will clean labbits?" he asked.

"Joe is supposed to find Hoss and then the three of us will. I'm also supposed to ask if you have everything I need to make rabbit stew."

"Come in kitchen and we look." Before they could enter the kitchen, Silver Chief spotted a rabbit in the vegetable garden, killed it and brought it to Cat and Hop Sing. Hop Sing picked the puppy up, hugged and praised him. "Good puppy. Kill labbit in garden. Hop Sing give puppy special treat for supple." Cat and Hop Sing walked into the kitchen and she told him everything she needed to make her stew. Once Cat was satisfied that Hop Sing had everything she needed to make her stew, they walked back outside. Hoss and Joe were nowhere to be seen, so Cat started cleaning the rabbits herself.

She looked at all of the rabbits and her puppies and said, "It's not fair. Hoss eats more than everyone else put together. He should be helping me do this."

"I quite agree," said a voice from behind her. Cat turned around to see Ben standing there. "Adam and I finished one deer and I thought I'd see how you, Hoss and Joe were doing with the rabbits. I'll go and see if I can find them. I'm getting extremely tired of those two doing whatever they please and I'm about to put a stop to it." Hoss and Joe walked up just as he was about to leave. "Where have the two of you been? Joseph, I told you to find your brother and then the two of you were supposed to come here and help your sister. Now get busy."

"I had a hard time finding Hoss," said Joe. "He wasn't in the barn."

Hoss picked up the skins from the rabbits Cat had already cleaned and started to toss them onto the trash pile. "Don't do that," said Cat. "I need them."

"You don't need no nasty ol' rabbit skins," said Hoss. "They belong in the trash heap."

"I need them," said Cat. "Don't put them in the trash."

Hoss ignored Cat and threw them on the trash pile. " **Hoss** ," said an angry voice from behind him. "I distinctly heard Catherine tell you twice that she needed those skins and not to throw them in the trash. So why did you ignore her? It is not for you to decide if she needs them or not. If she says she needs them, then do not throw them in the trash! Now, pick them up and put them back where she had them! Catherine, let me know if either of these two give you any more trouble and I'll deal with them."

Hop Sing walked out of the kitchen to check on the progress of the rabbits being cleaned when he saw Lassie chase a rabbit out of the vegetable garden. Just as he had done with Silver Chief, he picked her up, hugged and praised her.

With Hoss and Joe helping, the rabbits were cleaned in no time at all. "What do you want to do with the skins?" asked Joe.

"They need to be stretched so they dry."

"Alright. Hoss and I will take care of that for you. Hoss, why don't you start taking care of the rabbit skins and I'll help Cat carry the meat into the kitchen?"

Joe helped Cat carry the meat into the kitchen where she was surprised to see that Hop Sing already had most of the vegetables cut up and in a pot. "Thank you Little Joe. Missy Cat help Hop Sing cut up meat and then go play. Hop Sing cook meat and finish stew."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I'm not used to cooking for this many people."

"Hop Sing know. It take lot of food to feed Mr. Hoss. Now help cut meat then go play with puppies."

Once the stew was finished, Hop Sing called everyone to the table. Everyone thought the stew was delicious and heaped praises on Cat and Hop Sing, who had been dining with the family ever since Cat returned home. Hoss and Joe were surprised that Cat knew how to hunt and cook what she had killed. They wondered what other surprises their little sister had in store for them.


	38. Chapter 38

Once supper was over and the table had been cleared, Ben said, "Catherine, it's Saturday night and we have church in the morning. Everyone takes a bath on Saturday night. You need to get your night clothes and a towel and go out to the bathhouse. Hop Sing will get your bath water ready. I want you to take a bath and wash your hair."

Cat couldn't believe what she was being told to do. She didn't mind taking a bath but if she washed her hair, it would have to be rebraided, she had a hard time doing it herself. She lived in a house full of men and was certain none of them knew how to do it. "I can't wash my hair. I can't…"

Ben didn't let her finish her sentence. " **Saturday night baths are not up for discussion. Now go, get your night clothes, take a bath and wash your hair!** "

"But my hair, you don't understand…"

" **I told you there was to be no discussion. Now go and do what I told you to and if I hear any more arguments from you, we will have a necessary discussion in the barn!** " **  
**

" **You keep saying you love me but you won't even listen to me! If you loved me, you would listen to me! Uncle Matt always listened to me! I want to go back to Dodge!** " Cat ran upstairs and slammed her bedroom door shut.

Ben stood up and began to unbuckle his belt. "When I finish with that girl, she's not going to be able to sit down for two days!"

"Cat's right Pa," said Hoss. "She was trying to tell you somethin' but you wouldn't let her finish what she was sayin'. And she wasn't sayin' that she wouldn't take a bath."

"When we were boys, you told us to always let someone finish what they were saying and to never interrupt," said Joe. "But you wouldn't let Cat finish before you started yelling at her."

"When we brought Cat home, you told us that we need to give her time to adjust to the way we do things," added Adam. "She has only been here three full days and already today you have yelled at and threatened to punish her twice. You want her to be respectful to you but how is she going to learn to be respectful if you interrupt her and yell at her before knowing what she was going to say? I think I know what she was starting to say, but I need confirmation from Cat. Why don't you ride over to the Ingalls' and ask Charles and Caroline what they think Cat was trying to tell you? Hoss, Joe, and I will take care of getting her bathed and ready for bed. If you go upstairs right now, you're going to do something you'll regret, especially when you find out what she was trying to tell you."

"I don't think she meant to slam her bedroom door," added Joe. "She's never had a bedroom before and probably didn't realize what would happen when she shut the door harder than normal."

Just then, Hop Sing walked in from the kitchen. " **Why you yell at Missy Cat? Why you no let Missy Cat finish what she saying? You always tell boys not interrupt but you not let Missy Cat finish and you interrupt! You keep yell at Missy Cat, Hop Sing go back to** **China** **and take Missy Cat with him!** "

Ben sighed. His sons and Hop Sing were right. Instead of listening to what his daughter was trying to tell him, he had assumed she was saying that she wouldn't take a bath and yelled at her. He buckled his belt and said, "Alright boys. You take care of your sister and I'll ride over and talk to Charles and Caroline. If nothing else, I'll cool down because I do need to apologize to Catherine for not giving her a chance to finish what she was saying before I yelled at her. It doesn't do any good to try and teach her the rules if I don't follow them myself."

As soon as Ben left, Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked upstairs. Joe knocked on Cat's bedroom door and asked, "May we come in? Pa's not with us. He went over to talk with Charles and Caroline."

"Yes."

Joe opened the door and the three of them walked in to find Cat putting her things in carpet bags. "Why are you packing your things?" asked Joe.

"Because I'm going back to Dodge where I belong. Uncle Matt always listened to me and he never yelled at me. Well, he did yell at me when me, Pete, and Mike were climbing the water tower, but that was different. He yelled at us to stop climbing and come down, but he didn't yell at me when Festus brought us down."

Her brothers looked at each other and laughed. "If that woulda been us," said Hoss. "Adam's grandfather woulda heard Pa yellin' all the way in Boston, even after we came down. One thing ya gotta learn about Pa is that he yells a lot. I think it has somethin' to do with when he was a sailor but he shore does like to yell. Now stop packing, put your things away, sit down here and tell us what you were tryin' to tell Pa because you belong here with us and nowhere else."

Cat put her things away, then sat in Hoss' lap. All three of her brothers hugged her. "Now," said Adam. "I think I know what you were trying to tell Pa, but I would like you to tell me."

"I was trying to tell him that I can't wash my hair because I don't do a good job braiding it and I don't think any of you know how to do it."

"That's what I thought because when we were in Dodge, you didn't fuss about having to take a bath the night before your friend Julie's mother got married again."

"That's because there was always someone in Dodge who could braid my hair for me. If Miss Kitty was busy, I would go to Julie's house and her Ma would do it for me. If she was busy, Ma Smalley would do it for me."

Hoss looked at his brothers and said, "Well brothers, it looks like we're gonna need lessons in how to braid little sister's hair for her."

"You're right about that Hoss," said Joe. "We can't have her running around with dirty hair and we can't have her running around in messy braids either. Cat, why don't you get your night clothes, come downstairs and take a bath and wash your hair. We'll figure out what we're going to do about braiding it. We may have to take your comb, brush, and hair ribbons with us and ask one of the ladies to do it before church starts."

"While you're finding your night clothes, we'll go and see if Hop Sing has your bath water ready yet," added Adam. "Once you finish your bath and are ready for bed, if Pa isn't home yet, I'll read with you."

"By the way," said Joe. "Did you mean to slam your bedroom door?"

"No. I didn't know it would close that hard. It kinda scared me when it did."

"Ok. We'll make sure Pa knows you didn't do it on purpose. He gets angry with us when we slam doors. He got so angry with me one day that not only did I get a spanking; I had to open and close my door quietly one hundred times. So, now that you know what happens when you close your door hard, don't do it again because we don't want you to get in trouble."

While Adam, Hoss, and Joe were talking to Cat, Ben rode over to the Ingalls' house and knocked on the door. Charles answered the door and was surprised to see Ben standing there. "This is quite a surprise. We didn't expect to see you until tomorrow. Please come in and sit down. You look upset. What is wrong?"

Ben walked in, sat down and Charles handed him a cup of coffee. "I'm sorry to be bothering you at this time of night but I need help with Catherine."

Caroline walked into the room just then and said, "What is wrong with Cat?"

"I'm not sure," replied Ben and proceeded to tell them about the argument.

"Did you let her finish explaining what the problem was?" asked Charles.

"No, I didn't. I assumed she was arguing about having to take a bath and started yelling at her before she finished what she was saying."

"What was she saying when you interrupted her?"

"She was saying something about her hair."

"We told you yesterday that girls have their own unique set of challenges," said Caroline. "Their hair is one of those unique challenges. Tell me, how many women live in your house?"

"None. You know that."

"Exactly. Catherine wasn't saying that she wouldn't take a bath. She was trying to tell you that if she washed her hair it would need to be braided again and she's not very good at doing it. Mary is getting better at braiding her own hair, but she is almost twelve now. Laura is the same age as Cat and still struggles with her hair. Ben, you have got to listen to everything Catherine says and stop jumping to conclusions half way through what she's saying. If you don't, her feelings will be very hurt and you could lose her. She's a very resourceful child and could easily figure out how to get to her uncle's fort in Arizona. Now, I'm guessing that neither you nor your sons know how to braid a girl's hair."

"No, but I'm sure that Hop Sing would know. After all, he keeps his own hair braided in the back."

"No Ben," said Charles. "Catherine is not Hop Sing's responsibility. You adopted her and she is your responsibility. You and your sons are going to have to learn how to braid her hair until she is old enough to do it herself. Don't say that men don't do that sort of thing because I help Caroline with the girls' hair every Saturday night."

"Bring Catherine over before church tomorrow morning and I will do her hair," said Caroline. "Starting next Saturday, have her take her bath before supper. Then bring her over after supper and I will begin teaching you and her brothers how to braid her hair."

"Thank you both of you. I don't know what I would do without your help right now. It's getting late and I've taken up enough of your time. I'll see you in the morning. Thank you again for all of your help."

"Before you leave," said Charles. "There is one other thing you need to think about."

"What is that?"

"You owe that little girl an apology. You didn't listen to her, you interrupted her, and you yelled at her before knowing what she was trying to say. You can't expect her to follow the rules if you don't follow them too. You also need to stop yelling at her unless she's doing something that could be dangerous. Once she stops, talk to her without raising your voice. She'll listen a whole lot better if you're not yelling at her."

"You're right Charles. I'll apologize to Catherine as soon as I get home, even if I have to wake her up."

When Ben arrived back at the Ponderosa, he took care of his horse before entering the house. His sons were all in the living room and Cat was nowhere to be seen. Adam, Hoss, and Joe greeted their father when he walked into the living room. "What did you learn?" asked Adam.

"Catherine was trying to tell me that if she washed her hair, it would need to be braided again and she needs help doing it."

"That's exactly what I was thinking and Cat confirmed it for me. If you remember, when we were in Dodge, she took a bath the night before her friend Julie's mother got married and didn't complain about having to do it. Also, she didn't intend to slam her bedroom door. She didn't know what would happen if she shut it hard."

"You're right son. I just assumed she was acting like Joe used to when he was that age. It seems that I have a lot to learn about raising a little girl. We're going to need to leave for church early tomorrow morning because Caroline is going to do Catherine's hair for her. Starting next Saturday, Catherine will need to take her bath before supper so we can take her over to the Ingalls'. Caroline will start showing us how to braid Catherine's hair. I'm guessing that she's already in bed. Did you read with her?"

"Yes I did. We finished the book and she'll need to pick a new one tomorrow."

"Thank you. I hope she's not asleep yet because I need to go and talk to her." He walked upstairs and knocked on Cat's bedroom door. "Catherine, it's Pa. May I please come in?"

"I guess so."

He laughed quietly at the less than enthusiastic welcome from his daughter. "Well," he thought. "I deserve it the way I acted. At least she answered me." He entered the room, lit the lamp and sat down on the bed. "Come and sit with me Kitten. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, but I need to talk with you and can't do it with you in bed under the covers." Cat got out of bed and sat down next to Ben who pulled her onto his lap, hugged her and said, "This is much better. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that I didn't listen to you and that I yelled at you. And I am also very sorry that you feel I don't love you because I do love you, much more than you can imagine. If it makes you feel better, your brothers, Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls all scolded me and Hop Sing yelled at me. He even told me that if I ever did it again, he was going to go back to China and take you with him. I'll bet that when your brothers tell Roy what happened tonight, he's going to scold me too and he may even yell at me. Now what do you think about that?"

Cat giggled at the thought of Ben being yelled at by Hop Sing and Roy and scolded by her brothers and Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls. "That's funny."

"Tomorrow morning, we are going to have to leave for church a little earlier than we normally do. Caroline said that she would fix your hair for you before church. Starting next week Saturday, you are going to have to take your bath and wash your hair before supper for a few weeks. That way it will be dry by the time supper is over because she is going to start teaching me and your brothers how to braid your hair. Now, do you know what is going to happen to you the next time you move into my house and don't know what happens when you close doors hard?"

"No, what?"

"The same thing that's going to happen to you right now. You're going to get tickled."

Ben proceeded to tickle Cat until she said, "Stop. I'm going to have an accident in my pants."

"Well, in that case, I guess I'd better take you to the outhouse. Here, put your moccasins on and climb on my back. Your puppies will probably want to come with us, so we'd better put them on the floor. Didn't Uncle Matt ever yell at you?"

"Only once when me, Pete, and Mike were climbing the water tower. He yelled at us to come down but he didn't yell at us once Festus got us down. We never did figure out why him and Mr. Tanner were so mad at us. We weren't hurting anything. We were just having fun."

"They were angry with you because your idea of fun is dangerous. You kids could have fallen and been seriously hurt."

Cat looked at him like he was crazy. "No we couldn't. We're always careful and never get hurt. Well, Pete did get a skinned knee once but that was only because he was running to the outhouse at school and Mark Hansen tripped him. When Pete finished with Mark, he had a bloody nose and two black eyes. All the kids at school laughed at him because Pete was littler than him and beat him up. Mark never did mess with Pete or Mike after that. I did the same thing to him when he pushed me down the school steps and he quit messing with me too."

Ben hugged her and laughed. "My little tiger. You really are a Wild Cat, aren't you? What am I going to do with you? Little girls aren't supposed to go around giving boys bloody noses and black eyes. Climb on my back so I can get you to the outhouse and back to bed. I don't want you yawning and falling asleep in church tomorrow. Also, we're having a picnic with the Ingalls and Roy after church and I know that you're not going to want to be tired for it."

"Can I bring my ball that Little Joe gave me? Then Laura, Mary, Carrie and me can play catch."

"It's _may_ _I_ , and Laura, Mary, Carrie, and _I_. Yes, you may bring your ball but it has to stay in the buggy during church."

"Can I take my fishing pole?"

"No, you may not take your fishing pole. There isn't anywhere to fish near where we're going to have the picnic. Yes, you may bring your puppies but they will have to stay in the buggy during church."

"They can't stay in the buggy by themselves. They're still babies and someone could hurt or steal them."

Ben admitted to himself that Cat was right. Although Lassie and Silver Chief were about four months old, anyone could walk past the buggy and take them. "I will ask Reverend Long if you can bring them into the church. They are very well behaved and won't cause any problems. If he says no, maybe Mrs. Long will let you put them in the parsonage. If not, I know that Roy will keep them in his office for you."

Cat hugged her father tightly. "Thank you. I don't want anybody hurting or stealing my puppies."

"I don't either. Now, let's get you to the outhouse and your puppies outside. Then you need to go to sleep. I will not have you falling asleep in church."

Once Cat and her puppies were back in bed, Ben went downstairs to talk with his sons. He told them about what happened in town and said, "Well boys, it looks like your sister inherited her mother's and Little Joe's temper. I couldn't believe it when she tackled Mitchell Harris, hit him several times, and sat on him until Roy got there. She also told him that the next time he touched her; she was going to pound the stuffing out of him. Cat also told me that when Mark Hansen pushed her down the steps at school, she gave him two black eyes and a bloody nose. I asked her what Matt's rule about fighting was and it's the same as mine. She can defend herself or someone else, but she cannot start fights, even if someone is teasing her about wearing buckskins and I have a feeling that is going to happen a lot once she starts school. Unfortunately, from what I've seen of her temper today, I have a feeling that she will be starting fights if the teasing continues. The school board meeting is going to be on Tuesday night at seven thirty and I plan on voting to replace Miss Smith with a better teacher. It's getting late and we have an early start tomorrow, so we'd better get some sleep. I'm going to write in my journal for a few minutes and then I'll be heading for bed myself."

Ben walked over to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out his journal. He thought about the day's events and started writing. He wrote about what happened with Mitchell Harris and said that he was concerned Cat would start fights if she was teased about the way she dresses. Then he wrote about the incident after supper. 'I hurt Catherine's feelings badly tonight. When I told her to take a bath and wash her hair, she tried to tell me she couldn't braid her hair again without help. I didn't listen to what she was trying to say and assumed that like Joseph when he was a boy, she was refusing to take a bath. I yelled at her and threatened to spank her. She yelled back and said she didn't think I really loved her because I wouldn't listen to her. Then she slammed her bedroom door. Thank God my sons were here because they stopped me from making a terrible mistake and losing Catherine forever. I have got to pay attention to what Betty Wilson told me in St. Louis and not yell at my daughter unless she is doing something dangerous and then stop yelling at her when she stops her behavior. Just as important, I need to listen to what she is trying to tell me or I will lose her and that is the last thing I want to happen.' He closed his journal, put it in his desk, blew out the lamp and went upstairs. He looked in Cat's bedroom and saw that she had kicked her covers off again, so he went in and covered her up again.

Ben knocked on Cat's door before breakfast the next morning. "Cat, it's Pa. May I please come in?"

"Yes."

Ben walked in and saw Cat sitting at her dressing table brushing her hair. "I thought you would like some help buttoning your dress. I remember my wives complaining about having trouble buttoning their dresses in the back. Would you like me to brush your hair for you? I used to do that for my wives and your mother also. They liked it when I did."

"I do need help buttoning my dress and you can brush my hair if you want to."

"Ok. Stand up and I'll button your dress. Then we'll get your hair brushed. You'll need to bring your brush and comb with us so Mrs. Ingalls can braid your hair." Once he had buttoned Cat's dress, Ben said, "Alright Kitten. Your dress is buttoned. Sit down again and I'll brush your hair for you." He picked up the hair brush and began to brush Cat's hair. "I just noticed something about your hair."

"What is it?"

"It's not all brown. It has some red it in too. In fact, it's just like your mother's hair was. Our father had brown hair and our mother had red hair. Your mother's hair was brown with red mixed in, just like yours. Alright, now that your hair is brushed, come and sit beside me on your bed. We have a few minutes before breakfast and I'd like to spend some time talking with you." Then walked over and sat on the bed. Ben pulled her close, hugged her and said, "I need to apologize to you again for last night. I was wrong to not listen to what you had to say and to yell at you when I didn't pay attention to what you were trying to say. I don't ever want you to feel as though I don't love you. I have loved you ever since your mother and father said that they were going to have a baby and I will still love you long after I have gone to live in Heaven. We will have our disagreements. You will disobey me and I will punish you for it as I did and still do your brothers, but I will always love you. Now, let's go and get some breakfast before Hoss eats it all."

They walked downstairs where Adam, Hoss, and Joe were waiting to eat breakfast. Joe looked at Cat wearing a dress and said, "Hey Pa, where's Cat? I know that's not her with you because everybody knows that our little sister never wears dresses."

"You're right Joe," said Hoss. "Maybe we'd better look in the barn or out in the pasture with the mares and foals. She might be there."

"They're right Pa," said Adam. "I don't know who that little girl with you is, but it's definitely not our little sister."

Cat stuck her tongue out at her brothers and ran out the door, followed by her puppies. When she came back in the house, she was hugged by all of her brothers and Hop Sing. "Missy Cat look vely pletty. Look like little girl not little boy. Should wear dresses all the time. Also still too skinny. Need to eat mole. Sit down eat plenty breakfast. Hop Sing have two picnic baskets fixed. You invite Longs and Shellif Loy to picnic."

"Hop Sing's right Cat," said Hoss. "You sure do look cute in that dress." His brothers agreed with him.

After breakfast, Ben told Cat to go upstairs and get her brush, comb, hair ribbons, and sunbonnet. "I don't have one."

"You don't have one what?" asked Ben.

"I don't have a sunbonnet. I never needed one in Dodge 'cause I only wore dresses for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas and dances."

"Well, we'll need to get you one. I know that you're not going to be wearing dresses very much, but you should still have a sunbonnet for when you do."

"I've got my cowboy hat that Joe made me. What's wrong with it?"

"There is nothing wrong with your hat. Girls wear sunbonnets when they are wearing dresses so they don't get too much sun on their faces. Now, go and get your other things. We need to leave shortly."

When Cat came back downstairs she asked, "Do I have time to go and see Fury before we leave?"

Ben looked at his watch and said, "Yes. You have fifteen minutes, so go, say hello to your colt and then come right back so we have time to stop at the Ingalls' and get to church on time." Cat started to run toward the door when Ben grabbed her and delivered a strong swat to her bottom. "You've been told too many times not to run in the house. The next time I catch you, I won't stop with just one swat. Now walk to the door and go, see your colt before I change my mind and decide to give you the spanking you deserve."

Cat walked to the door, grabbed her hat and ran to the pasture to see Fury. She played with him for a few minutes then ran back to the yard where her family was waiting with the buggy. She went into the barn, got her ball and then ran into the house to get her brush, comb, and hair ribbons. Noticing that her father and brothers had taken their guns, Cat grabbed her bow and arrows on the way out the door. Ben saw the bow and arrows and asked, "Why did you bring your bow and arrows?"

"Because all of you brought your guns."

Ben couldn't argue with that logic so he just said, "Ok. Get in the buggy so we can leave. I don't want to be late for church." Cat put her puppies in the buggy, her bow and arrows under the seat and climbed in next to her father. She and her brothers were surprised when Ben handed her the reins. Joe started to complain that Cat was only nine and he was twelve before he had been allowed to even drive the buckboard, but stopped when Hoss elbowed him in the side. Ben turned around and said, "If the two of you can't set a better example for your sister, I can always add more weeks to your restriction. I'm positive that your brother and sister won't object to you doing their chores for a few more weeks."

They pulled into the Ingalls' yard a little while later where Charles was hitching the team to the wagon. He smiled when he saw Cat driving the buggy, shook hands with Ben and said, "I see that you've hired a driver. Is she any good?"

Ben laughed. "She's still got some work to do, but she does a pretty good job for a nine year old."

Charles picked Cat up and Adam put the puppies on the ground. "Caroline is expecting you Cat. Go ahead into the house. There's no need to knock." Then he turned to Ben and said, "She really looks cute in that dress and cowboy hat. When Laura sees it, she's going to want one also."

Cat picked up her brush, comb, and hair ribbons and ran into the house where she was greeted with hugs from Caroline and the girls. As Charles predicted, when Laura saw Cat's hat, she wanted one too. "Where are your father and brothers Cat?" asked Caroline.

"They're outside talking to Mr. Ingalls."

"I'm supposed to be showing them how to braid your hair. Mary, would you please go outside and ask Cat's Pa and brothers to come in here? We don't have a lot of time before we have to leave for church and I need to get Cat's hair fixed." Mary went outside and told Cat's family that her mother needed them inside. They followed her into the house and Caroline said, "Thank you Mary. Would you please make sure that Carrie is ready for church? Ben, boys, pleases come here and watch what I do with Cat's hair. I'll show you more next Saturday but there's no reason you can't start learning what to do right now."

Cat's father and brothers watched as Caroline brushed Cat's hair and then used the comb to part it down the middle, combing each half over to the side. Then she divided one side in three parts and began braiding it. When she finished that side, she tied one of the hair ribbons onto the end. Then she did the same thing with the other side. "That doesn't look too hard," said Joe.

"It's a little harder than you think because if you pull too hard you'll hurt Cat and if you don't pull hard enough, the braids will be messy. Alright Cat, I'm finished. You can stand up now."

Cat stood up and everyone told her how cute she looked. "Cat, you are so cute in that dress with your hair braided and your hat hanging down your back. Is there any way I can convince you to wear a dress more often?" asked Ben.

Cat thought for a minute and then got a very mischievous look on her face. "Sure. I'll wear a dress more often if I can have chocolate cake for breakfast, dinner, and supper every day."

Everyone laughed and Ben just shook his head and sighed. "Catherine, this is only your fourth day home and I think you have already given me more gray hairs than Joseph did when he was your age. We need to go now so that we're not late for church."

"Can Mary, Laura, and Carrie ride in the buggy with us?"

"Where are your brothers going to ride?"

"They can ride in the wagon with Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls."

"No, not today."

"Well then, can I ride with Laura, Mary, and Carrie?"

"Not this time Sweetheart. We'll see about next week. This week, I want you to ride with your brothers and me. If Adam, Hoss and Joe don't mind, Mary, Laura, and Carrie can sit in their laps on the way to the picnic, but right now, I want you next to me in the buggy. Now, go, get your puppies and get in the buggy."

"Ben," said Caroline. "Does Cat have a sunbonnet?"

"No she doesn't. That's why she's wearing her cowboy hat today. I'll have to get one for her next week."

"Laura, you and Cat are about the same size. Please go and get one of your sunbonnets for her. It will look much better with her dress than the cowboy hat does."

"Cat shore ain't gonna like that," said Hoss. "She loves that hat."

Ben sighed. He didn't need an argument with his daughter about what she was going to wear on her head to church.

"Maybe we can get her to compromise," said Adam. "She can wear the sunbonnet to church and the hat after church is over. It can't hurt to try."

Cat had her own version of compromise. She put the sunbonnet on and then put her hat on top of it, causing everyone to laugh. "Alright Kitten. You can wear your hat for now," laughed Ben. "But will you please take it off when we get to town? You can wear it again after church."

Cat thought about it for a minute and said, "Ok. But I wanted Reverend and Mrs. Long and Uncle Roy to see my hat."

"They'll get to see it Kitten. Roy is coming to the picnic with us and Hop Sing packed enough food so I can invite the Longs too. I'm sure that they'll say yes, so everyone will get to see your hat."

"Ok. I'll take my hat off when we get to town."

Ben hugged her and said, "That's my girl. Now, run and use the outhouse so we can leave for church."

Cat kept her word and took her hat off when they reached town. Ben stopped the buggy in front of the church so Cat and her brothers could get out. Reverend Long spotted them and excused himself from some people he had been talking to. He walked over to the buggy and greeted the Cartwrights. Adam had already exited the buggy and was about to help Cat out when Reverend Long said, "Please allow me." He picked Cat up and hugged her. "It is very nice to see you again and you look very cute in that dress." He picked Silver Chief up and hugged him too. Then he noticed Lassie. "And who is this pretty girl?" he said, picking the puppy up and hugging her. "I don't remember seeing her before."

"Her name is Lassie. Mr. McLeod and James gave her to me."

"Well, hello Lassie. It is very nice to meet you."

After all of his children had exited the buggy, Ben moved it to the side of the church and walked back to the front. He shook hands with Reverend Long and said, "The Ingalls will be joining us for a picnic after church and we would enjoy it if you and Joanne would join us also. Hop Sing packed more than enough food for all of us and Caroline brought some of her sweet cider. It's some of the best I've ever tasted. That's why we brought the puppies with us. Would you mind if they stayed inside the church during the service? They're too small to stay in the buggy by themselves and they are very well behaved for such young puppies."

"They are God's creatures and as such, they are more than welcome in the church." Reverend Long picked up both puppies and carried them toward the church.

Mrs. Warren, one of the town's busybodies, saw Reverend Long start to carry the puppies into the church and said to some of the other ladies, "I hope that the Reverend isn't going to allow those creatures into the church. A church is no place for those things. They belong in a barn! In fact, it would have been better if they had been drowned as soon as they were born!"

Cat started getting upset at Mrs. Warren's words but felt Hoss' hands on her shoulders. "Easy there little one," he said quietly. "There's no sense getting all riled up at that busybody's words. She's been stickin' her nose into everybody else's business for as long as I can remember. She don' like children or critters and never has, but she don' mind givin' people advice on how to raise their youngins. She even tried givin' Pa advice on how to raise us. Everytime a baby is born, she says the same thing about it she did about your puppies."

Reverend Long heard Mrs. Warren, winked at Cat and said, "Of course these adorable puppies are welcome in our church. They are God's creatures and part of His kingdom." He held Silver Chief up and continued. "Besides that, I happen to know this young man quite well and he is very well behaved for one so young and I'm certain that the young lady will be just as well behaved."

The Ingalls arrived just then and Ben introduced them to the Longs. Cat was happy to see her friends. The girls walked up to Ben and Cat asked, "Can I please sit with Laura and Mary?"

Ben looked at Charles who nodded. "It's _may I_ and yes you may." The three girls sat in a pew right in front of their families. Reverend Long began the service by introducing himself and his wife. When the service was over, he got the buggy from the parsonage and joined the Cartwrights and Ingalls for their picnic.


	39. Chapter 39

While they were waiting for Reverend Long to get the buggy from the parsonage, Ben introduced Cat to some of the people at church, and their children. She was about to ask if she could go and get Roy when Mr. Harris and Mitchell walked up to them. The two men greeted each other and Mr. Harris said, "Mitchell has something to say to you Ben."

"I'm sorry that I was rude to you Mr. Cartwright. I won't do it again."

"I accept your apology Mitchell. I truly hope that you keep your word and are never disrespectful to an adult again."

"Mitchell, you still owe Mr. Cartwright's daughter an apology," said his father.

"I ain't apologizing to no girl."

"Mitchell, we discussed this yesterday and this morning. You owe Miss Cartwright an apology."

"I ain't never apologizing to no girl!"

"Ben, I'm sorry about my son's behavior. It seems that he and I need to have another necessary discussion in the barn when we get home. Let's go Mitchell. I am very disappointed with you. You are in a lot of trouble. It will be several days before you can sit down comfortably and you won't be leaving the ranch without your mother or myself until school starts. If your behavior doesn't improve by then, one of us will be accompanying you to school and picking you up after it lets out."

After Mr. Harris and his son left, Ben noticed Paul Martin and Dr. Johnson coming toward him. He greeted them and invited them to join the picnic, telling them that Hop Sing had packed enough food to feed Hoss for a week. Both men said that they would love to join the picnic. Paul noticed Cat standing next to Ben and couldn't resist teasing her a little bit. "Ben, where is Catherine? I was positive you would bring her to church today. I've looked all over and can't find a little girl wearing buckskins anywhere. Who is this little girl standing next to you? I know it's not Cat because Cat doesn't wear dresses." Paul picked Cat up, hugged her, and told her how cute she looked in her dress. "You are cute as a button in that dress and sunbonnet. What will it take to get you to wear dresses all the time?"

"I'll wear dresses all the time if I can have chocolate cake for breakfast, dinner, and supper every day."

Everyone had a good laugh. "You are a little scamp," said Dr. Johnson reaching over for a hug. "You would get sick if you had chocolate cake for every meal every day. You need meat, vegetables, fruits, and grains like the flour that is in bread." Dr. Johnson told everyone that Dr. Martin had agreed to let his Godson be his apprentice when the young man finished medical college.

Mr. Miller walked up, handed Cat's gloves to her and told her to try them on. "I made them a little big because you're still growing. This way, they should last you a few months before you need new ones." Cat tried the gloves on and thanked Mr. Miller for them. "You're welcome Cat. I enjoyed making them for you. Ben, Paul, I'll see you on Tuesday night."

"What is happening on Tuesday night?" asked Reverend Long who had just driven up in the parsonage buggy.

"The school board is meeting at seven thirty. You are more than welcome to join us. We would appreciate a blessing before starting the meeting and any insights you have to offer."

"Thank you for the invitation. I would love to attend your school board meeting and learn about the issues you are dealing with regarding the children. Joanne, I brought a blanket and your shawl for the picnic. Ben, if you and the Ingalls are ready to leave, Joanne and I are also ready."

"We're just about ready," said Charles. "My girls and Catherine are using the outhouse and then we'll be ready to leave." The girls returned and the Cartwrights got into their buggy. Then Charles started handing his girls to Adam, Hoss, and Joe.

Mrs. Long looked at the overfull buggy and said, "Ben, I think you're going to need a bigger buggy with your huge family."

"You're right Joanne. With this crowd, I'm going to need a carriage larger than the president's. Alright, everyone is in and settled. As soon as you and your husband are ready, we can go to our picnic spot."

Everyone had fun at the picnic. All of the adults remarked how cute Cat was wearing her hat over her sunbonnet. The girls played with Cat's ball for a while. Laura and Mary had brought their skipping ropes and shared them with Cat. The adults talked while the girls played. Ben invited the Longs, the two doctors, and Roy to the picnic at Lake Tahoe the following Saturday. He told everyone to bring their swimming clothes and fishing poles.

When the food had been eaten and everything cleaned up, everyone started for home. Cat was allowed to ride with the Ingalls girls in their parents' wagon, which she thoroughly enjoyed. They stayed at the Ingalls long enough to drink another glass of cider and started for home. Just as Ben was about to turn the team out of the Ingalls' yard, Cat cried out. "Stop please. I forgot to give Laura's sunbonnet back to her." Ben stopped the buggy, Adam helped Cat get out and she ran to the Ingalls' door and knocked on it. Charles answered, she handed him the bonnet and said, "I almost forgot to give this back to Laura. Please tell her thank you again for letting me use it." Charles thanked her for returning the bonnet and said he would give Laura the message. Cat ran back to the buggy and climbed over Adam before he had time to get out.

"Cat, you should have given me a minute to get out. I would have helped you into the buggy."

"That's ok Adam. It was more fun to climb over you." Cat's comment got both Hoss and Joe laughing loudly.

"I guess she told you older brother," said Joe. "I'm going to have to teach little sister more ways of making you crazy." Adam just ignored his brother.

Ben turned the horses and then handed the reins to Cat. "When we get home, change your clothes and then we'll all go out to the pasture to have another look at your colt."

"He doesn't push me or butt me with his head any more. He even lets me put a blanket on him now. I just wish he was old enough for me to ride."

Ben hugged his daughter. "I know you do Sweetheart. It's hard waiting for something you really want. In a way, I'm glad he's not old enough for you to ride. If he were, you would be two years closer to being grown up and I want to keep you as my little girl for as long as I possibly can. I tried with your brothers but they grew up despite my best efforts. Maybe I'll have better luck with you."

Cat giggled. "You're funny. You can't keep someone from growing up. You can't, can you Adam?"

"No Cat. You can't keep someone from growing up no matter how much you want to. And you can't make someone or something grow up faster either, no matter how much you want to."

"Oh. I was hoping that if I took some of Hop Sing's food and gave it to Fury, he would grow up faster."

Adam hugged his sister. "Cat I'm going to tell you something I've already told you several times. You are a silly little girl. Horses don't eat people food."

"That's not fair. I want Fury to grow up faster so I can ride him sooner. I like Ginger, but Fury is my horse and I should be able to ride him if I want to."

"I'm sorry Kitten," said Ben. "Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. You're just going to have to wait for Fury to grow up. You should be able to ride him around your eleventh birthday."

"Remember," added Hoss. "Even though you're just a little bitty slip of a thing, if you try and ride that colt before he's old and strong enough, you will hurt him and never be able to ride him."

"Well, what about if I sleep with him and hug him all night?"

"Sorry Cat," said Joe. "I tried that with Cochise and it didn't work. I just had to wait until he grew up."

"But I don't want to wait until I'm eleven. That's almost two years from now. I'll be all grown up and Fury won't know who I am."

Ben hugged her. "Adam is right. You are a silly girl. You won't be all grown up in only two years and Fury will always know who you are. Now, let's go, change clothes and then see that colt of yours."

The family walked out to the pasture where the mares and foals were kept. Once again, Ben, Adam, and Joe were surprised to see Fury leave Lady and run to Cat. She showed them how he would let her put a blanket on him and instead of pushing her or butting her with his head, the colt put his head on her shoulder. She kissed his nose, reached one arm around his neck and hugged him. "You've done a very good job with him so far," said Ben. "Now we need to show you something else he's going to need to know. Eventually, Fury is going to need shoes and you are going to need to clean his feet. So we're going to show you how to teach him to let you pick his feet up. Watch what Joe does with Lady and do the same thing with Fury."

Joe put one of his hands on one of Lady's legs and gently ran it down to her foot. "Alright Cat, it's your turn. Don't worry about trying to pick one of Fury's feet up yet. Right now, you just want him to get used to you touching his legs. Just go slowly and if he runs off, don't chase him. Just stay where you are and let him come back to you." Cat followed Joe's example. Fury wasn't thrilled about her touching his legs and ran off. "That's ok Cat. Just wait for him to come back to you and try one more time. When Fury came back, Cat tried touching his leg again and he ran off again. Joe could tell that she was disappointed and hugged her. "Don't worry about it Cat. Just do that once or twice a day and he'll be letting you pick his feet up before you know it. All you have to do is go slow like you did when you introduced the blanket to him. Don't forget, he's still a baby and everything is new to him. That's why you have to go slow."

"Ok. I just want him to hurry and grow up so I can ride him."

"I understand. I felt the same way when Cochise was a baby. I tried everything I could think of to get him to grow up faster. I even fed him way too much but all that did was give him an upset stomach. You know what else happened?"

"No, what?"

"Adam and Hoss laughed at me."

"They did?"

"Yes, they did. Our brothers thought it was funny that I overfed my colt trying to make him grow up faster."

"I did that with Spot when I first got him."

"Oh, why did you do that?"

"Because he was a pony and I wanted him to grow up to be a big horse."

"What happened?"

"Little Bear scolded me because Spot was getting fat."

"Well, I guess that means you won't be feeding Fury too much will you?"

"No. I don't want you, Adam, and Hoss laughing at me."

"Good, because you know that we would. Now, we've got time for a short ride before supper. Will it just be you and me or shall we ask Pa and our brothers to join us?"

Cat thought about the question for a minute and said, "Well, I want it to just be us, but I guess we should ask them too."

"Why?"

"Because it's not polite for us to tell them we're going riding and not ask them if they want to go. Uncle Matt always tells me I have to be polite even when I don't want to."

Joe hugged her and said, "Pa always says that to us too, so I guess we'll ask them."

"I'm going to tell Adam that I want to ride Sport."

"Ok. If you want to, but I would suggest that you ask him if you can ride his horse. I know for a fact that if you tell him you want to, he won't let you. Well, let's go and see if they want to join us and remember, you need to _ask_ Adam if you can ride Sport. I know that you don't want him getting angry at you for being rude, now do you?"

"No, I don't want Adam mad at me."

"That's good because if you're rude to Adam, Pa won't let you go riding and you'll probably have to spend time standing in the corner remembering how to be polite."

"Yuck! I hate having to stand in the corner. Uncle Matt made me do it a lot."

"Well then, be polite and ask Adam. Then you won't be in trouble."

They walked up to the rest of the family and Cat said, "Little Joe and I are going riding. Do you want to come with us?"

"That sounds like fun," said Hoss. "I don't know about Pa or Adam but I want to come with you."

Ben and Adam said that they would enjoy going for a ride also. "Adam, can I please ride Sport?" asked Cat.

"What's wrong with Ginger?"

"She's small and I want to ride a big horse since Fury is too little for me to ride. I'm tired of always having to ride a small horse. Even Mark's Blue Boy is bigger than Ginger and he's only two."

"Alright, you can ride Sport, but no jumping any mountains higher than five miles until Fury is big enough so I can jump him over a mountain that's ten miles high like you did with Sport the last time I let you ride him."

"Ok. I promise. I won't jump Sport over any mountain that's bigger than five miles high."

"Good. Now let's get our horses saddled." Adam picked Cat up and put her over his shoulder and carried her into the barn with her giggling the whole way. "Alright Cat," he teased. "You want to ride him, so you can saddle him." He quickly saddled a different horse and watched to see what Cat would do. Ben and Joe joined him, curious to see how the youngest member of the family would handle the challenge.

Cat put Sport's saddle blanket on him and then tried to put the saddle on him. After several unsuccessful attempts, she walked over to Hoss and asked, "Hoss, can you please help me? Adam says I need to saddle Sport since I'm going to ride him but I'm not big enough to put the saddle on him. Can you please pick me up so I can put Sport's saddle on him?"

"Shore thing little sister. You pick up the saddle and I'll hold you up so you can put it on Sport." Cat picked Sport's saddle up off the ground and then Hoss picked her up and held her high enough so she could put the saddle on the horse. Once that was done, Hoss pretended to drop her, causing her to start giggling. He set Cat down and she tried reaching under the horse to get the cinch strap. When she couldn't reach, she crawled under Sport, grabbed the strap and crawled back.

Once Cat had the saddle cinched, she walked in front of Sport and said, "Alright horse, you and I need to have a little talk. When I have to saddle you, I want you to get really small so I can put the saddle on you. Then when I need to cinch the saddle, I want you to get really skinny so I can grab the cinch strap without having to crawl around in your stall on my hands and knees. Once I've got the saddle on you and the cinch strap in my hand, you can go back to being your normal size." She kissed Sport's nose and hugged his head. "You know that I love you so you have to help me out here. If you don't, I'm going to have to keep riding little horses and ponies until I get as big as Hoss and I don't ever want to get that big." The rest of the family quietly led their horses out of the barn so they wouldn't stand there and laugh at Cat. She soon realized that she was the only one left in the barn so she led Sport outside and walked up to Adam. "Would you please check the cinch for me? I got it as tight as I could, but I don't think it's tight enough."

"I'll be happy to check it for you. We can't have the saddle falling off, now can we. You would look very funny riding in the saddle with it hanging underneath. In fact, maybe I will leave the cinch loose. I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding in a saddle that's hanging upside down under a horse."

"I don't think that's a good idea son," said Ben. "Cat is so hard headed, if the saddle is too close to the ground, she will put holes in it if she hits her head. We don't need extra holes in the ground for horses to step in. He walked up to Cat, put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I am very proud of you. Adam told you to do something that was too hard for you but you tried to do it anyway. When you couldn't do it, instead of asking someone to do it for you, you asked for help. That is what being part of a family is all about. We help each other out. Sometimes it means doing something for someone else and other times it means helping them do something they can't do by themselves. You can always ask any of us for help with something that's too difficult for you to do alone and I always want you to ask one of us to do something that's too dangerous for you to do. Well, it looks like Adam has that cinch tight, so let's go for our ride before it gets too late. We don't want Hop Sing angry at us for being late for supper."

Cat walked up to where Adam was holding Sport. "You did a good job tightening the cinch Cat. It was just a little bit loose. Once you're a little bigger and stronger, you won't need any help at all getting it tight. Now, let's get you into the saddle so I can adjust the stirrups for you."

The family rode out of the yard a few minutes later. Part way into their ride, Cat urged Sport into a canter and then a gallop. Joe watched her and then rode up next to his father. "She's an excellent rider. Even though Sport is too big for her, she has complete control of him. Watching her, I find myself wishing that Fury was big enough for her to ride. I can't wait to see what she does with him."

"I agree son. Your sister is doing an excellent job for a nine year old. I just hope she doesn't take too many chances while she's on horseback. She has a lot of her mother in her and there were too many times when Kate was reckless." He watched as Cat rode Sport around a large fallen tree. "Just so you're aware, Cat loves to jump everything she can, including fences, when she's riding. The only reason she went around that tree is because all of us are here. If she was alone, she would have jumped it. I have talked with her about what happened to your mother. If you catch your sister being unsafe on horseback at any time, make her ride with you and bring her to me immediately. She isn't afraid of anything and I don't want to see her end up like your mother.

"You know, Cat is an excellent rider. How about letting her ride Star when she's with one of us and she can ride Ginger when she's alone? Star is bigger than Ginger but not as big as Sport." Joe caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, turned his head and started laughing. "Look at those two puppies. They're barely four months old and they're trying to keep up with Sport. I think that when they grow up, they're going to try and keep Cat from doing dangerous things. I also think they will try and protect her from danger."

"That is an excellent idea. Catherine can ride Star when she's with any of us and Ginger when she's alone. That way she won't feel as though we're treating her like a little child. I agree about her puppies as well. From what I was told, Silver Chief attacked Little Bear's wife's father when he adopted her at the wedding ceremony. Well, we had better start heading back for the house. You know how upset Hop Sing gets when we're late for meals."

When they got back to the barn, Hoss helped Cat down off Sport and she led the horse into his stall and began to unsaddle him. Adam walked up and said "Cat, I'll take care of Sport. Why don't you take care of Star? He's not as tall as Sport and it will be easier for you to unsaddle him."

During supper, Ben said, "Catherine, Little Joe was watching you ride Sport today and he made an excellent suggestion. We know that you don't like riding Ginger because she is a small horse. So, as of right now, when you are going to be riding with any adult, you will be allowed to ride Star. He's bigger than Ginger but not as big as Sport. Until I tell you differently, when you are alone, you will still have to ride Ginger. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's the way things are going to be until I say otherwise. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said Cat quietly. She didn't want to have to keep riding a small horse but was afraid to say so because she didn't want Ben to change his mind about letting her ride Star.

Joe caught her mood, gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "It's not that bad Cat. You'll be riding with one of us most of the time, so you'll only have to ride Ginger when you go to school or to see Mary and Laura. Being able to ride a bigger horse most of the time is better than having to ride a small one all the time, isn't it?"

Cat thought about what Joe said for a minute and then said, "Yes it is."

"Good. Because Star is almost as fast as Cochise, so you and I can have some races."

Cat smiled. "That would be fun."

"Yes it would. Now you need to finish eating or Hop Sing won't let you have any dessert and I know that dessert is your favorite part of the meal."

While Hop Sing was serving dessert, Ben said, "Cat, Adam told me that you finished our book last night. So before you go to bed, you're going to need to pick another book for us to read. The rest of the books we bought in Denver should be here tomorrow or Tuesday and then you'll have a lot of books to choose from. Adam might be able to help you pick one that you'll enjoy."

After supper, Cat helped Hop Sing clear the table. Then she and Adam went to look at the two books she brought with her from Denver as well as his books. Cat picked up King Arthur and said "What is this one all about Adam?"

"It's all about a very good king and his knights. I think that you'll like it."

"Ok. I'll read a few chapters and if I don't like it I'll find a different one."

"I think that's a very good idea. Now, why don't you put this book on your night table and then if you'll carry my guitar downstairs, I'll play for a while before you go to bed."

When Ben noticed Cat starting to yawn, he sent her to bed. Once she had changed into her nightgown, she opened her bedroom door. A few minutes later, her brothers and Hop Sing came in to say goodnight. When all four of them had gone back downstairs, Ben went upstairs to read with Cat and tell her goodnight. He picked the book up from the night table, looked at the title and said, "King Arthur. I haven't read this since Joe was about your age. Knowing how much you love adventure, I think you're going to enjoy this book." He sat down on the bed, put his feet up and opened the book.

"Pa," said Cat.

"Yes?"

"You have your boots on the bed. You fussed at me when I put my moccasins on the bed, so I don't think you should have your boots on the bed either."

Ben looked at her, smiled and hugged her. "Do you know what you just called me?"

"No."

"You called me Pa. I can't even begin to tell you how happy that makes me. This is one of the happiest days of my life. Until now, I have always been Uncle Ben but now I am your papa. That makes me just as happy as when I fell in love and married my three wives and when each of my sons was born. If it weren't eight o'clock at night, I would have a big party just to celebrate the fact that you have now accepted me as your papa instead of just as your uncle. I have to believe that your parents are up in heaven and very happy knowing that you finally have what you have always deserved and needed, a home and a family. I'm sure that you have already figured out that we don't always agree on everything and sometimes we quarrel but the one thing we always have is love for each other. Even when your brothers have disobeyed me and gotten into trouble for it, I never stopped loving them. It is the same with you. None of us are perfect and I know that you will break the rules, and I will have to punish you for it. However, I will never, ever stop loving you. Now, as far as my boots on the bed goes, you are one hundred percent correct. I can't very well expect you to follow the rules I set if I don't follow them too. So, I will take my boots off and then we will begin reading about King Arthur and his knights."

"I'm glad that you're my Pa now, but do I really have to have _three_ big brothers? Can't you trade one of them in on a sister for me?"

Ben laughed and, having taken his boots off, put his feet back up on the bed and hugged Cat again. "You are silly. Which one of your brothers do you want me to trade in?"

"Adam. Joe says he's bossy."

"I'll tell him that when I go downstairs and I'll tell him to try and not be so bossy. I can't guarantee that it will work, but I will tell him. Now, it's getting late. Let's read a chapter in your book and then you and your puppies need to go to sleep."

After tucking Cat and her puppies in and blowing out the lamp, Ben walked back downstairs, grinning from ear to ear. Hop Sing had just brought a fresh pot of coffee into the living room and looked up when he heard Ben coming downstairs. "What up. You grinning like cat who ate canaly. What happened to Missy Cat?"

"Well Hop Sing, I'll tell you. That little girl called me Pa for the first time and it makes me just as happy as when I fell in love and married my wives and when my sons were born."

"I think this calls for a toast," said Adam walking over to the wine cabinet. He picked out a bottle of wine and grabbed five glasses. "Joe, come and give me a hand with these glasses. I don't want to drop any of them." Adam and Joe carried the wine and glasses back to the living room and Adam filled a glass for everyone, including Hop Sing.

"Well," said Ben. "What shall we drink to?"

"Our little sister," said Hoss.

"She finally feels like she's part of the family," said Joe.

"Alright then," said Ben. "To Cat!"

"Hop Sing make Missy Cat favolite bleakfast tomorrow. Flapjacks with strawbellies, bacon, eggs, and sausage! We have big celeblation at bleakfast!"

"Thank you Hop Sing. I'm quite certain that Catherine will appreciate you making her favorite breakfast for her. Oh, by the way, Adam, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."

"Oh, what is that?"

"Your sister asked me to trade you in on a sister for her. It seems that your youngest brother told her that you were bossy and she doesn't want a bossy brother. I told her that I would tell you not to be so bossy."

Hop Sing, Hoss, and Joe could not contain their laughter. "I guess she told you older brother," laughed Joe. "Either you stop being so bossy or you get traded in for a girl."

"Little Joe right. Adam not be bossy to Missy Cat like he do Little Joe. Only Mr. Ben and Hop Sing allowed be bossy to Missy Cat! If Adam be bossy to Missy Cat, Hop Sing use wooden spoon on him!" All four Cartwright men started laughing at Hop Sing's statement.

I'm going to take Cat to town in the morning. I forgot to buy sunbonnets for her and it looked to me like her shoes are getting too tight, so I'll see if we can find any that fit her. After dinner, I'll let her ride out and help the three of you. It's getting late, so I suggest the three of you turn in. I'll be up shortly." Ben spent a little bit of time writing in his journal then put it away, blew out the lamp and went upstairs. He looked in on Cat and covered her up again then went into his own room.

The next morning, Cat was surprised to see her favorite breakfast being served. "Wow, flapjacks with strawberries, bacon, eggs and sausage. Yummy! That's my favorite breakfast. It's almost as good as chocolate cake. Thanks Hop Sing."

"Missy Cat welcome. Now eat lots and grow big like Hoss. You too skinny and need to eat mole."

Cat laughed. "I don't want to get as big as Hoss. Little girls aren't supposed to be as big as men."

"Hop Sing no cale. Now eat."

"You're not going to win that argument Cat," said Joe. "I've been hearing it ever since I was old enough to eat solid food."

After breakfast, Ben said, "Cat, you and I are going to town this morning to get some sunbonnets and new shoes for you. Then after dinner, you can go and help your brothers."

After Cat spent some time with Fury, she and Ben rode into town. Mr. McLeod was surprised to see them back so soon. "Good morning Ben and Cat. What can I do for you today?"

"Good morning George. It seems that I forgot to buy some sunbonnets for Cat on Saturday and yesterday, I noticed that her shoes seemed too tight."

"Well, we can fix both of those problems. Cat, why don't you look at the sunbonnets and I'll ask my wife how many she thinks you'll need. Then we'll see about finding some shoes for you." Cat walked over to look at the sunbonnets and Mr. McLeod returned a few minutes later. "My wife says that you're going to want at least four of those, so pick out four or more that you like and then we'll see about some bigger shoes for you."

Once Cat had her shoes and sunbonnets picked out, she and Ben walked down to the Sheriff's office to say hello to Roy. Dinner was ready by the time they got home. After dinner, Cat rode out with her brothers to mend fences. After teaching her how to use a hammer and nails, they let her pound the last nail on each fence post. She bent quite a few nails but her brothers just laughed and handed her another nail. They had to replace two broken fence posts and Cat begged her brothers to lay both of them down on the ground together so she could jump Star over them. "Why do you want to do that?" asked Joe.

"'Cause that way I can jump a fence without getting in trouble."

All three of her brothers laughed and lay the fence posts next to each other on the ground. After Cat had jumped Star over them four times, Hoss said, "Ok Punkin. You done jumped them four times. That's enough. We've got to get them in the ground and finish up here so's we're not late for supper."

"When we get home, I'm going to tell Pa that I built a whole fence all by myself and then I jumped Star over it four times.

Cat's brothers looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh at their sister. "You go right ahead and do that little sister," said Hoss. "Then Pa will know what a big help you are."

When they finished mending the fence, Hoss put all of the tools back in the wagon and they headed for the yard. When they got home, Adam asked Hoss to put Sport in the barn for him so he could talk to their father. He walked into the house and found Ben sitting in his favorite chair reading a book. Ben greeted him and Adam said, "Pa, just play along with whatever Cat says and we'll explain later. She had a good time and I don't want to spoil her mood because you got upset by what she says we let her do."

"Alright son. I trust the three of you and know that you would never allow her to do anything dangerous, so I'll play along with whatever your sister says."

"Thanks Pa. Now, I'd better go back out and take care of Sport before Cat notices I'm not out there. I don't want her to think I told you what she's going to say."


	40. Chapter 40

When Cat and her brothers came into the house, Ben hugged her and said, "Did you have a good time working with your brothers?"

"Yes I did. I got to build a whole fence by myself and I got to jump Star over one four whole times."

"You did? Did you like building a whole fence all by yourself?"

"Yes, but it was hard. The wire didn't want to hold still and the nails didn't want to go in straight. Hoss finally had to tell the wire to hold still and Adam and Joe had to tell the nails to go in straight."

"Well, I'm glad that your brothers helped you otherwise, I would be very angry at them for making you do all of the work. Is Star a good jumper?"

"Yes he is. He's not as good as Sport but that's only because he's not as big, but he is a good jumper."

"That's good. I wouldn't want you riding a horse that wasn't a good jumper. Now, it's time to wash up for supper."

Cat started to go upstairs to the washroom when Ben called her back. "You're forgetting something Cat." She gave him a puzzled look and he said, "You forgot to put your hat where it belongs."

"Oh. Thank you. I forgot I still had it on." She hung her hat on the hat rack and went upstairs to wash up.

During supper, Ben asked, "Well boys, how is the new hand working out?"

"She tries real hard, but she's even punier than Little Joe," laughed Hoss. "She can barely pick up a hammer, let alone a roll of fence wire."

"Do you know that she didn't want to hit the nails with the hammer because she was afraid she would hurt them," teased Joe.

"I think she spent more time apologizing to the nails for hitting them than she did actually trying to pound them into the fence posts," added Adam.

Knowing she was being teased, Cat said, "Just you three wait. I'll fix you good. I'll move your hats and horses around so you won't know which one is yours."

Hoss pretended to growl. "You do that little sister and I'll switch them puppies of yours around so you won't know which one is which."

"I'll put your moccasins on the other side of your bed so you can't find them," laughed Joe.

"And I'll put your shirts where your pants go and your socks where your shirts go and your shirts where your socks go so when you get dressed in the morning, you'll get dressed all wrong," teased Adam.

"Family be silly tonight," said Hop Sing.

"You're right about that Hop Sing," said Ben. "Maybe they ate some loco weed while they were out mending fences today. Catherine, you need to finish eating or you won't get any dessert."

After supper, Cat played checkers with Joe until it was time for her to go to bed. When Ben came back downstairs after reading with her, he looked at his sons and said, "Well, it seems like your sister had quite an adventure today. She sure can tell some tall tales. I can't wait to hear her fish stories. Did she help or was she just in the way today?"

"She helped as best as she could," answered Hoss.

"We let her put the last nail in each fence post," said Joe. "She bent more nails than she actually got into the posts, but at least she tried."

"Two fence posts needed to be replaced at the last section, so Hoss put them on the ground together and Cat jumped Star over them four times," finished Adam.

"Thank you for letting your little sister help you. I don't really want my little girl mending fences. In fact, I'd like to put her up on a shelf and keep her there until she's all grown up. However some day, many years from now, the Ponderosa will be hers and it's important that she know how to do things on the ranch, including mending fences."

"Yeah," said Joe looking at his brothers. "I can just see Cat sitting on a shelf for the next ten years, can't you?"

"That'll go over real good with her," added Hoss.

"I'm willing to bet a week's worth of chores that she wouldn't stay there more than two minutes," laughed Adam.

Ben looked at his sons and laughed. "All three of you are correct of course, but at least give a father the option to dream. I want her to ride a pony but she wants to ride the biggest horse in the world. I'm tempted to geld Fury because I don't want her riding a stallion."

"Gelding that colt will go over worse than trying to make her sit on a shelf," said Adam. "If she even thinks you're considering doing it, she will take her puppies, Fury, Lady, and Ginger or Star and try to make her way to Rip in Arizona so he can get her back to Dodge. I've seen her looking at the maps and I'm certain she knows how to get to Arizona."

Ben sighed, "I know son. I just want to keep her from ever getting hurt, just like I did with you boys when you were little. Unfortunately, there is no way to keep that from happening. I'm not going to geld Fury. If we're going to start raising horses instead of catching the wild ones, we'll need every stallion and brood mare we can get. Besides that, Catherine would never forgive me if I did."

The four men talked for a little while. Then Ben went to write in his journal, Adam worked on a bridle that needed mending while Hoss and Joe played checkers. When they went upstairs, Ben looked in on Cat and saw that she had kicked her covers off again. He covered her and her puppies up again, softly kissed her forehead, whispered that he loved her, closed the door and went into his own room.

After breakfast the next day, Cat rode out with Joe to look for strays while Adam and Hoss repaired more fencing. Once dinner was over, Hoss and Joe rode out to do more of the things they were supposed to have done while Ben and Adam were gone. Adam rode out to one of the lumber camps and Ben decided to work on the books. Cat asked Hop Sing for some carrots and went out to see Fury. When she was done working with him, she ran into the house and collided with her father who had just poured a fresh cup of coffee. The collision caused Ben to spill hot coffee all over himself and drop the cup. Cat was shocked at what she had done and knew she was in trouble. "I'm sorry Pa. I didn't mean to run into you."

Ben delivered a very hard swat to her bottom and said sternly, " **You are in big trouble young lady! Go in the kitchen, ask Hop Sing for a rag and clean up this mess!** "

Cat went into the kitchen and asked Hop Sing for a rag. "Why Missy Cat need rag?"

"I ran into Pa and spilled coffee all over him and the floor. I have to clean up the floor."

"Missy Cat vely bad to run in house. You been told plenty times no run in house. Now you in big trouble and going to get spanking. Go clean floor now."

Cat took the rag from Hop Sing and went to clean up the floor. When she had finished, Ben said, "Take the rag back to Hop Sing and then come back here to me!" Cat did as she was told. Ben took her by the arm, led her into the living room and pointed to the fireplace. "Go stand in the corner by the fireplace. After I change clothes, you and I are going to have a necessary discussion in the barn."

Adam walked into the house just as his father came back downstairs. He saw his sister standing in the corner, looked at Ben and asked, "What happened?"

"She was running in the house, ran into me and spilled hot coffee all over me! When I finish with her, she's going to have a very hard time sitting down for quite a while!"

"Pa, you're too angry right now and you know it. You never punished Hoss, Joe or me when you were angry. Do you really want to do that now? Why don't you get another cup of coffee and work on the books until you calm down. Cat can stand in the corner until you're ready to take her to the barn."

"You're right son. Thank you for keeping me from making a big mistake. You did that for me quite a few times with Little Joe, now it looks like you're going to be doing with Catherine also. I can't believe how much alike those two are. How are things going up at the lumber camp?"

"Everything is going fine. If the weather continues to hold, we should be able to meet the contract deadline with a few days to spare."

"That's excellent son. I'm glad to hear it. Hopefully the weather will hold until we meet that deadline." Ben sat at his desk, trying to work on the books and dreading what he needed to do to his daughter. He had been through this many times with his sons and it never got easier. However, it was something that needed to be done. Just as her brothers had in the past, Cat needed to be taught a lesson. She got lucky this time. Hot coffee was the only thing spilled and nobody had gotten hurt. Instead of him with a cup of coffee in his hands, she could just as easily have run into Hop Sing with his hands full of hot food.

While Ben was working at his desk, Adam sat down in his chair with the book he had been reading. Cat turned around and said, "Adam is Pa going to use that big belt in the barn on my bare bottom?"

He was tempted to answer her question but instead said, "Catherine, you are being punished. You are not supposed to turn around and talk when you're in the corner. Now turn around and face the corner like Pa told you to do before you get into more trouble."

Cat couldn't believe that Adam wouldn't answer her question and tears began to fall from her eyes. Ben carried his coffee cup into the kitchen and began to talk to Hop Sing. "I know I have to punish her my friend, but I am dreading it."

"Hop Sing undelstand. I watch you go through same thing when sons little. You don't want to spank but you do to teach lesson. Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe all learn lesson. Now Missy Cat need learn lesson too. Go teach lesson and folgive Missy Cat like you do sons."

"Thank you old friend. I knew I could count on you for help. I had better go and do what I need to do even though I don't want to. I know that Catherine thinks I'm going to use the big belt in the barn on her bare bottom, so when we get out there, I need to tell her exactly what is going to happen and have her tell me why it is going to happen." He walked back into the living room and said, "Let's go Catherine. It is time we had our discussion in the barn." Cat wanted to run away but she walked up to where her father was waiting.

Adam watched them walk out the door, remembering all the times he and his brothers had taken that same walk with their father, wishing there was something he could do to keep it from happening, but knowing that Cat had to lean a lesson just as he and his brothers had.

Hoss and Joe rode into the yard while Ben and Cat were walking toward the barn. They saw his hand on her shoulder, her head hung low and knew what was about to happen. Like Adam, they wished there was something they could do to stop what was about to happen, but knew they couldn't. "Poor kid," said Joe.

"Yeah," said Hoss. "I wonder what happened."

"Adam or Hop Sing should be able to tell us. No matter what happened, little sister is going to need our sympathy."

They walked into the house and saw Adam sitting in his chair, reading a book. "We saw Pa takin' Cat to the barn," said Hoss. "What happened?"

"She was running in the house and ran into him, causing him to spill a cup of hot coffee all over himself."

Joe let out a whistle. "Poor kid. We may not be able to give her much sympathy because she's been warned about running in the house so many times, but at least we can put a cushion on her chair."

"Pa won't like that," said Adam. "I tried when you were little but he said that having to sit on the hard chairs was part of the punishment, however we can try."

"We can ask Hop Sing to do it. Pa won't tell him no. If he does, Hop Sing will yell at him."

"You're right Joe," said Hoss. Pa won't say nothin' if Hop Sing puts a cushion on Cat's chair, so let's go and ask him."

The three of them walked into the kitchen and talked to Hop Sing. "No wolly. Hop Sing put cushion on Missy Cat chair. Yell at fathel if he complain and say Missy Cat no have cushion."

"Thanks Hop Sing," said Hoss. "You're the only one here who can get away with giving Cat a cushion. Pa would just make us take it off her chair."

Ben gently guided Cat into the barn, sat down on a bale of hay and had her stand in front of him. He looked up at her tear stained face and asked, "What have you been told about running in the house?"

"I can do it because I'm in a hurry," she replied hopefully.

Ben fought hard to keep from smiling. He couldn't believe how much this little girl was like another Cartwright child who had stood in that very spot many times over the years. " _Catherine_ ," he said gently.

"I'm not supposed to do it."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't safe."

"What were you doing this afternoon?"

"Running in the house."

"What happened because you were running in the house?"

"I ran into you."

"What happened because you ran into me?"

"You got coffee spilled on you."

"That's right. Do you think I liked having hot coffee spilled on me?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"That's right. I did not like having hot coffee spilled all over me. I want you to realize how lucky you are that I only had a cup of coffee in my hand. What do you think would have happened if you had run into Hop Sing and he had both hands full of hot food?"

"Both of us could have got hurt."

"That's right. What do you think could have happened if you had run into one of your brothers or me carrying a loaded gun?"

"The gun could have gone off and someone could have gotten hurt."

"That's right. Not only could someone have gotten hurt, someone could have been killed. Do you want someone to get hurt or killed because you were doing something that wasn't safe?" "No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"How would you feel if someone had gotten hurt or killed because you were running in the house?"

"Really bad."

"How do you think your brothers and I would feel if someone had gotten hurt or killed because you were running in the house?"

"Really bad."

"That's right, which is why we are out her right now. You have been warned many times about running in the house and yet you still do it and today you caused me to spill hot coffee on myself. So now, it's time to move beyond warnings." Cat looked at the large belt hanging from a nearby nail with tears running down her face. "I am not going to use that belt on your bare bottom. That is for when you do something illegal, extremely dangerous or have been punished for the same thing many times. However, you are going to get a spanking. This is not something I want to do. It is something I have to do to teach you a lesson. I truly hope and pray that this will be the last time I will have to punish you like this because it hurts me just as much, if not more than it hurts you. Now let's get this over and done with." Ben gently pulled Cat over his knees and delivered a very hard smack to her bottom. Even though the Apaches had been teaching her how to deal with pain and she thought she was very brave, that smack hurt worse than any punishment she had ever received, including when one of her Godfathers had used his belt on her two months earlier. Cat let out a loud gasp and struggled to get free. Ben held her firmly in place and delivered four more smacks just as hard as the first one. When he finished, he helped Cat to her feet, pulled her close and held her as the tears and silent sobs soaked the shoulder of his shirt. Once she had finished crying, he reassured her that all was forgiven and that she was very much loved. They walked back to the house and once they were inside Ben said, "I want you to go up to your room and stay there until suppertime. You need to think about what you did that caused you to get a spanking and what you can do differently in the future. Supper will be early tonight because I have to go to town for the school board meeting." After Cat went upstairs, Ben sat down to talk with his sons. "You three have no idea how much I hate having to do that. I hated it when you were younger and I still hate it now. I sent your sister up to her room to think about what she did to earn a spanking and what she can do differently in the future."

Joe laughed. "I can tell you what she'll say about the future."

"What?"

"She'll say that she needs to make sure nobody is around when she's running in the house."

"You're probably right son. I can't believe how much the two of you are alike. She tried to tell me I said it was alright for her to run in the house because she's in a hurry."

"Yep," laughed Hoss. "That sounds exactly like Little Joe. Maybe it's 'cause they were born on the same day and he got to hold her right after she was born. Some of Joe rubbed off on Cat."

"Don't forget," said Adam. "Kate was pretty wild too. I think I remember Pa saying that she could talk herself out of being punished a lot of the time, so maybe Cat's picking up some of her mother's behaviors too."

The four of them sat there talking for a while when Hop Sing said that supper was almost ready. "You three get washed up and I'll get your sister." Ben walked upstairs and found Cat sound asleep on her stomach. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back until she woke up. "It's time to get up Kitten. Supper is almost ready. You need to wash up and come downstairs."

Cat rolled over, stretched, yawned and sat up. "My bottom hurts bad. Uncle Matt never hit me that hard."

Ben hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry Kitten, but your bottom is going to hurt for a while. A spanking doesn't do any good unless it hurts. The idea is to teach you a lesson that you won't forget. Now, wash up and come down for supper." Ben walked downstairs and saw a cushion on Cat's chair. " **WHY IS THAT CUSHION ON CATHERINE'S CHAIR? YOU KNOW MY RULE ABOUT NO CUSHIONS RIGHT AFTER A SPANKING. WHICH ONE OF YOU THREE PUT IT THERE?** "

Hop Sing heard Ben yelling about the cushion and yelled at Ben, " **HOP SING PUT CUSHION** **ON MISSY CAT CHAIR. YOU NO TELL ME NO PUT CUSHION ON MISSY CAT CHAIR. I FIX BIG SUPPEL AND SHE NO EAT IF SHE BOTTOM HULTS! HOP SING GET ANGLY IF MISSY CAT NO EAT! I GO BACK TO CHINA** **AND TAKE MISSY CAT WITH ME!** " and stormed back into the kitchen.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe could not contain their laughter. Ben scowled at his sons and asked, "Which one of you put Hop Sing up to it?" All three of them gave him innocent looks.

"You know how Hop Sing feels about Cat," said Hoss. "This is the second time he's threatened to go back to China and take her with him and she has only been home six days. He's probably going to spoil her rotten."

Ben admitted that his sons were right. Cat came downstairs, saw the cushion on her chair and thanked her brothers. "Don't thank us Cat," said Joe. "If one of us had put it there, Pa would have made us take it off. Thank Hop Sing. He put it there."

Hop Sing brought the food to the table and Cat said, "Thank you for the cushion Hop Sing. I'm glad you put it there because my bottom hurts bad."

Hop Sing hugged her and said, "Missy Cat welcome but no lun in house anymore. Hop Sing see Missy Cat lun in house, he use big spoon on you bottom. Now eat lots. Hop Sing make chocolate cake for dessert but you no get any unless you eat lots of food."

During supper, Ben asked, "Catherine, did you think about what you can do differently in the future to avoid being punished like you were today?"

"Yes. I need to make sure nobody is around when I'm running through the house."

Her brothers and Hop Sing burst out laughing. It was all Ben could do to keep from laughing along with them. "Little Joe was right Pa," laughed Hoss. "That's exactly what he said she would say. Them two are a lot alike" Ben just sighed. Raising this little girl wasn't going to be as easy as he thought it would be. She was too much like her mother and his youngest son.

After supper, Ben looked at his watch and said, "I need to leave for the school board meeting in just a few minutes. Catherine, I want you to listen to your brothers and go to bed when they tell you to. Joe can read with you tonight because I won't be home until late." He picked up his hat and gun, looked at Cat and said, "Why don't you walk outside with me for a minute?" They walked outside, Ben sat down in the rocking chair on the porch and pulled Cat into his lap. He hugged her and said, "I just want to make sure that you know how much I love you and I'm very happy that you're my little girl now. The fact that you got into trouble and were punished for it doesn't lessen my love for you. I will love you and worry about you long after I have gone to live in Heaven. Now, why don't you run over to the barn and see if you can find a horse for me to ride?"

Cat ran over to the barn and asked Pete if he would please saddle Buck for her father. Then she ran back to the porch and said, "I'm sorry Pa, but there aren't any horses in the barn. They left a note saying that they were running away because they weren't getting enough chocolate cake."

Ben burst out laughing and hugged her. "You little scamp. I'll bet that they did just that. Well, I guess I'll have to ride Fury to town, although I must admit, I'm going to look awful silly riding a two month old colt. Why don't you go and look again? Maybe one of the horses is hiding somewhere in the barn."

Cat ran to the barn and returned, leading Buck. "I found him hiding in the hayloft. He says that if he doesn't get more chocolate cake, he's going to run away with the others. All of the horses want chocolate cake for breakfast, dinner, and supper. So do I."

Ben laughed, picked Cat up, hugged her and carried her into the house. He carried her into the living room, looked at his sons and said, "I have a present for the three of you. Which one of you wants to take her?"

"I'll take her Pa," said Hoss. "She ain't no trouble at all."

"Alright Hoss. Here you go. Catherine, if you can keep your brothers out of trouble, you may have another piece of chocolate cake before bed. I'll go and tell Hop Sing. Then I have to get to town for that meeting." Ben walked into the kitchen, talked to Hop Sing and returned to the living room. He hugged Cat again and reminded her that she had to keep her brothers out of trouble in order to earn the extra piece of cake.

When he reached Virginia City, Ben found Roy Coffee and Paul Martin talking outside the meeting house. He dismounted and greeted his friends. "Where is my favorite Cartwright?" asked Roy.

"She's at home with her brothers and a very sore bottom."

Paul and Roy pretended to be shocked at Ben's words. "What did you do to that sweet, innocent little girl and why?" asked Paul. "We all know that she would never, ever get into any kind of mischief."

Ben told them what Cat had done and how he had punished her. Both men feigned indignation and Roy asked, "Paul, you're the doctor here. What can we do to keep that from happening again? That child should never be punished for anything. We both know that Cat is a sweet, well behaved child who would never run in the house. Ben must have spilled the coffee on himself."

"Well, as her doctor, I will prescribe a healthy dose of chocolate cake to be taken daily. You're the sheriff. You could always take her away from him and raise her yourself."

Ben laughed at his friends. "You two are incorrigible. If you can get Cat away from Hop Sing and her brothers, you can have her. I predict that you'll bring her back home within three days. Well, Gerald is here. I'd better go inside for the meeting."

Ben and Paul walked into the meeting house, which was overflowing with concerned parents. After Mr. Miller called the meeting to order and Reverend Long said a prayer, Mr. Miller said, "The purpose behind this meeting is to discuss whether or not to continue employing Miss Prudence Smith as the teacher in the Virginia City school. Even though there were some complaints made by parents, this board decided to keep her as the teacher out of respect to Reverend Jonas because she is his niece. With only three weeks until the start of the new school term, I see no reason to change teachers at this point in time. We can hardly be expected to locate a suitable teacher in such a short amount of time."

The meeting erupted in chaos with many fathers shouting at Mr. Miller. He tried to bring the meeting back to order but was unsuccessful until Reverend Long stood up. "Although I only arrived in Virginia City seven days ago, I was invited to attend this meeting to give my insights. Keeping a poor teacher in their position because they are related to someone is harmful to the children that person has been hired to teach. When you are attempting to decide whether or not to retain somebody in a position of authority, you must consider their performance and ask yourself which is more important, not angering that person and their relatives by keeping them or preventing the irreparable harm they could bring to the people they have authority over by dismissing them. Reverend Jonas is gone, so the excuse for keeping Miss Smith as your teacher no longer exists. If, as I have heard it said, she is a poor teacher, you owe it to those children to replace her. If she is a good teacher, then by all means leave her in the position."

He sat down and Ben stood up. Mr. Miller gave him permission to speak. "As many of you know, my younger sister was murdered this past June, leaving her young daughter orphaned. I have adopted my niece and she is now living with me and my sons on the Ponderosa. I took Catherine's books to the school on Friday to ask Miss Smith if they were the same ones being used here. Miss Smith has never met my daughter, so you can imagine my outrage when she said that Catherine was stupid and so were most of the students in the school. Catherine is by no means stupid. She struggles with arithmetic and like many nine year olds, she struggles with grammar. Other than that, she is an excellent student and even her arithmetic and grammar scores were better than average. If Miss Smith is retained as the teacher in the Virginia City school, Catherine will not be attending school here."

"Where will she attend school Ben?" asked Mr. Mitchell.

Since Charles Ingalls wasn't at the meeting, Ben decided not to say anything about Caroline offering to teach Cat. Instead he said, "Adam is perfectly capable of teaching his sister. Catherine won't like being taught by her brother, but I will do whatever I have to do to see that she gets a good education. Before you ask, no, Adam will not teach your children also. He'll have his hands full with his sister and I will still need him to help on the ranch."

Ben sat down and other parents stood up to complain about the way Miss Smith had treated their children. The parents of the younger children related how the children were not allowed to use the outhouse and were punished if they had an accident in their pants. Paul Martin stood up and said, "As a doctor, that alarms me. Children can get sick from not being able to relieve themselves or being made to wear wet, soiled clothing for more than a few minutes. Refusal to let a child use the outhouse should disqualify any person from being a teacher anywhere." Other parents stood up and told how their children were expected to complete assignments with no instruction on how to do them and were given low grades when the assignments were wrong.

After listening to what everyone had said, Mr. Miller knew that Miss Smith needed to be replaced as the teacher in the Virginia City school. He asked for a motion and Mr. Winter stood up and said, "I move that we remove Miss Prudence Smith as the teacher in the Virginia City school. Mr. Harris seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

"We have voted to hire a new teacher for our school," said Mr. Miller. "However, we only have three weeks in which to hire one. Does anybody have any suggestions on how we can find a new teacher in that short amount of time?"

"Mr. Winter said, "I have an idea. My younger sister, Susan has recently moved in with me and my family. She taught school in Philadelphia but after our mother died, she came to live with me. She is betrothed to a man in San Francisco and they plan to marry next spring. If you would like to meet her and talk with her, I can go to my house and bring her back here. It will take me about fifteen minutes to walk home and return with Susan. Mr. Miller told him to go and get his sister. He returned about twenty minutes later with a well dressed young woman in her late twenties.

Mr. Winter introduced his sister to the school board members and she said, "It is a pleasure to meet you gentlemen. John tells me that you are in need of a teacher for your school. I would be more than happy to fill that position for you. I loved teaching when I was in Philadelphia and wasn't looking forward to giving it up before I marry next spring." The school board members asked her some questions, which she answered to their satisfaction. "I do need to warn you that I use some unconventional teaching methods. I have found that the older students are more likely to pay attention to the lessons and earn better grades if they are involved in the lessons. For example, you can expect to see them going around town measuring things when we start working on geometry."

"Why would they need to measure things?" asked Ben.

"By measuring things, they can determine things like the area, volume, circumference, diameter and radius. They can determine the height of an object by measuring its shadow and comparing it to the height and shadow length of something they are already familiar with, such as themselves. Knowing the dimensions of a hayloft and a bale of hay will enable them to determine how many bales of hay will be needed to completely fill the hayloft. Measuring actual objects, including buildings, is a much better way of learning than just measuring drawings on paper. It gives the children a chance to see how mathematics can be used in real life. For history, they can use string and pegs to mark out the Mayflower so they can see exactly how small it was and how crowded the passengers were. If I can get the dimensions of current ships, the students can mark one out and compare the Mayflower with a current ship. I also intend for them to use old newspapers as well as talk with people who have lived here since the town got started to report on the history of the town and its people. Although I am to be married next spring, I will not be leaving Virginia City. My husband to be has decided to keep his business holdings in San Francisco while living here. Therefore, should you decide to offer the position to me, when you find a teacher for the next term, if that person becomes ill or injured, I will be available to fill in until that person returns to the school."

"Thank you Miss Winter," said Mr. Miller. "If you would be kind enough to wait here, the school board members will step into the next room to discuss what you have told us. I have a feeling it won't take us long to reach a decision." The school board members walked into the next room closed the door and voted unanimously to ask Miss Susan Winter to teach the children of Virginia City. They walked back into the large part of the meeting hall and Mr. Miller said, "Miss Winter, it is our pleasure to offer you the position of teacher in the Virginia City school. We are looking forward to having you teach our children. Now, before I adjourn this meeting, are there any other topics we need to address?"

"Yes," said Ben. "That school needs a good coat of paint, inside and out. Also, I noticed that some of the desks and bookcases are in need of repair. I would also like to see us add more books to the school library. Perhaps Miss Winter can inventory the books we already have and recommend some to add."

"Alright Ben, we'll see to it that the school gets painted prior to the start of the term. I'll ask some of the men who are skilled at carpentry to look at the desks and bookcases and repair them if possible and make new ones if they can't be repaired. Miss Winter, if you would kindly meet me at the school tomorrow afternoon at one, I will give you the key to the school. Then you can look around and let me know what things you think our school needs. If there is no further business for this board, I hereby declare this meeting adjourned. Thank you everyone for attending. Please use caution when returning home." Once everyone had left, Mr. Miller blew out the lamps, locked the door, and took the key back to Roy.


	41. Chapter 41

"What did the board decide?" asked Roy.

"We have hired a new teacher. John Winter's younger sister Susan used to teach in Philadelphia and we asked her to teach here. I think she'll be good for the students."

"I don't envy you having to tell Miss Smith that she has been dismissed from her job."

"I don't relish having to tell her, but from what I heard at that meeting tonight, it's long past time for her to go. Also, she was told that there would be a meeting tonight and her presence was required, however, she chose not to attend the meeting. Would you believe that she told Ben that Catherine is stupid even though she's never met the child?"

Roy let out a low whistle. "Miss Smith needs to thank her lucky stars that she's a woman. If a man had said that, Adam's grandfather would have heard Ben yelling all the way in Boston and I may have had to arrest him for assault. When are you going to tell her that she no longer has a job here?"

"It's too late to do anything tonight, so I'll tell her in the morning. I wonder if she'll try and vandalize the school when I inform her that she's been dismissed."

"Why don't Clem and I join you at the school in the morning before you tell Miss Smith that she's being replaced? Then we can look it over and determine what belongs to the school and what belongs to her. I don't know the woman, but hopefully the knowledge that we have seen the school and its contents will be enough to keep her from doing anything."

"Alright Roy. What time should I meet you at the school?"

"Why don't we meet at eight o'clock? That will give us more than enough time to look over the school before you tell Miss Smith that she will no longer be teaching in Virginia City."

"Eight o'clock is fine with me. I'll see you then. Now, I had better get home and tell my wife about what was decided tonight. Good night Roy. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night Gerald."

Ben rode home, thinking to himself that he was glad he had never told Cat about the possibility of having Caroline Ingalls teach her. He knew that she would rather be taught by her best friend's mother than to have to sit inside a schoolhouse all day. She was a lot like Joe in that respect. Adam had loved school. Hoss had been indifferent. He didn't love it, but at the same time, he didn't hate it. School was just something he had to tolerate for a while. Joseph on the other hand hated school and everything to do with it. From what Matt had told him, Catherine felt the same about school as Joe had. She skipped school many times when she was five and didn't care if she got punished for it or not. The only thing that had kept her in school was when Adam, Hoss, and Joe had told her she would not be allowed to spend school vacations on the Ponderosa if she kept skipping school. He hoped that Susan Winter would keep her interested enough to attend school so he would not have to punish her for skipping. Fighting was another thing he had to worry about. Cat had the Cartwright temper and had not learned to control it. He was reluctantly allowing her to wear her buckskins and needed to have a serious talk with her before school started. He needed to let her know in no uncertain terms that if she started any fights because she was being teased for wearing buckskins, not only would she be punished for fighting in school, she would be wearing dresses, even if it meant being punished for arguing about not wanting to wear one. He was concerned that if it came down to forcing her to wear dresses to school, she would run away and try making it to her uncle's fort in Arizona so she could be sent back to Dodge. The trail was dangerous enough for a grown man and it would be even more so for a nine year old girl. Well, there were still three and a half weeks before school would start, so he wouldn't have to pile everything on her at once. He would start tomorrow by telling Cat that there would be a new teacher in the Virginia City school and go from there.

He rode into the yard and Thaddeus came out of the bunkhouse to get his horse. "Hello Thaddeus. I haven't had much time to talk with you and your brother since we brought Cat home. How are the two of you getting along?

"We're doing fine Ben. It's good, honest work and that's what we were looking for. I'm glad to see that Miss Cat has recovered from her injuries. I've been watching her with that colt. He sure does love that little girl. It's funny to watch them. She'll walk around the pasture and Fury will walk right behind her with his head on her shoulder. I don't remember the last time I saw something that cute. I hope you're not planning to geld that colt. It would be a real shame if you did. He looks like he's got good bloodlines and should sire many fine foals."

"The thought had crossed my mind but Cat would never forgive me. I want her to ride a pony until she's grown and married with children so if she falls off, she'll be closer to the ground and won't get hurt too badly."

Thaddeus laughed. "I know how well that suggestion will go over. Please give me enough notice before you tell her so I can let everyone else know and we can get as far away from the explosion as possible."

"I'll do that. In fact, I may need to be in a different state and just yell it to her from there. I guess I'm just being an overprotective papa. She wants to ride the biggest, fastest horse in the world and I want her to ride a pony for the rest of her life."

"That's understandable. I think most fathers feel that way about their little girls, even if those little girls are as wild as Miss Cat. Would you mind if I gave you one small piece of advice?"

Ben was a little surprised at this young man's words. He was Joe's age. What did he know about raising children? But he was curious. "Yes you may. What is it?"

"Don't hold her reins too tight. Bill was wild like Miss Cat and our father tried to break him of it. The tighter he held the reins, the harder Bill fought him. One day Pa pulled too hard on the reins and all Hell broke loose. The next thing we knew, Pa was sitting on the floor with a broken, bloody nose and Bill had a gun in his hand, threatening to kill him. If our mother hadn't interfered, Bill would have killed our father right then and there. Bill was seventeen, Josh was twelve and I was ten. We were terrified of our brother and his anger and that night we were terrified that he was going to kill both of our parents. Instead, he packed his things and left, not returning until I was sixteen and our father was dead. He forced us to ride with him, saying he would kill our mother if we didn't. We believed him because by then he had a reputation as someone who killed just because he could. With the help of neighbors, Ma kept the farm going after we left until she got sick. It took some convincing on our part, but Bill finally let us go back to the farm to take care of Ma until she died. We were supposed to rejoin him after the funeral but instead, we sold the farm and lit out for Kansas to try and put as much distance between him and us as possible. You know the rest. Now, I'm not saying that Miss Cat is going to end up like Bill if you hold her reins too tight, but she will resent it. I saw you taking her to the barn this afternoon and figured she did something to deserve that trip. And I also saw her sitting in your lap being hugged before you rode out, so I know that she knows she was forgiven for whatever she did. Our father never did that with Bill. Maybe if he had, our brother would not be the man he is today."

"Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it. I will do my best not to hold Catherine's reins too tight. Even though she has inherited the Cartwright temper, I don't think she would resort to violence, but I could still lose her. Adam has caught her looking at the maps and she may have figured out how to get to her uncle's fort in Arizona. The trail is dangerous enough for a man and it will be triply so for a young girl traveling alone. Say, how would you and Joshua like to be on little girl escort duty in a few weeks?"

"I'd love to and I'm sure that Josh would too. What's up?"

"School will be starting three weeks from this coming Monday. Catherine has never been to Virginia City alone and I'm concerned she may get lost on her way to school. Knowing how she feels about school, getting lost may not be unintentional. So, for the first week and a half, I want someone to ride with her to make sure she knows the way. She will need to be escorted home also. The next week and a half, I want someone to ride five minutes behind her to ensure she doesn't get lost. She'll be on her own after that and if she skips school and tells me she got lost, that little girl will have a hard time sitting down for supper and she'll spend two weeks riding to school double with either myself or one of her brothers."

Thaddeus laughed long and hard at the thought of Cat deliberately losing her way to school. "Yes, I think she would try and do just that. Somehow, I don't think she would see it as lying or skipping school. Even after those first three weeks, if you'd like, I'll ride a ways behind her for the next week just to make sure she doesn't 'accidentally' get lost."

"Let's see how the first three weeks go first. She'll balk about someone riding with her but she will stop complaining when I tell her that's what Lucas did with Mark when they first moved to North Fork. By the way, I have heard you are a good poker player. What are you doing with your winnings?"

"Except for the money I need for clothing and other necessary things, I'm saving it. Someday, I hope to meet the right girl, get married, buy a piece of land, and start my own ranch. I play honest games with honest people and stop playing when I lose two hands in a row. However, not everyone in the saloon is honest, so to make sure nobody steals my money, Sheriff Coffee holds it for me until I can get back to town and put it in the bank. Instead of my riding back into town on Monday or whenever I can get there, I may just ask him to put it in the bank for me."

"I don't approve of gambling, but at least you are doing something constructive with the money you win. I know that it's hard to save money when you're only earning thirty dollars a month and I applaud your determination to save your money when there are many things you could be spending it on. Well, I'd better get in the house and make sure Catherine didn't give her brothers too had a time."

"The house is still standing and I don't see any broken windows on this side, so I think it's safe to say she didn't give them too much trouble."

Just then the front door opened and Joe walked out carrying Cat on his back and her puppies on his heels. "Hi Pa, I'm glad you're home. Little sister here had another nightmare. I wish I could keep her from having them. I sure hate seeing her all upset like that. I need to get her to the outhouse before she has an accident."

"I'll put your horse up," said Thaddeus. "This is one time Miss Cat needs an overprotective papa."

"Thank you Thaddeus." Ben walked over to where Joe was waiting for Cat to finish in the outhouse. "Thank you for taking care of your sister son. I appreciate it. Did she give you and your brothers any trouble tonight?"

"Except for beating me at checkers, she was good as gold. She didn't even complain when I told her it was time to get ready for bed. I found out why you told me to read with her tonight. Even though I don't love books the way Adam does, King Arthur was always one of my favorites."

"Yes, I thought you might enjoy reading that particular book again. Cat has had a rough day and may need some reassurance that all is well. When you take her back upstairs, why don't you put her and those two wild beasts of hers in my bed? She may sleep better if she knows I am right there. I'll have to think about it, but I may continue letting her sleep in my bed after a nightmare until they stop altogether. I remember Adam doing that with you after your mother died and it seemed to help. I still regret not being there for you when you needed me the most."

"Pa, that was fourteen years ago. I didn't understand then but I do now. You had just lost your third wife and needed to grieve. I had Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing to take care of me. You needed to take care of you just then." Before the conversation could go any further, the outhouse door opened and Cat walked out. "Ok Monkey. Climb up on my back and I'll take you back upstairs."

Cat climbed up on Joe's back and pretended not to see Ben. "Hey, what about me? Don't I get a hug?"

Cat thought about it for a minute, smiled and said, "Nope," then reached over for a hug.

Ben hugged her and said, "Go on back up to bed. Little Joe is going to put you and your two wild beasts in my bed. I'll be up shortly to tuck you in."

"Why is Little Joe going to put me in your bed?"

"Because I asked him to. Joe, please take your sister up to bed."

Joe carried Cat into the house and upstairs to their father's room. He put her down on the bed and then went into her room and returned with her pillow. "Alright Cat, let's get you under the covers. Pa said he'd be up in a few minutes, so I'm going to leave the lamp on low. You are not allowed to have any more nightmares – ever. I mean it Cat. If you ever have another nightmare, I will tickle you until you have an accident in your pants. Then I'll go to school with you the next day and tell all of your friends that you wet the bed. You'll be a very old lady before you live that one down."

Cat giggled, hugged her brother and received a big hug in return. "If you do that, I'll hide your hat, boots, and horse. I'll put Cochise in the hayloft and you'll never find him."

"Alright Squirt. You need to get under the covers. It's late and if Pa comes up here and finds you not in bed, he'll have my hide. Remember what I said now. No more nightmares – ever. Goodnight Cat. I love you and I'm very happy that you're my little sister now."

"Goodnight Joe. I love you too."

Ben stood in the hallway just outside his bedroom, listening to his two youngest children tease each other. He couldn't believe how much alike the pair of them were, right down to their stubbornness and green eyes. He said a silent prayer thanking God for them and promising to do his best to always keep them safe. Hearing Joe say goodnight to his sister, Ben quickly tiptoed to the stairs and acted like he was just coming up when Joe exited his bedroom. "Did you get your sister in bed?"

"Yes, but I can't guarantee that she'll stay there. She was saying something about wanting to take Cochise for a midnight ride."

"Nothing either of you do or want to do surprises me. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that you both had the same mother. Thank you for taking care of her. I'll see to it that she stays in bed if I have to tie her to it." Ben walked into his bedroom and sat down on the bed next to his daughter. "What's this Joe tells me about you wanting to take Cochise for a midnight ride?"

"I thought it would be fun to play Paul Revere and ride around the countryside at midnight telling everyone that the British are coming."

"There are a few problems with what you want to do. The British are our friends now and you are not allowed out of the house alone after dark unless it's to use the outhouse. In fact, I should probably send one of your brothers with you just to make sure you don't find a wild critter to bring inside as a pet after you use the outhouse. Now, enough talk. It's high time you were asleep. Give me a hug, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll be up to go to bed in a little while and you had better be asleep by then. We have a ranch to run and you won't get much work done if you're tired." He turned the lamp down low and went downstairs.

"How did the meeting go?" asked Adam. "What did you decide about that teacher?"

"The meeting was long and sometimes very noisy. However, we did manage to hire a new teacher for the next school term. John Winter's younger sister, Susan will be teaching the children when school resumes. She has a lot of very good ideas and I think your sister will like her. One thing I noticed when I was at the school on Friday is that there aren't many books for the children to read. There are several bookcases but only one has books in it. I recommended that Miss Winter inventory the books that are there and make recommendations for others to add. I also noticed that some of the desks and bookcases are in need of repair. Maybe I'll go to town tomorrow and talk to Gerald about inspecting the building to make sure nothing else needs repair. Before I do that, I'm planning on taking your sister out to Silver Hawk's village. It's time they met each other and she needs more buckskins. I'll take her out to meet Winnemucca next week."

"Why don't you invite John Winter and his family to supper one night soon?" suggested Hoss. "That way his sister will have a chance to meet Cat and learn her background before school starts."

"That's a good idea," said Joe. "This will give Miss Winter a heads up for any trouble that will happen. I know some of those kids, especially the boys will tease Cat because she's adopted and wearing buckskins. Tommy Davis and Billy Roberts are trouble. They are bullies and will pick on the little kids just because they can. They're three years older than Cat and have been known to push girls down the stairs and into the mud. Mitch, Davy, Paul, and I did our best to keep them away from the girls and little kids but those two are still at the school while my friends and I aren't. I'm afraid to think of what they might try and do to Cat and how she'll react. You've already told us she has the Cartwright temper and doesn't control it very well. Each of those boys outweighs her by at least ten pounds and she could be seriously hurt if she takes them on."

Ben sighed. The last thing he needed was his daughter getting hurt by two bullies. "That's a good idea. I'll go ask Hop Sing what night would be best for him. We've got the picnic by the lake on Saturday, so I don't know if he'll want to make a large meal on Friday." Ben walked into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later. "Well, he says to invite them for Friday. I tried convincing him to come on the picnic with us but he keeps saying no."

"I know an easy way to get him to say yes to the picnic," said Joe. "Have Cat ask him. He never says no to her."

"You've got a point son. I'll have your sister ask him at breakfast. Why don't you three head up to bed? I'm going to write in my journal and I'll be up shortly." He walked over to his desk opened a drawer, took his journal out, thought about the past several days and started writing. 'What a difference a day makes. The night before last, Catherine called me Pa and this afternoon I had to punish her for running in the house. She ran into me and I spilled hot coffee all over myself. Spanking that little girl hurt me more than when I have had to spank my sons. I never wanted to punish them and was hoping I would never have to punish my daughter. I don't know how I am going to get through to her and convince her of how dangerous it is for her to run in the house. I had Joseph roll a ball down the stairs to show Catherine what could happen to her but she still thinks that she can't get hurt. When I asked her what she could do differently in the future, she said to make sure nobody was around when she was running through the house. That girl is so much like my youngest son, if I didn't know better; I would think that they had the same mother.

We had a meeting of the school board tonight and it got pretty raucous for a little while. Despite having received numerous complaints about the teacher, Miss Prudence Smith, he announced that he saw no reason to hire a different teacher. If it hadn't been for Reverend Long, I suspect the meeting would still be going on with fathers yelling at Gerald. In the end, we decided to hire John Winter's younger sister, Susan. She has some unique ideas about teaching and I think she will be good for Catherine and the other children. Now I have to convince Catherine of the importance of attending school. I think her problem is being made to sit still longer than fifteen minutes, more than it is actually attending school. Even though she was very well behaved in church on Sunday, I saw her starting to wiggle as the service dragged on. I truly hope that Reverend Long does not get any more long winded than he was on Sunday or I suspect that quite a few children, Catherine included, will be in trouble when the service is over.

Catherine is settling into ranch life nicely and is doing her best to help her brothers. She is also growing used to being teased by them and is learning to give as good as she gets. I enjoy hearing my three sons banter with their sister and know that there isn't anything they wouldn't do to keep her safe. Tomorrow I will take her to the Shoshone village and introduce her to Chief Silver Hawk. Next week, I will take her to the Paiute village and introduce her to Chief Winnemucca. I need to do it now before she finds out there are Indians living near the Ponderosa and attempts to find them herself. She had another nightmare tonight while I was out. I dearly wish that there was some way known to man to prevent them.' He put his journal away, blew out the lamp and went upstairs to find his daughter in his bed, sandwiched between her puppies. He picked Lassie up and moved her next to Silver Chief. "Sorry girl, but I'm afraid I would squish you in the middle of the night. It's only for tonight and tomorrow all of you will be back in your own bed. But tonight, my little girl needs me." He kissed the sleeping child on the forehead, whispered that he loved her, climbed into bed and blew out the lamp. A little while later, he felt her snuggle up against him and knew he had made the right decision to let her spend the rest of the night in his bed.

At breakfast, Ben announced, "Catherine, we hired a new teacher last night at the school board meeting. She is Mr. Winter's sister and very nice. I think you will like her."

"But why do I need to go to school? I already know everything. Miss Jackson taught me how to read, write, add, subtract, and multiply. Miss Winter ain't gonna be able to teach me anything else."

Her brothers and Hop Sing waited for the explosion they knew was sure to come but instead Ben just laughed. "Well for one thing, your grammar definitely needs work. You should say 'isn't going to' instead of 'ain't gonna'. There are other things you need to know also. Adam, would you please bring me a piece of paper and a pencil from my desk?" Adam did as he was asked and Ben spent a few minutes writing. When he was finished, he handed the paper to Cat. "If you can answer these arithmetic problems without any help, I will let you stay home from school."

Cat looked at the paper and read, "If a hayloft is forty feet long, ten feet wide and twelve feet high and a bale of hay is forty inches long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high, how many bales of hay will be needed to completely fill the loft? How many bales of hay will be needed to fill a hayloft that is forty five feet long, fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet high?" Cat scratched her head and read what was written next. "A rancher has twenty five horses. Each horse eats two slash three bales of hay and one slash three pounds of grain a day, how much hay and grain will the rancher need to feed his horses for a year?" Cat sighed, scowled and continued reading. "A rancher has three hundred head of cattle. How many pastures will he need if he only puts twenty five head in each one?" The scowl on Cat's face got bigger. Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Hop Sing could hardly contain their laughter at the expression on Cat's face as she kept reading. "A water tank holds five hundred gallons of water. How many times will a three gallon bucket need to be filled and emptied into it before it is full?" Joe started giggling and Cat shot him a dirty look and kicked him before she continued reading. "A fifty pound sack of grain costs four dollars and thirty five cents. How much will fifteen sacks cost? If one hundred pounds of grain will fill three buckets, how much grain does each bucket contain?" Cat couldn't believe what she had just finished reading. She sighed deeply and gave her father a dirty look. "That's not fair. I hate arithmetic and it hates me! I don't even know what that two slash three means."

Her brothers and Hop Sing could no longer contain their laughter. "Pa's got you sis," laughed Joe. "He pulled that same trick on me when I was your age and I couldn't answer the problems without help either. That's why I got stuck going to school until I was eighteen."

"You will never know everything Cat," said Ben.

"But you, Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, and Hop Sing do."

The entire family had a good laugh at Cat's statement. "No Sweetheart. We don't know everything. Nobody does. For example, Mr. Miller knows all about saddles, harnesses and other leather products but he doesn't know how to run a ranch. Right now, I am learning how to raise a little girl and your brothers are learning how to raise a little sister. You need all kinds of things I didn't even know about until you moved in here and I have to learn what those are."

"I still don't want to go to school. Everyone here can teach me what I really need to know. School is boring and I hate being stuck inside. The stuff you wrote on that paper is dumb. I don't need to know it."

"I know that you don't want to go to school," laughed Ben. "Neither did Little Joe. Being stuck inside all day isn't fun but the things I wrote on that paper are important and you do need to know them. This ranch will be yours some day. That's why I am having you work with your brothers to learn how to take care of it. How will you know how much hay and grain to buy if you don't know how much your animals eat every month? If you don't know how much hay will fill the hayloft, you may order too little or too much. You need to know how much your feed will cost so you can pay the feed bill. There are many other things I could have included on that paper. Horses need shoes, saddles, bridles, blankets, halters, and lead ropes. All of those things cost money. You need to know how much it will cost to replace things that break or wear out. You were out helping your brothers fix fences yesterday. You need to know how much fencing and fence posts you need for each pasture and how much they cost."

Cat sighed. "It's not fair. I don't want to go to school but if I have to, I'd rather go to school in Dodge. Nobody there will tease me about being adopted or wearing buckskins. I will pound the stuffing out of the first person who teases me about wearing buckskins and I don't care how big they are!"

"Dodge is entirely too far away for you to live here and go to school there. If someone teases you, I want you to tell Miss Winter. Do not start fights. You can defend yourself, but you cannot start fights. My rule is the same as Matt's. We talked about this on Saturday after we left the Ingalls. Now, after you help Hop Sing clear the table go and work with Fury but don't stay out there too long. You and I are going for a ride and I don't want to start too late because we need to go to town also."

Hop Sing gave Cat some carrots for Fury and she ran out to the pasture to spend some time training him. After working with him for a little while, she ran back to the house and started to run inside when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You just got a spanking for doing that yesterday," said Joe. "Do you want another one already? I can guarantee you it will be worse than what you got yesterday. You have no idea what's on the other side of that door. You know that we keep our guns loaded. What if Pa is carrying his over to the living room table to clean it and you run into him, causing it to go off? Even if the bullet doesn't hit anybody, I can guarantee you that you will feel that big belt hanging in the barn on your bare bottom. Is that what you want?"

"No."

"Then open the door slowly and walk inside. In fact, I'm going to take you to Pa and see what he has to say about you starting to run in the house the day after you got a spanking for the same thing."

"Please don't Joe. I don't want another spanking. My bottom still hurts from yesterday."

"You should have thought about that before you decided to run into the house. Now let's go."

They walked over to Ben's desk with Joe's hand on Cat's shoulder. Ben looked up from his work and asked, "What's going on son?"

"I just caught little sister starting to run into the house. After what happened yesterday, I thought you should know about it."

"Thank you Joe. Well Catherine, were you starting to run into the house?"

"Yes sir."

"Didn't we just have a discussion about that in the barn yesterday?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you want to have another one? I can guarantee it will be worse than yesterday."

"No sir."

"Well son, she's your prisoner. What do you want to do with her?"

Joe thought a minute and said, "She wasn't running in the house yet when I stopped her, so I don't think she needs to go out to the barn this time. I know that you've got somewhere to go and you were planning on taking her with you. I think that she needs some thinking time. It worked for me sometimes when I was here age. She can stand in the corner until you're ready to leave and can spend that time thinking about what she's doing and how to stop. I told her that the next time she might not be so lucky. Someone could be carrying a gun over to the table to clean it when she runs into them. I sure don't want to see that happen."

"I agree, your sister needs some thinking time. Catherine, go stand in the corner by the fireplace until I'm ready to leave."

"But I didn't run in the house."

"You were going to if Joe hadn't stopped you, weren't you?"

"Yes sir."

"Then thank him for stopping you and go stand in the corner."

Cat stomped her foot. "But that's not fair. I didn't run in the house yet."

Ben sighed. " **Catherine Michael!** Joseph just stopped you from doing something potentially dangerous that you were punished for yesterday. This is to try and keep it from happening again. Now stop arguing with me and do what you were told before I take you out to the barn for another necessary discussion that I do not want to have."

Cat knew she was on the losing end of the argument and said, "Yes sir. Thank you for keeping me from runnin' in the house Joe. I'll go stand in the corner like you said, but it still ain't fair."

"I know it doesn't seem fair Sweetheart, but it's the only way I can think of to make you stop and think about what you're doing before you or someone else gets hurt or worse. You're not being punished. I'm sending you to the corner to think about what you are doing and how you can stop. It's called thinking time and I used it with Joe a lot when he was your age. You won't have anything to distract you so you can think. I don't want to see you or anyone else get hurt or worse because you won't stop running in the house. Now go, stand in the corner by the fireplace. You have fifteen minutes to think about how you can stop running in the house."

Fifteen minutes later, Ben walked into the living room and said, "Catherine, go, get our horses and those three deer hides. Then come back in here and I'll tell you what you need to bring. We'll talk about what you were thinking about while we ride.


	42. Chapter 42

Cat walked out to the barn and returned a few minutes later leading Buck and Star. The three deer hides were tied to Buck's saddle horn. She walked into the house and Ben said, "Bring your bow and arrows, feathers and whatever else the Apaches have given you. Bring Silver Chief's feather too. You'll need a way to keep it on him when we get where we're going." The two of them rode out of the yard fifteen minutes later.

"Where are we going?" asked Cat.

"You'll see when we get there. What did you decide during your thinking time? How are you going to stop running in the house?"

"I couldn't think of anything. I'm always in a hurry and I always run everywhere. Ask Uncle Matt. Before she was killed, my mother said I started crawling one day and running the next. She said I always ran everywhere when we lived with Grandfather."

"You are only nine years old and should not always be in a hurry. Slow down and take time to enjoy your surroundings."

"But I have so much to do; I have to be in a hurry."

Ben laughed. "You don't have that much to do little girl. You won't even have any chores except working with Fury, brushing whichever horse you ride and helping Hop Sing clear the table until the week after next. Even then all you will be adding to what you are already doing is gathering the eggs in the morning and filling the wood box in the kitchen twice a day. You will be responsible for your schoolwork and of course, you'll spend some time helping your brothers and me with the ranch work."

Cat frowned when she was reminded about schoolwork.

"Don't frown Kitten. It's unbecoming."

"Well then quit saying bad words like school and schoolwork!"

Ben laughed long and hard. "You don't know how much you sound like Little Joe when he was your age. He hated school and everything to go with it."

"Well then, why did you make him go if he hated it so much? I hate it too and shouldn't have to go."

"You are a silly little girl. You still have a lot to learn and that is why you need to go to school. As I told you at breakfast, when you can solve those arithmetic problems I gave you without any help, you will be allowed to stay home from school. Until then, you will attend school just as your brothers did. If it makes you feel any better about it, you're not alone. There are hundreds of children all across this country that hate school and still have to attend. Besides that, I have a feeling that you are going to like Miss Winter and she is going to do her best to make it more interesting for you."

"I liked Miss Jackson, but I still didn't like school."

"Well, maybe you'll like it better with Miss Winter."

"I don't think so. I'm going to write a letter to Uncle Sam and ask him to pass a law saying kids don't have to go to school after they turn nine."

Ben laughed and gave one of her braids a playful tug. "You do that Sweetheart and let me know what he says." A little while later, he stopped his horse and said, "Put your feathers on and put Silver Chief's feather on him. We're almost at where we're going." Five minutes later, they entered Silver Hawk's village. Cat's eyes grew as big as saucers. She didn't know there were Indians living near the Ponderosa.

Ben and Cat dismounted he told her to take her puppies out of the saddle bags. Silver Hawk walked up to them and greeted Ben warmly. "Ben Cartwright my old friend. We don't see enough of each other." When he spotted Cat and her puppies, his smile got bigger and his eyes began to twinkle. "Who is this young warrior you have brought to me?"

"You are correct Silver Hawk. We do not see nearly enough of each other. This is my daughter Catherine. The family calls her Wild Cat."

"When did you take another wife?"

"I didn't. Catherine was my sister's child. My sister's husband was killed in the war and she was killed in Dodge City two months ago. I adopted my niece."

"Wild Cat… I have heard of a child by that name. Tell me child, who is your Indian father?"

"My father is Geronimo and my grandfather is Cochise. Gray Eagle also adopted me when his daughter Morning Dove married my brother Little Bear."

"I thought that's who you were. And how did one so young earn an eagle feather?"

"My grandfather gave it to me when they adopted me. I was only four and they cut my finger with a knife this big." Cat stretched out her arms to show that the knife was almost as long as a sword. Ben grew concerned but Silver Hawk just smiled and shook his head.

"You're right little one. That was a very big knife and you were very brave to let your father and grandfather cut your finger with it. Please introduce me to your puppies and tell me how one of them has earned an eagle feather when they are both so young."

Cat picked Silver Chief up and said, "This is Silver Chief. My brother Little Bear gave him to me. He earned the eagle feather because he was very brave. When Gray Eagle adopted me and cut my finger, Silver Chief attacked him. He said that only a very brave puppy would attack an Apache chief who was holding a real big knife." She put Silver Chief down and picked Lassie up. "This is Lassie. Mr. McLeod and James gave her to me last week. She and Silver Chief made friends right away."

Silver Hawk picked Silver Chief up and said, "Yes, I can tell that you are a very brave puppy. Gray Eagle was correct. Only a very brave puppy would attack a chief, especially when he had a large knife in his hand." Then he set Silver Chief down and picked Lassie up. "Although you have not been tested yet, I can tell that you are also going to be very brave." Then he picked Silver Chief up again. "When you grow up, the two of you must take care of the little girl who loves you. You must do your best to protect her from danger." Then he looked at Ben and said, "Ben Cartwright my old friend, I will also adopt your daughter and she will be my daughter too. Then she will have you, your sons and my whole village to look after her and teach her what she needs to know."

"I thought you would, although I don't know if I can stand to see my little girl hurt."

"You didn't feel that way yesterday afternoon," said Cat. "My bottom still hurts."

Ben laughed at Cat and told Silver Hawk what had happened the previous afternoon. Silver Hawk laughed also and said, "Wild Cat, I hope you learned your lesson and will stop running in the house. As your father has told you, it is very dangerous and you or someone else could become badly hurt. Now, come and meet the rest of your new family." Cat followed him and he stopped and waited for a young chief to finish speaking with someone. "Wild Cat, this is my son Standing Bear and this," he said, stooping down to pick up a boy about five years old, "is my grandson, Running Wolf. He is five years old. Standing Bear, Running Wolf, this is Ben Cartwright's daughter, Wild Cat. She is nine years old and earned an eagle feather when she was only four. She is the adopted daughter of Geronimo and the adopted granddaughter of Cochise. I also will adopt her and she will be part of our village also. Now, I must introduce her to Snow Bird. You know that your mother will be very unhappy with me if I don't." They walked over to where an older woman was sitting outside a teepee grinding some corn. Silver Hawk introduced Cat to his wife and said, "I am going to adopt her and she will be our daughter."

Snow Bird hugged Cat and said, "Welcome. I will love to have you as my daughter. I will teach you many things and your Apache mother and grandmother will be surprised at how much you know when you see them again. Benjamin Cartwright, thank you for bringing this precious child to me. You are welcome in our lodge anytime you wish to visit."

"Thank you Snow Bird. Wild Cat needs new clothing. I brought three deer hides with me. Will you please help her make more? She knows how to do it but is still young and has trouble."

"Of course I will help my new daughter. Wild Cat, get the deer hides from your father and bring them into the lodge with me."

While Cat was with Snow Bird, Ben turned to Silver Hawk and asked, "Just how big was that knife Geronimo and Cochise used on Cat?"

Silver Hawk took out his own knife and said, "They were hunting, so it was probably this big. The one Gray Eagle used may have been larger as he wanted to test her bravery. I will also test her bravery and use a large knife when I adopt her. Remember my friend, she has been through the adoption ceremony twice and knows what to expect. I already know she is brave. Any child who can look death in the eye, walk up to an Apache chief and demand to be taken for a ride on his horse is brave. Do not worry my friend. The knife will be large but the cut will be small."

Cat walked out of the teepee a few minutes later. Running Wolf ran up to her, grabbed her hand and said, "Let's play." The two children ran off, followed by Cat's puppies.

"That boy never walks," said Standing Bear's wife, Morning Star as she walked up to the others.

Ben laughed and said, "Neither does my daughter. I had to punish her yesterday afternoon for running in the house. She ran into me and I spilled hot coffee all over myself. I don't know what I'm going to do about her. We can't seem to convince her that running in the house is dangerous."

The others laughed. "We have the same problem with my grandson," said Silver Hawk. "He ran through the pony herd last week and was almost trampled. So far, we have been unsuccessful in teaching him where it is safe to run and where it is not."

Snow Bird came out of the teepee and told Ben that Cat's pants and shirts would be ready when they returned the following week.

While the adults were talking, Running Wolf was introducing Cat to his friends. The children were impressed as they had never seen a girl wearing pants and carrying a bow and arrows. "Do you know how to use your bow and arrows?" asked Running Wolf?

"Yes. My Apache brother taught me."

"Will you show us?"

"No, they are not toys. I use them for hunting and this is not a safe place to shoot an arrow. If I miss my target, somebody could get hurt. I promised my Apache father and grandfather I would never shoot an arrow where somebody could get hurt. I would dishonor them if I did not keep my promise."

The children were disappointed but understood that Cat needed to keep her promise. They spent the next two hours playing when Standing Bear came and told them that Cat had to leave. She reluctantly walked up to Ben and said, "Can't we please stay longer? I want to keep playing with my new friends."

"I'm sorry Cat but I have a ranch to run and we have to go into town for supplies this afternoon."

"But I don't want to leave yet. I was having fun with my new friends."

"You will be able to come back and play with them another day. Right now we need to leave. Say goodbye to everyone so we can go."

"Can I come back tomorrow?"

Ben sighed. "I don't think so. There is a lot of work to do on the ranch."

"I'm almost ten. I can come back out here by myself. I don't need to have someone come with me."

" _Catherine_ you just turned nine two months ago. That is not almost ten. Also, you have only been living on the Ponderosa for a week and do not know your way around yet. I'm sorry Kitten but you cannot ride out here by yourself yet. I promise, we will come back next week. Silver Hawk will be adopting you then and your brothers will want to be here too. Now say goodbye to your new friends. We need to go home."

"You could show me how to come out here. Then I could come out here tomorrow and play with my new friends."

" ** _Catherine Michael Cartwright!_** " said Ben in a tone Cat knew meant she would be in trouble if she continued, so she reluctantly said goodbye to everybody and got her horse, mounted and rode off with her father.

While Cat was getting her horse, Silver Hawk looked at Ben and said, "Do not be too hard on her my friend. I am sure she is lonely with nobody her own age to play with on your ranch. You told me that she has been living in a city. I am quite certain there were children there for her to play with. Your sons are much older than she is and they are busy working on the ranch. It is not easy for someone to be alone when they are used to having a lot of people around them."

"I am sure you are right, but she needs to learn when to stop arguing and just do what she has been told to do."

"I agree with you. All I am saying is consider the reason she is arguing with you. I watched her face light up when the children invited her to play. If you only allow her to go places when she is with you or your sons, she will become like a flower in the winter and wither up and die."

"I will let her go places on her own after a while but I want to wait until her dogs are big enough to protect her from danger."

"Do not wait that long. They will not be big enough to protect her until they are more than a year old. Teach her how to get to places safely on her own and trust her to get there and back. I know that you want to protect her but she needs freedom too. Start with places close to the house and then go out from there. She will want to go farther, but will understand that you are teaching her a little at a time."

"Alright my friend. I will start teaching her how to get to different places on the ranch. Now we need to go. I have to go to town this afternoon.

After they left the village, Ben looked at Cat and said, "The next time you continue arguing with me when you have been told to stop several times, you will be punished. This is the only warning you will get. I do not want to punish you but I will if I have to. Did you argue with Matt?"

"Sometimes when I wanted to stay at the Tanners."

"Did he let you?"

"Only a few times because it was real late and Mamma Tanner was worried about me being sleepy and falling off my pony on the way back to Dodge."

"That makes sense. Matt wouldn't want you falling off your pony because you were very tired and neither would the Tanners. Did he scold you when you argued with him about staying at the Tanners?"

"No. Mamma Tanner did and Mr. Tanner said he'd spank me if I didn't quit."

"If you knew that arguing with adults was wrong, why did you argue with me?"

"I just wanted to play with my new friends longer. I'm going to watch how to get home so I can come back here by myself."

"No Cat. I don't want you coming back out here by yourself just yet. You have only been home for a week and don't know your way around the ranch yet. Be patient. It won't be long before you're allowed to come out here by yourself." Cat didn't say anything but Ben could tell she was pouting. "I know that you think I'm treating you like a baby, but please believe me, I am not. You are my little girl and it is my job to keep you safe. Remember, Little Joe was born here on the Ponderosa and there were places he wasn't allowed to go alone when he was nine. Once you have been here longer and your dogs are big enough to protect you, I will allow you to go more places alone. Right now, please be patient. Tomorrow you will have a choice, you can go and play with Mary and Laura at their house, they can come to our house or you can work with your brothers. You don't have to decide right now. If you decide you want to play with Mary and Laura, we will stop there on our way back from town and ask their parents if you can spend the day there or they can spend the day with you at our house. Right now, I'll bet that Buck can beat Star to that big tree at the end of this path. The winner gets to eat a cookie before dinner." They raced and Cat won. "You cheated," teased Ben.

"How?"

"You cheated because you weigh less than a feather, so Star was hardly carrying any weight. Starting at dinner today, you have to eat as much as Hoss does so I can win the next race."

Cat laughed. "I'll explode if I eat as much as Hoss does."

"Well, I'll definitely win the next race if that happens."

Cat giggled. "You're silly Pa."

Ben pretended to growl. "Just for that, I'm going to eat your cookie. Now, let's get home. We still need to go to town this afternoon."

While Ben and Cat were riding out to the Shoshone village, Roy, Clem, and Gerald Miller were at the school taking inventory. "Ben is right," said Gerald. "There aren't many books here. I am positive that this school had a lot more books when we hired Miss Smith. That's something we'll have to talk to her about."

"She sure didn't do a very good job keeping this place clean," said Clem. "I know it's been a while since I was in school, but the school I attended was never this dirty. I'll ask around and maybe some of the women can come over and clean it up. I don't think it would be fair to ask the new teacher to do it."

"That's a great idea," said Roy. "I'll ask around and see if some of the men and older boys will do the necessary repairs and paint. Adam Cartwright studied architecture in college. Maybe the school board should ask him to look at the building and make sure it's sound. I'd really hate to see the roof come off or a wall fall down during a storm."

"Thank you both for your offers of help. If Adam doesn't come to town today, I'll ride out to the Ponderosa tomorrow and ask him. Miss Smith should be here soon. After seeing this mess and the missing books, I think at least one of us should supervise her retrieving her belongings."

Miss Smith walked into the school a few minutes later, looked at the three men and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning Miss Smith," said Mr. Miller. "Why weren't you at the school board meeting last night? Also, what happened to all of the books that were in this school when you were hired to teach here?"

"I didn't feel like going, so I didn't. The brats that attend this school are stupid and don't deserve to have any books, so I took them for myself."

"I distinctly remember telling you that your attendance was mandatory. Due to the disrespect you showed the members of the school board by not attending the meeting, the numerous complaints about your lack of teaching skills, your refusal to let the younger children use the outhouse and then punishing them when they had an accident in their clothing, and the favoritism you have shown toward several students, the school board voted last night to terminate your employment. Those books were the property of the Virginia City school board and you had no right to take them. Sheriff Coffee, will you and Deputy Clem please accompany Miss Smith to her lodgings and assist her in returning the books she took? If she refuses to return them, arrest her and I'll sign the complaint as school board chairman. After you have given the books to the sheriff and his deputy, please return here and gather your belongings. When you return, you will have thirty minutes to retrieve your belongings. Also, the house you are living in belongs to the school board. You have one week to find different lodgings as we will need it for the new teacher."

"You can't do that to me. My uncle is the minister in this town and he won't let you fire me."

"Miss Smith, as you are well aware, your uncle, Reverend Jonas, left Virginia City for Oklahoma two months ago. Also, he is a very good man and I'm quite certain he would be appalled at the way you conducted yourself as the teacher of this school and stealing school board property. I have his current address and fully intend to write and inform him of the school board's decision and why. Now, if you will be so kind as to hand me your key to the school, Sheriff Coffee and Deputy Clem will escort you to your lodgings to retrieve the books you wrongfully removed from this school. I will be calling a meeting of the school board to determine if we are going to prefer charges against you for the theft."

"You have no right to do this to me. I'll burn this school down with everybody in it before I see another person take my place."

"Miss Smith, I highly recommend you stop this nonsense now," said Roy. "You are acting like a spoiled child. The school board was completely within its rights to terminate your employment. Mr. Miller is the chairman of that board and it is his job to retrieve the key and other materials belonging to the school from you. Also, you have just threatened to commit not one, but two crimes, so after you give me and Clem the books you took and retrieve your belongings, I will be taking you to jail and we'll just see what the judge wants to do about your threats. The people in this town love their children and will not be happy to hear that you just threatened to kill all of them. Neither will your uncle. Now, give Mr. Miller the key to the school. Rather than making two trips to your house, gather your belongings now and you can take them with you. As Mr. Miller stated earlier, you have thirty minutes to do just that, so I recommend you begin because I am timing your thirty minutes as of right now. We have already taken inventory of everything in this building, so do not add to your offenses by taking more things that do not belong to you."

Miss Smith reluctantly gave the school key to Mr. Miller and gathered up her belongings. Roy and Clem escorted her to her house and helped her carry the books back to the school. "Now that your things are gone and the books have been returned, you need to come with us," said Roy.

"Where are you taking me to?"

"We are going to go and talk to Judge Taylor and see how he wants to handle the problem. Mr. Miller has already stated that the school board will be pressing charges against you, so I need to see what the judge wants to do with you until your hearing."

"I'm not going anywhere with you and you can't make me."

" **Miss Smith** ," said Roy. " **I am getting extremely tired of hearing you say what you are and are not going to do. I am the sheriff in this town and you are coming with me if I have to carry you!** After Judge Taylor decides what to do with you, I will be sending a telegram to your uncle, letting him know about you stealing from the school and the threats you made. Something tells me that he will not be happy with you. **Now stop arguing with me and let's go!** "

Miss Smith accompanied Roy and Clem over to the courthouse and into Judge Taylor's office. "Hello Roy, Celm. What is Miss Smith doing with you? Based on the school board's decision last night, I would think she would be packing and looking for someplace else to live."

"We have a problem with her Judge," answered Roy. "It seems that she stole a lot of books from the school and when Gerald Miller informed her of the school board's decision, she threatened to burn down the school with all of the children and the new teacher in it. Gerald is going to prefer charges against her."

"I see. Well, what do you have to say for yourself Miss Smith? You are being charged with two very serious crimes. Roy, have you telegraphed her uncle yet to inform him of what his niece has done?"

"Not yet. Gerald, Clem and I just discovered the theft of the books this morning and Miss Smith just made her threats about an hour ago."

"Well Miss Smith, I'm waiting to hear what you have to say."

Miss Smith didn't say anything.

"Roy, why don't you go and send your telegram? Clem and I can keep an eye on Miss Smith until you return with a reply." Roy sent his telegram and returned a little while later with the reply and handed it to the judge. "Well Miss Smith, your uncle states he will be here in three days and you are to be packed and ready to leave with him when he arrives. He further states that if you are not here when he arrives, he will find you, bring you back and recommend I sentence you to time in prison for stealing and the threats you made. So, there you have it. You have three days in which to pack all of your belongings and prepare to leave with your uncle. Just to make sure you follow instructions and do not leave town, starting right now, I am going to require you to report here to me every morning at eight o'clock and to Sheriff Coffee every afternoon at four o'clock. If you fail to report to myself and Sheriff Coffee, I will have him put you in jail until your uncle arrives. Now, go and start packing and remember, you must report to Sheriff Coffee at four o'clock! If Sheriff Coffee isn't in his office at four o'clock, you may report to Deputy Clem." After Miss Smith left the judge's office, he told Roy and Clem that Reverend Jonas said he would explain everything when he reached Virginia City.

After Roy and Clem left the judge's office, Clem turned to Roy and asked, "Do you think she'll do as the judge said and show up at the office at four o'clock?"

"I don't know Clem, but I sure hope she does. I really don't want to have to put a woman in one of the cells. I will if I have to, but I sure don't want to."

Before Clem could answer, they saw a couple of teenage boys having a fight in the middle of the street. "I wonder what's gotten into those two again. I tell you Roy, I'm getting real tired of breaking up fights between that pair. This is the third one this week and it's only Wednesday. I think it's time we let them cool their heels in a cell and wait for their fathers to deal with them."

"I agree. Those two are almost grown and it's long past time for them to stop settling their differences with their fists." They walked over and broke up the fight. Roy yelled at the boys and took them to the jail while Clem rode out of town to get their fathers. Clem returned about an hour later with both men and two unhappy seventeen year old boys rode home with their fathers.

When Cat and Ben returned to the house, they walked into the kitchen and Ben asked Hop Sing to give her a cookie. He handed her a cookie and said, "Dinner be leady soon. Why Missy Cat get cookie now?"

"We had a race and Cat won. I said that the winner could have a cookie before dinner. If she weighed more, I would be the one getting the cookie, not her. Starting now, I want her to eat as much as Hoss does at each meal. Then I'll win the next race."

Hop Sing laughed. "Mistah Ben silly today. Missy Cat need to eat mole but she get sick if she eat like Hoss." He sliced the bread, put the stew in a serving bowl and said, "Dinner leady. Go sit down at table."

While they were eating, Ben said, "Boys, after dinner, will one of you please hitch up the buckboard. I need to go to town for supplies and hopefully the things we purchased in Denver will have arrived. You can show Cat how to hitch a team up while you're at it."

"Can Little Joe come with us?" asked Cat.

"Well now, that all depends. Can you keep him out of trouble while we're in town?"

Cat giggled. "I'll try. Little Joe, if you come with us, you have to promise me you won't go into the saloon because Hoss says you get into a lot of fights when you go in there and I'm not big enough to help you."

Adam and Hoss burst out laughing. "I guess she told you little brother," laughed Hoss.

"She certainly did," replied Adam. "Well baby brother, what's it going to be? Are you going to stay out of the saloon if you go to town? Like Cat said, she's not big enough to drag you out of the saloon if you get into trouble and we're going to be busy here."

Joe glared at his brothers and said, "Alright Cat. I'll go with you and I won't go into the saloon."

"Good. I'm glad. I want you to come with us but I don't want you to get into any trouble. When we're done eating, I'll teach you how to hitch a team up to the buckboard."

Ben and Hop Sing laughed quietly and gave each other amused looks as Hoss and Adam teased their brother.

After dinner, Joe and Cat went out to the barn and he started showing her how to hitch a team up to the buckboard. She tried to put the harness on one of the horses but became frustrated when it got tangled up. "Don't worry Cat. It takes time to learn how to harness a horse correctly. I can't remember how many tries it took me until I got it right. The important thing is that you tried. Pa doesn't expect us to get everything right all the time, but he does expect us to try. As he likes to say, if you don't try to do something, you will never learn how to do anything."

There wasn't room for three people on the buckboard seat, so Joe was going to take Cochise. "I'll ride Buck and you ride on the wagon with your sister," said Ben. "That way you won't be tempted to break your promise to her. You can let her drive. She needs help turning the team around. Otherwise, she does a pretty good job." When they reached town, Ben asked Joe to go over to the freight office and see if the packages from Denver had arrived yet while he and Cat went into the feed store. Joe went to the freight office while Ben, Cat and her puppies walked into the feed store. Ben introduced Cat to Mr. Winter.

He came out from behind the counter and greeted Cat. "Hello Catherine. It's nice to meet you. Are those your puppies?"

"Hello Mr. Winter. Yes, they are my puppies. The collie is Lassie and the other one is Silver Chief."

Mr. Winter got down on his knees and petted both puppies. When he stood up he asked, "What can I do for you today Ben?" Ben told him what he wanted and he began putting bags of feed on the counter. He looked at Cat and teased, "Are you going to carry these out to your wagon, or are your puppies going to carry them?"

Cat giggled. "I think Lassie and Silver Chief said they were going to carry the bags."

"I don't know if they can or not. These bags are a lot bigger than they are. Maybe you should help them."

Cat looked at the bags of feed and her puppies and said, "I guess I could help them. They probably wouldn't mind." She walked over to the counter and tried to pick up a bag and was surprised it wasn't heavy. Mr. Winter and Ben laughed at the expression on her face. She put the bag down on the floor and discovered it wasn't completely closed when she looked inside, she found that it was filled with feathers. "I didn't know that horses ate feathers," she laughed. I guess I'll start feeding them to Fury. Then he really will be able to fly when he grows up."

Joe had walked into the feed store, heard what Cat said, picked her up and put her over his shoulder. "I didn't know that horses ate little girls," he teased. She'll barely make two meals for that black colt out in the pasture. Oh well, I guess I'll put her in the wagon under the bags of feed." He pretended to start carrying her out of the store.

"No son," said Ben. "She's so little; you'll have to put her on top of the bags of feed. Otherwise she'll be squashed flat and we won't be able to feed her to that colt." Joe set Cat down and picked up a bag of feed. "Cat, why don't you watch Joe and make sure he loads the wagon right. After all, we wouldn't want Adam and Hoss to tease him about loading it wrong."

"Alright Pa," giggled Cat. "I'll watch him."

"You're going to do more than watch me Squirt. You can help me carry these bags." Cat giggled more as Joe picked up a bag of feed and pretended to put it on her head.

"Those two really get along well," remarked Mr. Winter.

"Yes they do. Catherine was born on Joe's tenth birthday and they've always been close. When she was five, she decided that school was something to be avoided at all costs, so she kept skipping. Her uncle punished her but it didn't do any good. The only thing that made her go to school was when Joe told her that she wouldn't be allowed to spend school holidays on the Ponderosa."

"How are you going to get her to attend school here?"

"She has already been told her that if she skips school, she won't be allowed to spend her summers in Dodge. Also, Joe told her that part of the punishment for skipping school was having to ride to and from school double with me or one of her brothers. I don't know of a nine year old who would want to be seen riding double with their Pa or one of their brothers."

Mr. Winter laughed. "I didn't care much for school myself and skipped quite a few times. I do believe that the threat of having to ride there double with my Pa or older brother would have kept me from skipping. I can't wait for Susan to meet your daughter. The two of them are a lot alike. Even though she loves teaching, she also hated going to school. She always did well on her lessons but would rather have been anywhere other than inside of a schoolhouse."

"Why don't you and your family, including your sister come to supper on the Ponderosa Friday night? That way she can learn something about the wild child I inherited."

"She can't be that wild."

"Don't bet on it. She's only been home a week and if I didn't know better, I would swear that Catherine and Joseph both had the same mother."

Mr. Winter laughed. "I'm sure you're exaggerating about that sweet little girl. What time should we be there on Friday?"

"Wait until you get to know her. Hoss nicknamed her Wild Cat when she was about a year old. He said that she is as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. My sister said that one day, my father's cook caught her trying to climb up the china cabinet and she wasn't even two yet. Why don't you come around four thirty or five o'clock. Hop Sing likes to serve supper at six, so that will give you time to relax from the long drive out to the ranch and get to know Catherine a little better. Oh yes, before I forget. Be prepared to thoroughly admire her colt. She's very proud of him, thinks he's wonderful and expects everyone else to also."

While they were talking, Joe and Cat walked back into the store. "Pa, may I have a little bit of money?" asked Joe. "I forgot to bring some with me."

"What do you need it for?"

"Well, I was going to get a beer, but my best girl here is too short to go into the saloon, so I thought I would get us each a bottle of sarsaparilla."

Ben handed him some money and said, "You may as well buy your best girl some candy and peanuts while you're at it. Remember son, you can't just buy a drink for a girl. You have to buy her something to eat also."

"I'll remember that. Thanks for the money. Come on Cat. Let's go and see what kind of mischief we can get into."


	43. Chapter 43

Ben and John Winter laughed at Joe's statement as they watched the pair walk out of the feed store. As Joe and Cat walked toward the general store, they heard someone calling Joe. He turned around and saw Mitch Devlin walking toward them. Joe greeted his friend. "Hi Mitch. When did you get back?"

"Last week. We have a lot to catch up on. Let's go and get a beer."

Joe started to go with Mitch when Cat said, "Little Joe, are you going to break your promise to me?"

Joe looked at his sister and then at his best friend and said, "I'm sorry Mitch. I can't. I promised my sister that I wouldn't go into the saloon today and I need to keep that promise."

"You have a sister? When did your father get married again? I know that I've been gone for a long time, but you could at least have written to me and told me."

"Pa didn't get married again. My aunt was killed in June and Pa adopted my cousin. This is my little sister, Cat. Cat, this is my best friend, Mitch Devlin. You're really going to like him. The two of us used to get into a lot of mischief when we were your age. Once you get settled in, we can tell you some of the things we did to annoy Adam. Mitch, Cat and I are on our way over to the general store. I promised to buy her a sarsaparilla. Why don't you come with us? Then you can come back to the feed store. Pa's there now and I'm sure he'll be glad to see you again."

"Alright Joe. I'll come with you and Cat. I want to get to know your little sister better."

"She's a lot like me. You probably don't remember, but she was born on my tenth birthday. Pa says that we're so much alike, if he didn't know better, he would swear that we had the same mother."

Mitch laughed. "Cat, you and I are going to get along just fine. I can't wait until Joe and I start teaching you what to do to annoy Adam."

"We're going to have to take it slow Mitch. I don't want Cat getting into trouble. You know what Adam is like when he gets angry. Don't forget, he thought it was his job to be harder on us than our fathers did. I'm sure that he'll be just as hard on Cat although I don't think he'll be too hard on her if Hoss is around. Hoss protected us from Adam's wrath when he could and I'm sure he'll protect Cat even more."

"Yeah Joe. You're right. How old were we the day we hid his saddle and bridle, eleven or twelve? He was going to use his belt on our bare bottoms until Hoss stopped him. I hope he's not going to be like that with Cat."

"I hope not either Mitch. I'll do my best to protect her from his anger and so will Hoss, but we've got to go slow. We can't teach her too much all at once. Right now, we'd better get our drinks and go back to the feed store. Pa will want to leave soon."

The three of them walked over to the store where Joe let Cat pick out twenty five cents worth of candy while he got their drinks and peanuts. Then they walked back to the feed store. "Look who we found," said Joe.

Ben turned around and saw Mitch with Cat and Joe. "Hello Mitchell. It's nice to see you again. When did you return home?"

"Hello Mr. Cartwright. I got back home last week and haven't had time to get out to the Ponderosa."

"Can Mitch come to supper?" asked Cat.

"Of course he can. He knows that he's always welcome at our table. Have you decided what you want to do tomorrow?"

"Yes, I want Laura and Mary to spend the day at the Ponderosa. We can play and we can go riding. I know how to get to Lake Tahoe from the house."

"That's fine. We'll stop at the Ingalls on the way home and ask if they can come over. I know that you know how to get to Lake Tahoe and you girls may ride over there, but I do not want you to go swimming in the lake unless an adult is with you." Cat was disappointed but didn't argue. "We need to head back to the ranch. Mitchell, in case you've forgotten, supper is at six. We'll expect to see you around five thirty. John, we'll expect you and your family around four thirty or five on Friday."

When they walked outside Cat and Joe climbed up on the wagon seat. Cat picked up the reins and Ben said, "Cat, let Joe drive the team home. You've never driven a full wagon before and it's a lot different than driving an empty one. You can take over driving when we get close to home. Joe, don't forget, we need to stop by the Ingalls to see if the girls can come over and play with Cat tomorrow.

Joe turned the wagon into the Ingalls' yard almost an hour later. The girls were playing in the yard and Laura ran into the house to tell her parents they had company. Charles and Caroline went outside to greet their guests. They hugged Cat and invited everyone in for coffee and sweet cider. "What brings the three of you out here this evening?" asked Charles. "Are you giving Cat to us already?"

Ben laughed. "No, not yet. We stopped by to see if Laura and Mary would like to spend the day tomorrow on the Ponderosa playing with Cat."

" _Please Pa_ ," pleaded both girls together.

All of the adults laughed at the expressions on the girls' faces.

"I don't see why not unless Caroline has other plans for them."

"No, I don't have any plans. I think it's a wonderful idea. I'm sure Cat is tired of only being around adults all the time."

"That settles it then," said Ben. "Cat knows how to get here, so she can ride over with a couple of horses for the girls after breakfast. They need to bring swimming clothes because we may go swimming. I know that Cat is planning on the three of them riding out by Lake Tahoe and she knows that they are not to go swimming in the lake unless an adult is with them. However, I may join them so they can swim. They'll spend the entire day on the Ponderosa and either I or one of the boys will bring them home after supper."

"Those plans make me wish that I was still nine years old," said Caroline. "I would love to spend a day playing with dolls, swinging, riding, and swimming. I know. All four girls can stay here and do the cooking and laundry and I'll go and spend the day on the Ponderosa."

The girls laughed at Caroline's suggestion. "Actually," said Ben. "Cat does know how to cook. When Adam and I went to get her from Lucas McCain's ranch in New Mexico, Cat and Mark went hunting. They made a delicious rabbit stew. Lucas' friend, Millie, realized that they had probably forgotten about bread and dessert, so she brought those things. Both Adam and I were surprised that a pair of nine year old children could cook such a wonderful meal. With Hop Sing's help, she also made rabbit stew for us on Saturday. Maybe we'll go hunting one day and Cat can cook the meal. I know that Hop Sing wouldn't mind letting her in the kitchen. I don't know if Cat knows how to made bread and dessert, so Hop Sing will probably have to make those things."

"That sounds wonderful," said Charles. "I'm looking forward to that meal."

"So am I," said Caroline. "I've been teaching Mary and Laura how to make bread, so maybe with Hop Sing's supervision; they could make the bread and help Cat with the rest of the meal."

"That's fine with me," replied Ben. "I'll have to ask Hop Sing if he'll mind having his kitchen invaded by three little girls."

"He probably won't mind," said Joe. "He thinks that Cat belongs to him. She's only been home a week and he's already threatened to go back to China and take Cat with him twice."

"I'm positive that you're right about him not minding if the girls take over his kitchen for a meal. However, you and your brothers are going to have to help clean the rabbits. It won't be fair for your sister to have to clean the rabbits and cook enough food for eleven people. She and Mark worked together to cook for seven and it took them several hours to do everything."

"I know that Hoss and I will help but I'm not sure about Adam."

"Adam will also help. I don't think the girls will let him eat if he doesn't. Charles, Caroline, thank you for your hospitality. It's getting late and we've got to get home before supper. I don't want Hop Sing yelling at me because we're late for supper. Cat will be here shortly after breakfast with some horses for Mary and Laura. Girls, don't forget, you still have to keep your parents out of trouble for two more days so we can have our big picnic by Lake Tahoe on Saturday." All four girls started giggling at the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls getting into trouble.

When they got near the road leading to their house, Joe handed the reins to Cat and said, "You can drive from here. Just take it slow and don't worry. I'm right here if you end up needing help. As Pa said, driving a loaded wagon is a lot different than driving an empty one. When we get in the yard, stop the wagon in front of the barn. That way, we won't have to carry the sacks of feed all the way across the yard."

They were about a mile from the yard when a rabbit ran out in front of the team causing them to bolt. Cat tried but she couldn't hold them. " ** _Joe, help! I can't hold the horses!_** " Instead of taking the reins from her, Joe put his hands over hers and helped her stop the team.

By the time Joe got the team stopped, Cat was shaking like a leaf. Joe wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Ben was off his horse in a flash, ran over to the buckboard and asked, "Is she alright?" He climbed up on the wagon seat and hugged Cat close to him.

"Yeah Pa. She's fine, just scared. Don't feel bad Cat. I was thirteen the first time a team ran away with me and I was so afraid, I wet my pants. If Pa hadn't been with me, the buckboard might have flipped over with me in it."

"Cat," said Ben. "I hope you understand now why I won't let you drive the buggy or buckboard unless an adult is with you. The thought of what could have happened to you if Joe hadn't been next to you frightens me beyond belief. I don't ever want you to get hurt and if I could, I would wrap you in cotton wool and put you on a shelf until you are all grown up."

Cat had calmed down by then and giggled at Ben's last statement. "You're silly Pa. I can't sit on a shelf until I'm all grown up. I would at least have to get down to eat. Hop Sing wouldn't let me eat up there."

"You're right. I am being silly but I just want to keep you safe. Now, let's go home. Mitchell will be at the house by five thirty and we've got to get the feed and other supplies put away before then."

Ben remounted his horse and Joe handed the buckboard reins to Cat. "No Joe. I don't want to drive any more."

Ben dismounted and climbed back up on the wagon seat. He hugged Cat and said, "I want you to drive Sweetheart. It's very important. What happened after the first time you fell off your pony?"

"My Apache father made me get back on. He said if I didn't, I would always be afraid to ride."

"That's right. If you didn't get back on your pony after you fell off, you would be afraid to ride now and you wouldn't love Fury as much as you do. It is important for you to drive the wagon home for the same reason. If you don't, you will always be afraid to drive a wagon or the buggy. If you would like, I will sit here and you can sit between me and Joe, but you will drive. Both Joe and I will be here if anything happens again."

"Ok. I would like that."

Ben tied his horse to the back of the buckboard and then sat down next to Cat. Joe handed her the reins and Ben said, "Ok Cat. Let's go home. Remember, both Joe and I are right here if you need help, but you are driving." Cat reluctantly took the reins and drove the rest of the way home. By the time they reached the yard, she was more at ease driving. She stopped the wagon in front of the barn and Adam and Hoss came out of the house to help put everything away. Adam noticed that the things they had purchased in Denver were on the wagon, so he carried those crates into the house and up to his room. He planned on surprising her with some of the toys the next time Laura and Mary came over.

Once the buckboard had been emptied, Hoss picked Cat up and put her over his shoulder. "I've never seen anything like this before. Where should I put it?"

"That's something Joe and I picked up in town as a treat for that black colt out in the pasture. You might want to carry it out there and see how the colt reacts."

Hoss carried a giggling Cat out to the pasture where Fury was and set her down inside it. Fury immediately ran up to her and demanded to be loved on. After Cat hugged and kissed him, he put his nose down to the ground where it was immediately kissed by Lassie and Silver Chief. Hoss stood there for a little while, watching in amazement. He had been working with horses for many years and had never seen a foal act like Fury did toward Cat and her puppies. Before heading back to the house, he said, "Don't stay out here too long. It's almost five o'clock and you'll need time to wash up before supper."

"Ok Hoss. Little Joe's friend Mitch is coming to supper tonight."

"Oh is he? I didn't know he was back in town. Adam won't be happy."

"Why won't Adam be happy that Mitch is coming to supper?"

"Because Joe and Mitch used to get into a lot of mischief together when they were boys and they played a lot of tricks on Adam. None of their tricks were dangerous but they shore did make Adam mad, especially when they hid his saddle and bridle. I hope they don't teach you none of their tricks 'cause I don't want Adam getting mad at you too."

"They said they were going to teach me how to annoy Adam and it sounds like fun."

"Girl, you are going to get yourself into a whole heap of trouble with him if you do that. Pa's right. You are too much like Little Joe."

"You'll keep Adam from getting mad at me, won't you Hoss?"

"It depends on what you do. I'll protect you as much as I can but if you do something dangerous, I won't be able to help you. Now, you've got about fifteen minutes to spend with this here colt of yours and then you've got to get washed up for supper. You don't want Pa and Hop Sing mad at you 'cause you're late for supper."

"Someone will have to tell me when I have to come in. I'm not real good at knowing what time it is or how long I've been somewhere."

"Alright sis. Someone will come and get you when it's time to come in. Just be sure you don't argue with them."

"I won't. I'm getting hungry and I don't want Pa telling me I can't have dessert."

"I'm with you there. I always hated being told I couldn't have dessert."

Hoss walked back to the house and Cat played with Fury and her puppies. Fifteen minutes later, Adam came out and told her it was time to wash up for supper. "Ok. I just have one thing I need to do." Adam was about to scold her when she kissed and hugged Fury and then climbed the pasture gate.

"You know you could open the gate and walk through it."

"I know, but it's more fun to climb over it."

Adam sighed, put his arm around his little sister and said, "You are entirely too much like Joe and you are probably going to drive me crazy like Joe did when he was a boy."

"I hope so. Joe said it was lots of fun when he did it."

Adam sighed and mumbled, "I'm going to kill him," under his breath. He picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder and said, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you in the trough before taking you into the house."

"Because I'll get all wet and Pa and Hop Sing will get mad at you if I get the house all wet."

"Sorry kiddo. They won't get angry at me because I won't be the one who's all wet. They'll be angry at you."

"But it will be your fault for throwing me in the trough."

"I'll just tell them that you tripped and fell in or that you wanted to go swimming but didn't have time to go to the creek, pond or lake, so you decided to swim in the trough instead."

"If you throw me in the trough, I'll sneak into your room tonight and hide your boots."

"You don't want to do that little one. I guarantee I will be very unhappy with you and you will not like it if I am unhappy with you. I am already upset with you for inviting Mitch Devlin to supper tonight. You should have asked me before doing that."

"You weren't there and Pa is the one who invites people to supper. Why don't you want Mitch to come to supper? I like him. He's funny."

"He is not one of my favorite people. He and Joe used to annoy me as often as they could when they were boys."

"I didn't know we were only supposed to invite people you like to supper. I'll tell Pa you said that."

"You are a brat just like Joe was. I did not say that."

"Yes you did. You said we shouldn't invite Joe's friend Mitch to supper because you don't like him."

"If you don't stop now, I will throw you in the trough."

"I don't care. I'm still going to tell Pa what you said."

Just then Ben walked out the door to see what was taking Adam so long to get Cat from the pasture. He couldn't believe it when he saw his oldest son about to toss his sister in the trough. "What are you doing Adam? Why are you going to put your sister into the trough?"

"He's going to throw me in the trough because I said I was going to tell you he doesn't want Joe's friend Mitch to come to supper because he doesn't like him. He only wants people he likes to come to supper."

Ben didn't see Joe follow him out of the house. "Older brother, I swear, if you throw Cat in the trough because she asked Pa if Mitch could come to supper, you will have a bloody nose at supper and if I don't do it, Hoss will!"

Ben sighed. He had hoped the peace and quiet would last longer than a week. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, everyone needs to get washed up for supper. Adam, please put your sister down and I do not mean in the trough." Adam put Cat down on the ground and she ran to the house, stopping long enough to hug her father and brother. Joe followed her into the house. "I'm disappointed son," said Ben as Adam walked up to him. "I know that you don't like Mitch because he and Joe used to do things to annoy you, but they were young boys having fun and nothing they did was harmful to anybody including yourself. In fact, I thought some of the things they did were funny. Also, that was a long time ago. Both Joseph and Mitchell are nineteen now and haven't played any pranks on you in several years. Remember son, I also had a younger brother and George and his friends used to annoy me too. I got angry at them one day and Father told me his younger brothers used to do things to annoy him too. That's what younger brothers do. That is also what younger sisters do. Believe me, Kate did her best to annoy the rest of us when she was a girl. Now, let's get washed up. Mitch should be here any time now."

Adam went upstairs to wash up and started thinking. His father was right. Nothing Joe and Mitch had done to him was harmful and nothing had been destroyed or ruined. The book he had been reading hadn't even been harmed when Joe had moved it off of the night table. Joe had put the book under his pillow and left the end of the bookmark sticking out enough to be noticed. He had just been too angry at not finding it in its place to notice the bookmark sticking out from under his pillow. The boys had gotten a good scolding from his father for hiding his saddle and bridle one day, especially because they had only been twelve and not allowed in the hayloft without an adult. Since he had been delayed in getting started on things he had to do on the ranch, besides the scolding, the boys had to do his chores that day. Adam found himself wondering what kinds of things they were going to teach Cat to do and how angry he was going to get with her for doing them. She was already entirely too wild and didn't need Joe and Mitch teaching her how to annoy him. Although, she would probably come up with the same ideas on her own. She had just threatened to hide his boots and the two boys hadn't even started teaching her how to annoy him.

Mitch knocked on the door a few minutes later. Joe opened it and greeted his friend. Mitch greeted the rest of the family and everyone sat down in the living room to talk. They had been talking for about ten minutes when Hop Sing announced that supper was ready. During supper, Mitch began telling everyone about his travels after graduating from school the previous year. "Cat, the next time your Pa or one of your brothers goes to San Francisco, make them take you along. You can always take your books if school is in session. It's a fun city with a lot to see and do. I think you will enjoy watching the fishing fleet coming back in every evening. The boats are always followed by a lot of seagulls hoping to get some of the catch. If you're lucky, you might get to see some dolphins playing in San Francisco Bay."

"I've never been to the ocean. Is it bigger than Lake Tahoe?"

"Oh yes, lots bigger. Your Pa used to be a sailor. He can tell you more than I can, but I think you could probably put a thousand Lake Tahoes in the ocean and still have room for more."

"What do dolphins and seagulls look like?"

"Seagulls are white birds. Some of them have black on their wings and some of them have grey heads. Dolphins are grey fish like creatures but they have holes on top of their heads instead of gills to breathe with. But they're not fish. They're long and their bodies curve. They have noses that are long and narrow. They travel in groups and you should see them jump. They can jump quite high. I'm not doing a very good job describing them. Adam or your Pa probably has a book with a drawing of one. You can also see seals on the beaches and if you're really lucky, you'll get to see a whale. They're really huge. They're longer than two barns."

" **WOW!** That's really big. Do whales look like dolphins?"

"Not really. As I said, they're much larger and the one I saw was a blue grey color."

"I'm pretty sure that I have a book that has drawings of dolphins, whales, sea turtles and different seagulls," said Adam. "I'll look after supper.

"I'll go up in the attic tomorrow," said Ben. "All of my journals from my sailing days are up there. I may have made some drawings of different sea creatures while I was off duty."

"Gee thanks. I would love to go to San Francisco and see those animals for real instead of in a drawing. I don't even know what a sailing ship looks like. I just know about the canoes the Indians use."

"I'll take you to San Francisco one day," said Ben. "It probably won't be before next year though. School is starting in a few weeks and I want you to get used to going to school here, meet new friends and get to know your new teacher. Adam's grandfather lives in Boston and I haven't seen him in many years. Maybe I'll take you there some day too."

At the mention of school, Cat made a face like she had bitten into something sour causing everybody to laugh. "Cat likes school as much as we did Mitch," said Joe.

"Cat, I hope you don't skip school as much as Joe and I did," said Mitch. "I'd hate to see you end up with a very sore bottom and having to ride to school double with an adult like we did. Believe me, there's nothing worse than having all of your friends laughing at you because you have to ride double like a little kid."

"I'll just have to figure out how to not get caught. I hate school. It's boring and there are more important things to do like hunting and fishing and I get tired of being scolded for looking out the windows all the time. It might be better if school was outside because being stuck inside all day is terrible!"

"You won't get any argument from Joe and I about that, but believe me, no matter how much we tried not to, we always got caught when we skipped school. Sometimes Miss Jones told our fathers and sometimes other kids did. Reverend Jonas caught us one day. He took us back to the school and then told our fathers what we had done."

"Yeah, I remember that day," added Joe. "We thought we were being clever by hiding in some bushes while we were fishing, but Reverend Jonas saw our fishing poles and found us. It sure was embarrassing when he walked us back into the school and made us apologize to Miss Jones in front of the whole school. I know you hate school Cat. So did Mitch and I but skipping is not worth the trouble you'll be in when you get caught."

Adam was about to remind Cat that she would also get a spanking and a lot of extra chores every time she skipped school but Ben caught his eye and shook his head no. Joe and Mitch were doing a good job of convincing her not to skip school.

"Mitch, where else did you go besides San Francisco?" asked Cat.

"Well, let's see, I spent a couple of months in St. Louis. I also spent some time in Denver and I was in Chicago for three months. Now, that's a really big city. It's bigger than San Francisco and Denver combined. Lake Michigan is so big you can't even see the other shore."

"Wow that is a big lake. I would like to see the places you visited. We spent a little bit of time in St. Louis and Denver on the way here but didn't have much time to see the cities."

"Traveling and seeing new places is fun, but coming home again is nice. I loved seeing my family again after being gone for more than a year. I can't tell you how much I missed all of you and how great it is to be sitting here with you instead of alone in a restaurant."

What are your plans now that you're home again?" asked Adam.

"I'm going to stay here and help Pa with the ranch. Besides that, I met a girl today and I think I'm in love. The problem is that she's only nine and I need to wait for her to grow up. So, I've got to make something of myself or she won't want anything to do with me when she grows up." Cat giggled as he gave one of her braids a playful tug. "There's a dance coming up next week Saturday. Cat, will you save a dance for me?"

"Sure Mitch," giggled Cat. "You're the only one who's asked me and I don't know any other boys yet."

"Well I hope you never do meet any other boys. I want you all for myself. I'm not even sure I want to share you with your Pa and brothers," he teased.

Gat giggled. "You're silly. I'm gonna meet boys at school unless you can convince Pa I don't have to go and you have to share me with my family"

"I don't know if I can convince your Pa of that or not. I didn't have any luck convincing my own father to let me stay home from school when I was your age. How about it Mr. Cartwright, will you let Cat stay home from school so she won't meet any other boys besides me?"

Ben laughed. "I'm sorry Mitchell, but the answer is no. Catherine has to attend school until she's eighteen just as you boys did. I'm hoping she'll decide to attend college after she graduates."

"I don't even want to go to school now and you want me to go to college. "EWWWWW YUCK! I'd rather play with a bunch of rattlesnakes. It would be more fun."

Everyone laughed and Ben said, "Cat, you need to finish eating if you want dessert. I happen to know that Hop Sing made chocolate cake for dessert and that is your favorite dessert. If you don't finish your supper, I will eat your piece of chocolate cake as well as mine."

"That's not fair."

"Sure it is. I have always had a rule that children who do not finish their supper are not allowed to have dessert. Ask Adam. He can tell you how many times he missed dessert as a boy because he didn't finish his meal. So, if you don't finish your supper, you will not get dessert. Since I wouldn't want that piece of chocolate cake to go to waste, I will have to eat it myself."

Cat ate all of her food and when Hop Sing served dessert, he gave her two pieces of cake and none to Ben. "Hop Sing hele Mistah Ben say Missy Cat get two pieces of cake and he no want any," causing everybody to laugh.

"Gee thanks Hop Sing. That was really swell of you to give Pa's piece of cake to me. The only thing better than your food is your chocolate cake. If Pa would let me, I would eat it for breakfast, dinner, and supper."

"Well Pa, I guess you learned what happens when you try to come between Cat and her chocolate cake," laughed Joe. "It's obvious who Hop Sing thinks is the most important person in this family. He never did that for me when you said I couldn't have dessert. Also, he never said he was going to take me with him when he threatened to go back to China. He's already done that twice with Cat."

"Cat, may I please have one of your pieces of cake?" asked Ben.

"I don't know. I was going to eat both of them. After all, you were going to eat my piece. What do you think Mitch?"

"I think you should. After all, you might get an upset stomach if you ate two pieces of cake after that large supper."

"Ok. That's a good idea."

Cat handed one piece of cake to her father. "Thank you Sweetheart. I like Hop Sing's chocolate cake almost as much as you do."

After supper, everyone went into the living room to talk with Mitch for a while longer. Adam went up to his room and returned with a book containing drawings of sea creatures and handed it to Cat. She sat on the settee between Joe and Mitch and looked at the drawings with them. Cat was amazed at all of the strange creatures displayed in the book. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the seals. "Those seals sure are cute. I'd love to have one for a pet."

Mitch laughed at her. "No you wouldn't Cat. They would make terrible pets. Seals look cute and cuddly but they're wild animals that bite very hard and cannot be tamed. Also, they would not be happy here. They only eat fish that are found in the ocean and they would not be able to live in Lake Tahoe."

"Oh, that's too bad. I really want one for a pet."

"Catherine," said Adam. "You want every wild creature for a pet. I think you're worse than Hoss was when he was your age."

"That's a little girl thing Adam," said Mitch. "Everywhere I traveled, I saw little girls wanting to have wild animals for pets. When I was in San Francisco, a little girl broke away from her parents and started running toward a bunch of seals sunning themselves on the beach. Her older brother and I took off running after her and caught her just before she reached the seals. I can't tell you how much that frightened me. The babies are small, but the adults are quite large and that girl could have been seriously hurt or worse. After seeing that, I've decided that if I ever have any daughters, I'm going to tie a rope around their waists so they can't run off like that. I might even put hobbles on them."

"It won't work Mitch," laughed Ben. "Cat's uncle had tried everything he could and she still ran off and got into mischief."

Mitch stood up and said, "It's getting late and I really need to be going. Thank you again for your hospitality. My Ma is a good cook, but nowhere near as good as Hop Sing." He shook hands with Ben, Adam, and Hoss and hugged Cat. Joe walked out of the door with him.

"Let's plan on going to town for a beer tomorrow afternoon Joe. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Sorry Mitch. I'm restricted to the ranch for another three and a half weeks. The only reason I was in town today is because Cat asked Pa if I could come along and he said yes."

"What did you do this time?"

"When Pa and Adam left to go and get Cat to bring her home, Pa left a whole list of stuff for Hoss and I to do while they were gone. We didn't even finish half the list and to make matters worse, Pa found out I had been gambling while he was gone and you know how he feels about that."

"It's a good thing I came back. Somebody's got to keep you out of trouble."

"Believe it or not, Cat is trying. I was only allowed to go to town today because I promised Cat I wouldn't go into the saloon and I wouldn't get into any trouble."

"Good for her. I really like your little sister and can't wait to spend more time with her. Well, I'd better head for home before Ma thinks I decided to go traveling again. I'll come out again in a day or two."


	44. Chapter 44

Joe walked back into the house and found his sister sitting in their father's lap looking at Adam's book of sea creatures. Ben was pointing out the ones he had seen when he was a sailor and Cat was disappointed that he had never seen a whale like the one Mitch had seen. "That's because I sailed the Atlantic Ocean and those whales live in the Pacific Ocean. I did see some whales but they were nowhere near as large as the blue whale Mitch saw. I did see many dolphins and seagulls but the seagulls preferred to stay near the fishing boats. I promise I will take you to San Francisco one day. Right now, I just don't know when that will be. Now, it's almost time for bed. Starting tonight, I want you to undo your braids and brush your hair out before going to bed. Don't worry about how you're going to get your hair braided in the morning. All of us know how to braid leather and rope. We've just never done a little girl's hair before. Joe thinks he can do it and if he can't do it right and Hop Sing doesn't have time to show us, Mrs. Ingalls can do it again when you go to get Laura and Mary after breakfast. It may take us a little while to learn how to do it right, but we will learn and braid your hair for you."

Cat thought about what Ben had told her for a minute and said, "I wish we could go to San Francisco tomorrow. I really want to see dolphins and whales and seals right now. I don't want to have to wait a long time to see them. Ok. I'll take my braids out before I go to bed."

Everyone laughed at Cat when she said she wanted to see the ocean creatures right away. Ben hugged her and said, "Don't be in such a hurry. I promise you that San Francisco isn't going anywhere and there will be lots of seals and dolphins for you to see when we get there. I don't know how often people there see whales but hopefully you'll get so see one of them too. Now, it's time for you to get ready for bed. I'll be up in a few minutes."

"Ok. Can Mitch come to our picnic on Saturday? I want him to tell Laura and Mary all about the places he went and the ocean creatures he saw. Maybe Adam will let me take the book too so they can see what they look like."

"Yes, Mitch can come to our picnic on Saturday. Now go on upstairs and get ready for bed before I decide to make you stay home from the picnic."

Cat got down off her father's lap, handed Adam's book to him and walked upstairs. "Was I always in a hurry when I was nine?" asked Joe. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone that's in such a big hurry all the time."

"No son, you were not always in that big a hurry when you were a boy. Maybe it's a little girl thing. I'll ask Charles and Caroline when I see them again. Well, I'd better go and see if she's ready for bed. Joe, do you want to read with her again tonight since she's reading King Arthur?"

"Sure Pa. I'd love to if Cat wants me to."

"I'll ask her when I go upstairs in a few minutes." He walked upstairs and into Cat's bedroom where he found her in her nightclothes sitting at her dressing table, taking the braids out of her hair. He kissed her on top of her head and asked, "Would you like me to brush your hair for you?"

"Sure, if you want to."

"Alright, grab your brush, come over to your bed and I'll brush your hair for you." While Ben was brushing Cat's hair, he noticed that it was uneven in the back. "I'm going to have to ask Caroline what she does about cutting her girls' hair. Yours is all uneven in the back and should be trimmed up so it's all the same length."

"Mamma Tanner used to do that for me. She was going to do it right before my birthday but then my mother was killed and I had to come here. I wish my mother had never come back. Then I wouldn't have had to leave Dodge."

"Don't you like it here?"

"I do, but it's not the same. Except for Laura and Mary and their family, I don't know anybody here. I had a lot of friends in Dodge and the Tanners were just a short ride away from town. When I was in Dodge, I could go anywhere I wanted to as long as Uncle Matt or another adult knew where I was. Here, you act like I'm a baby and won't let me go anywhere unless an adult is with me. Who's going with me to get Laura and Mary tomorrow morning, you or Adam?"

"Nobody is going with you Sweetheart. You're going to go there by yourself. You know how to get to the Ingalls by yourself."

"You say that now but tomorrow morning, Adam will say he has to go with me because I'm a baby and can't go anywhere by myself because I might get lost. I'm surprised you and him even lets me go out to the barn and the pasture where Fury is by myself."

"Now you're being silly. Nobody needs to go to those places with you and nobody is going with you to get Mary and Laura in the morning. Now, who do you want to read with you tonight, me or Joe?"

"Joe because King Arthur is his favorite book."

"Alright Kitten. I'll send Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing up to say goodnight and then Joe can come up and read with you for a little while." He kissed her on the forehead, hugged her and told her that he loved her and was very happy that she was his little girl now. He went back downstairs and Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing all went up to say goodnight to Cat. When they came back downstairs, Joe went up picked the book up off the night table, sat down on the bed leaned back against the headboard next to his sister and put his feet up on the bed.

"Joe, your boots are on my bed. If you don't take them off, I will hide them and then you'll either have to wear your slippers or run around outside in your socks. If you run around outside in your slippers or in your socks, Hop Sing and Pa will yell at you. Also, Adam and Hoss will laugh at you and so will I."

"If you hide my boots, I can always wear my dress ones."

"Pa will yell at you if you wear your dress boots all the time. And me and Adam and Hoss will still laugh at you."

"Pa has been yelling at me ever since I was a little boy. Also, Adam and Hoss have been laughing at me just as long."

"Yes, but I haven't been laughing at you ever since you were a little boy. Also, I will hide your dress boots too. Pa will really be mad at you if I do that. I'll even hide Cochise. Then Adam and Hoss will really laugh at you."

Joe tickled his sister, "You are a little scamp. Since I don't want Pa and Hop Sing yelling at me, and Adam, Hoss, and you laughing at me, I guess I'd better take my boots off your bed before you hide them and my horse. Now we'd better get this chapter read before Pa gets angry at both of us." After they finished reading the chapter, Joe kissed and hugged his sister and said, "Remember what I told you last night. No more nightmares, ever. If you have one I will tickle you until you have an accident in your pants."

When Joe went back downstairs, Hoss asked Joe if he had fun in town while he and Adam were working. "Joe worked almost the entire time we were in town," replied Ben. "He had to load the wagon by himself. Also, except for when he went over to the freight office, your sister was supervising him at all times. He wasn't allowed to go into the saloon for a beer and had to settle for a sarsaparilla."

Adam and Hoss laughed at the thought of their nine year old sister supervising their brother. "Hey, you have no idea what it was like," complained Joe. "I had to load the wagon three times before Cat was satisfied that I had done it right. Also, she embarrassed me in front of Mitch by reminding me that I had promised not to go into the saloon. He thought it was funny that I had to do whatever my nine year old sister told me to do."

"Sorry baby brother," teased Adam. "You won't get any sympathy from us. If you had loaded the wagon correctly to begin with, little sister wouldn't have made you do it again. Also, while you were playing in town when you were supposed to be restricted to the ranch, Hoss and I were busy working. We have a ranch to run and there is a lot of work to do on it."

"I didn't ask to go to town. You know that Cat asked if I could come along and you know as well as I do that what little sister wants, little sister gets."

Ben laughed at his sons. "Alright you three. Adam and Hoss, you seem to have forgotten that Cat asked if Joe could come to town. I said he could but he had to do everything she said. Just think, if he hadn't been there, I would have been the one loading the wagon three times. I don't know about the pair of you," he said looking at Adam and Hoss, "But I'm not going to be the one to tell your sister she has no clue what she's doing and the wagon was loaded correctly the first time. What happened to the crates of things we purchased in Denver? I didn't see them after the wagon was unloaded."

"I took them up to my room," said Adam. "I wanted to go through the toys to see which ones I'm going to give her now and which ones I want to save for Christmas. I thought we could surprise her with the books and toys when she returns with Mary and Laura tomorrow morning. I'm sure all three girls will enjoy opening the crates and looking inside."

"That's an excellent idea son. I can't wait to see the expression on her face, especially when she sees the toys as she's never had any of her own. I took her out to Silver Hawk's village this morning and she didn't want to leave. I noticed her carefully watching the way we came home and I'm concerned she may try and get back out there on her own. I do not want her going out there by herself just yet. If any of you catch her, give her a couple of swats, bring her to me and I'll deal with her. If I'm not home, put her in the corner and I'll take care of her when I return. I hope I'm wrong, but the way she was complaining about being treated like a baby, I'm positive she's going to try. She wants to go back to Dodge because she had a lot of friends there and was allowed to go anywhere she wanted as long as an adult knew where she was going."

"I understand that," said Hoss. "Poor little critter is lonely here. She ain't got nobody her own age to play with and you won't let her go anywhere or do anything alone. I'm sure she rode a full sized horse in Dodge but you want her to ride a pony. I'm sure one of us is going to have to take her to school all the time. Ya can't keep her penned up here at home Pa. She'll go stir crazy if she ain't allowed to do stuff on her own."

"That's exactly what I want to do is keep her here, safe at home. I don't want her getting hurt. She's just a little girl and there's no telling what could happen to her. I almost had a heart attack when she was driving the buckboard home and the horses spooked. The only reason I insisted she finish driving home is because I didn't want her to be afraid to even ride in a wagon or buggy. She is much too independent for a nine year old and I don't want anything happening to her. I wish Kate had brought her to me instead of leaving her with Matt. Then she wouldn't be so independent and wild. I told her that she was going to go to the Ingalls by herself tomorrow morning but I'm wondering if Adam or I shouldn't follow behind her just to make sure nothing happens."

"If you do that and she finds out, which she will, we'll lose her forever," said Joe. "Remember, she's got money to send telegrams to Rip, Matt, and her Godfathers if you treat her like a baby or try to break her spirit. I know that she gave the money to Roy and he will send those telegrams for her. You weren't that overprotective with us so why are you being that way with Cat?"

"I'm being overprotective with your sister because she's just a little girl and has been through too much already in her young life."

"If you feel so strongly about it, why did you take out to Silver Hawk's village this morning?" asked Adam. "You knew that once she found out there were Indians living near the Ponderosa, she would want to go there as often as possible. What did he say about her?"

"He said that if I only allow her to go places when she is with an adult, she will become like a flower in the winter and wither up and die."

"Is that what you want?" asked Joe. "Because if you don't give her more freedom, she will leave on her own. I know that Adam has seen her looking at the maps and thinks she knows how to get to Rip's fort on her own. She may even ride out to Silver Hawk's village and ask him for help getting to Rip or the Apaches. Either way, she will never be allowed to come back here. Rip and Matt will see to that. How do you think Kate would feel about you trying to keep her daughter cooped up here at home?"

While her father and brothers were talking, Cat had crept out of bed and was sitting on the top step listening to everything that was being said. She couldn't believe that her father was going to break his promise and have someone ride to the Ingalls with her. She decided that she was going to figure out how to get back to Dodge. It would take some planning because she'd have to take Fury and Lady as well as Star, her puppies and some of her clothes. It was a long way to Dodge, so she was going to need help getting there. She decided to ask Silver Hawk for help getting to the Apaches. Once she was with them, they would take her to Uncle Rip and he would take her to Uncle Matt in Dodge. Uncle Roy had her telegram money and she could always ask him to send telegrams to Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip. One of them would come and get her. Cat reasoned that it was all her mother's fault. If her mother had stayed in Australia, she wouldn't have gotten killed and then she would still be in Dodge where she was happy. She was tired of not being allowed to go anywhere or do anything by herself. When she lived in Dodge, she could go anywhere and do anything she wanted as long as an adult knew where she was and her schoolwork got done. She figured she had better go downstairs and use the outhouse before she got caught being out of bed and listening to what was being said. It had been easy to listen when she lived in Dodge. The little room she shared with Uncle Matt didn't have a door, just a blanket for a curtain and since everyone thought she was asleep, nobody talked in whispers. Cat walked downstairs followed by her puppies.

"Catherine, what are you doing out of bed at this time of night?" asked Ben. "You should have been asleep a long time ago."

"I have to use the outhouse."

"Would you like ol' Hoss to carry you Punkin?"

"Sure Hoss. That would be swell."

"Alright then. You just climb up on my back and I'll carry you to where you need to go."

When Cat finished in the outhouse, she climbed back on Hoss' back and he started carrying her back to the house.

"Hoss, can I ask you something."

"Of course you can Punkin. You can always ask ol' Hoss anything at all."

"Why doesn't Pa love me?"

"What do you mean? Pa loves you a whole lot. He always has ever since your mother said she was going to have a baby."

"He doesn't act like it. He won't let me go anywhere or do anything by myself. When I was in Dodge, I could go anywhere or do anything I wanted as long as an adult knew where I was and my schoolwork got done. I used to do most of my schoolwork while I was fishing. If I needed help with my Arithmetic, I went over to Julie's house or out to the Tanners when I got done fishing. I could go swimming in the creek with the other kids and even got to use the rope swing. Pa won't let me do any of that stuff by myself. I always have to have a grown up with me and it's not fair. When I was in Dodge, I always rode a big horse when I was running telegrams for Mr. Brown and Uncle Matt never took my money away from me."

"I know Punkin. It's not that Pa don't love you. He just wants to keep you safe. He's afraid you'll get hurt and he don't want that to happen."

"I'm tired of being treated like a baby. I'm going to ask Uncle Roy to send telegrams to Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip and ask them to come and get me."

Hoss sat down in the rocking chair on the porch and put his sister in his lap. "You've only been here a week Kitten. And you are just a little bitty Kitten. You won't be a full grown Cat for a long time yet. Why don't you wait a little while longer and see if things get better? If'n they don't, I'll take you to Matt or Rip myself and maybe Little Joe will come along, but you've got to give it time. Pa's got to get used to the fact that you are more independent than he'd like you to be and you've got to get used to the way thing are done around here. You won't always have to have someone with you when you go somewhere or do something, but you've got to wait a little while. You can't say exactly how things are always going to be just by the way they've been your first week here. We've got to teach you how to get around the ranch so's you don't get lost. I know you know how to get out to Lake Tahoe and to the Ingalls by yourself, so that's two places nobody needs to go with you. I know Pa said you can't swim in Lake Tahoe unless an adult is with you and there's a good reason for that. The lake is a lot bigger and deeper than the creek you and your friends played in near Dodge. Storms blow up might quick out there and you ain't learned how to read the weather real good yet. I'll show you where there's a pond close to the house you can swim in by yourself. It's not as big as the lake, but it's a whole lot safer and you won't need to have an adult with you. I think Joe and I were twelve or thirteen before we were allowed to swim in Lake Tahoe without Adam or Pa with us, so Pa's not treating you any different then he did me and Joe when we were nine. Now it's late and you've got a full day planned for tomorrow, so's I'd better get you back to bed. I want you to promise me that you'll wait a while before having Roy send those telegrams for you."

"Ok Hoss. I'll wait for a little while but not too long."

"That's my girl. I'll talk to Pa and see if I can convince him to let you ride Star all the time instead of just when you're with one of us. Will that do for starters?"

Cat hugged him. "Thank you Hoss. Yes, it will do for now. I'm nine years old and I'm tired of Pa and Adam treating me like I'm a baby."

"Ok then. Let's get you back to bed before Pa wonders what's takin' us so long and comes lookin' for us."

Ben wondered what was taking Hoss and Cat so long. He got up out of his chair and opened the front door. When he saw Hoss in the rocking chair with Cat in his lap, he decided to wait for Hoss to tell him what was going on, so he quietly closed the door and went back to his chair. Hoss carried his sister back into the house and upstairs to her bedroom. He put her puppies in bed with her and said, "It won't be much longer and these two will be able to get in bed without any help. Goodnight Punkin. I promise, I will talk to Pa about what you told me when I go back downstairs. I can't promise that he'll listen to me but I will talk to him. Now, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I know Joe has told you. You are not allowed to have any more nightmares, ever. Ifn you do, I'm gonna hold you down while he tickles you and you have an accident in your pants. So no more nightmares ever."

"Ok Hoss. Thanks."

"You're welcome Kitten. Now get some sleep or you'll be too tired to play with your friends tomorrow."

"What's wrong with your sister?" asked Ben when Hoss went back downstairs.

"She wanted to know why you don't love her."

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. Cat doesn't think you love her and wants to go back to Dodge. She was planning on having Roy send telegrams to Matt and Rip."

"Why would she feel that way? She knows I love her. I tell her several times a day how much I love her."

"She thinks you don't love her because you're being so overprotective. You won't let her go anywhere or do anything by herself. She told me that when she was in Dodge, she could go anywhere and do anything she wanted to as long as an adult knew where she was and her schoolwork got done. She used to do most of her schoolwork while she was fishing and if she needed help with Arithmetic, she got the help when she got back from fishing. She rides a full sized horse in Dodge but you want her to ride a pony. Cat is nine years old and she feels like you think she's a baby and are treating her like one. I explained why she's not allowed to go swimming in Lake Tahoe alone and promised to show her the pond she can swim in. I also promised her that I was going to talk to you about letting her ride Star or another horse all the time, not just when one of us is with her." Ben frowned at Hoss' statements about letting her swim alone in the pond and ride a full sized horse all the time. "I also promised her that if things don't get better for her after a few weeks, I'll take her to Dodge myself."

" **What do you mean you told her you'd take her back to Dodge yourself?!** " Demanded Ben.

"I want to see her happy, even if it's in Dodge. She ain't happy here 'cause she's lonely and you won't let her do nothin' on her own. She's convinced that either you or Adam are either going to go with or follow her when she goes to get Laura and Mary in the morning."

"Hoss is right Pa." said Joe. "Cat is not a typical little girl. She's learned to do things for herself because of the way she was raised. She spent almost a year living with the Apaches and knows how to do things most nine year olds, especially girls don't know how to do. You took her out to Silver Hawk's village and then told her she couldn't go back unless one of us was with her. When are any of us going to have time to take her out there and let her stay there all day? I know she's only been here a week, but we've got to start showing her how to get places on her own or she'll either have Roy send those telegrams or she'll try and get to Rip or Matt on her own."

"I know that you boys are right but that doesn't make me want to protect her and keep her safe here at home any less. She's been hurt so much already first with Kate just leaving her with Matt and not even bothering to write to her, and then coming back and getting killed with Cat standing right next to her. I was all set to start giving her more freedom when the team ran away with her this afternoon. Now all I want to do is hold her close and protect her from ever getting hurt. Silver Hawk is planning on adopting her next Tuesday and now I'm not even sure I want to let him go through with it because he is going to use a large knife to cut her finger."

"How big of a cut is he going to make?" asked Adam. "Somehow I don't think Cat's going to be worried about it since she's been through the adoption ceremony twice already. Think about this question and see if you can answer it. If Kate had brought Cat here instead of to Matt and Grandfather came here and demanded you give her to him, would you have said no to your father?"

"It's going to be a small cut and I know that your sister isn't a bit worried about it. I'm just being overprotective. That's the same question Charles Ingalls asked me and the answer is I don't know and I do know that's why Kate took her to Matt instead of bring her here. She just couldn't depend on me to say no to our father."

"I have an idea," said Hoss. "But first, you have to start easing up on Cat by letting her ride a bigger horse than Ginger and let her go swimming in the pond by herself. She's a good horsewoman. I read that letter from Julia Grant and shore was impressed at how good a rider little sister is when her horse got spooked by a rattler and she didn't panic but instead slowly brought the horse to a stop. There ain't many people who can do that without hurting their horse or themself. She ain't real good at knowing what time it is without a clock or watch, so someone will have to go and get her when it's time. We're going to have to start teaching her how to know how to tell time by the sun. Otherwise when she's out by herself, she may not start for home until almost dark."

"Alright Hoss. Starting tomorrow, Catherine can ride Star for a while. Then we'll see about a bigger horse. Maybe by the time Fury is old enough to ride, I won't want to be so overprotective of her. What is your idea?"

"Cat keeps saying that the Apaches taught her how to track real good and how to hide and not be found. I say we put her to the test on Friday. One of us will ride out and hide somewhere on the ranch and Cat will try to find him. We'll give the person hiding an hour's head start to make it fair. Then we'll let Cat do the hiding and we'll try to track her. If she wins both parts of the game, you show her how to get out to Silver Hawk's village on her own, let her go there alone, and all of us start showing her how to get different places on the ranch. If she wins one part of the game, we just start showing her how to get to more places on the ranch by herself. If she doesn't win either part of the game, you start easing up on her slow like and start by just teaching her places that are close by the house. Adam, Joe, what do you two think? Will it work?"

"I think it's an excellent idea," said Adam. "She can't say we're treating her like a baby if we do that and it will prove to her that you do have some trust in her abilities."

"That's a great idea Hoss," said Joe. "I'm sure Cat will enjoy showing off some of the skills the Apaches taught her."

"The only thing is Pa," said Hoss. "You have to let her go and hide on her own. Nobody can go with her because it will be too easy to track one of our horses. Each of our horses has a special mark on his right rear shoe to make it easier to find the horse if he gets stolen or the rider if something happens to him. Cat doesn't know that so she won't know what to look for."

"That sounds like a good idea and I'm tempted to go along with it," said Ben. "But when she's off on her own, how will she know when it's time to come home? I don't want her out past suppertime. There are too many dangers for a nine year old alone at night."

"I done got that figured out too Pa. We give her a watch and tell her if she ain't been found three hours after starting out, she needs to come home. Also, to be fair, she needs to stay in the house when one of us hides so she can't see what direction he took off in and we need to do the same when she hides. One more thing is Cat keeps her puppies with her. They may be young, but one of them can git help if she needs it, but they can't help her with tracking."

"Alright son. I'll go along with your idea although I'd like to wait one more week just to give us time to show her a little more of the ranch. I won't follow her in the morning when she goes to get Mary and Laura either. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if she wants to go and invite Mitch to the picnic before she goes to the Ingalls."

"That's easy Pa," said Joe. "Let her go. I'll draw her a map so she won't get lost."

"Alright. You three win. I'll try to stop wanting to be so overprotective but it won't be easy. I want to wrap your sister in cotton wool and treat her like a China doll."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe burst out laughing. "Yeah, like that's going to go over well," laughed Joe. "She's too much like her mother to stand for that."

"I know son. My sister was wild and her daughter is even wilder. I guess I'm going to have to accept that Catherine will never be a typical little girl. I don't have to like it, but I do have to learn to accept it."

"Why don't you ride out to the Ingalls after the girls come back here tomorrow morning?" asked Adam. "Then you can ask their advice about how to keep Cat safe without being overprotective. If you wait until the girls get here, Cat won't think you're following her. You don't even have to say where you're going, just that you have some errands to do and will be back before dinner."

"Alright Adam. I'll ride out and ask Charles and Caroline what to do about our little Wild Cat. Now, I suggest we all get some sleep. We're going to be entertaining three little girls all day tomorrow. I'm going to write in my journal for a little while and I'll see you in the morning."


	45. Chapter 45

The next morning Ben found all three of his sons in the barn tending to their horses. "I'm glad you're all together. I need your help playing a little trick on your sister. I want to show her that she's never alone even when she thinks she is or wants to be." He told them what he wanted to do and they all agreed. "She won't be happy when I first tell her that she won't be going to get Mary and Laura alone, but hopefully when we are finished, she will understand what I am trying to teach her."

During breakfast Ben said, "Catherine, I have decided that you will not be going to the Ingalls alone. I would not be doing my job as a parent if I let you go alone. Isn't that right boys?"

Before Cat could complain, Adam said, "Yes it is. Cat, unless you are planning to walk to the Ingalls and back, you will have at least one horse with you."

"I am sure that your puppies will not be happy if you leave them behind, so they will also be with you," said Joe.

"Don't forget your shadow," added Hoss. "Even if you don't have your puppies or a horse with you, your shadow will always be there."

"And last but most certainly not least," said Ben. "God is always with you. No matter where you go or what you do, God is there. You are never alone even when you think you are or want to be.

I know that you are unhappy because I insist that an adult is with you when you go most places. There are very good reasons for that. First of all, you have only been here for a week and do not know your way around the ranch yet. You could ride for two weeks and never see the entire ranch. I would be a very poor parent if I just let you ride off in any direction without being sure you knew where you were going and how to get back. I know that you were allowed to go anywhere you wanted in and around Dodge as long as an adult knew where you were. That was not always the case. You had to be taught how to get to those places and you had to be old enough to go there and back on your own. There will come a time when you will be able to go anywhere on this ranch without an adult with you, but that will not be this week or even next week. When your brothers or I are satisfied you can get someplace on the ranch and back again safely without one of us, then I will allow you to go there.

Second of all, you are my little girl and I want to keep you safe from harm. I want to wrap you in cotton wool and put you on a shelf like a china doll. That way you will never, ever get hurt. I'm tempted to just keep you in the house and take you everywhere you need to go in the buggy. Then I know that you'll always be safe and never get hurt. I also want to geld Fury because stallions can be dangerous and you could get hurt."

When he saw the expression on Cat's face, Ben knew he should not have told her the part about wanting to geld Fury. "I knew you just wanted to treat me like a baby. If you try and keep me in the house all the time and geld Fury, I will go back to Dodge, even if I have to go there by myself! I am not a baby! I am nine years old and I have three jobs in Dodge. Uncle Matt never treated me like a baby except for when he first got me. Hoss, you promised you would try and get Pa to stop treating me like a baby. When I see Uncle Roy on Sunday, I'm going to ask him to send telegrams to Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip for me. I'm going to go and start packing now so I'm ready when Uncle Matt or Uncle Rip come and get me."

"Now hold on just a doggone minute little sister!" exclaimed Hoss. "Pa didn't say he was going to just keep you in the house or geld Fury. He just said he wanted to because he don't ever want you to get hurt. Neither do the rest of us. Ifn Pa was really gonna do those things, do you think he would have let you help us mend fences or move cattle from one pasture to another? Would he have had Mr. Miller make you some work gloves or let Little Joe fix a hat for you? I don't hardly think so. Ya gotta learn the difference when someone says they want to do somethin' or they're gonna do something. There have been lots of times Adam and I wanted to wring Little Joe's neck but we ain't done it yet. However, ifn he don't quit tryin' to get out of doing his share of the work around here, I am gonna to throw him in the biggest mud puddle I can find. And when I'm done with him, I'm gonna let Adam take a turn. And ifn you don't quit sayin' you're gonna go back to Dodge when you've barely been here a week, you're gonna end up in that there mud puddle right next to Little Joe! Ya can't always have things your own way and ya gotta wait until we teach ya how to do somethin' or go somewhere before ya go tryin' it on your own!"

"Hey now. That's not fair," protested Joe.

"Joe's right. That's not fair," said Adam. "If anybody's going to throw baby brother in a mud puddle while he's still clean it's going to be me because I'm the eldest and I do not want to get my clothes dirty. You can have him when I'm finished with him. The same goes for little sister too. I'm the eldest so I get to throw her in the mud puddle first."

Hop Sing and Ben burst out laughing at the expression on the faces of the two youngest family members.

"The last person that pushed me down in the mud got a bloody nose," said Cat angrily. "So don't even try it!"

"Hoss and I aren't going to push you down in the mud. We're going to pick you up and throw you in a big mud puddle. There's a big difference."

"I don't care! You'll be real sorry if you put me in the mud!"

"Alright you three. Catherine, you need to eat before your food gets cold," scolded Ben.

"Missy Cat let food get cold Hop Sing have to throw in garbage. If Hop Sing throw food in galbage, Missy Cat be in big trouble and have to clean kitchen and not play with fliends."

Cat shot her elder two brothers and Hop Sing a nasty look. "You may as well give up Cat," said Joe. "I learned a long time ago that you can't win when they all gang up on you. Pa's right though. You do need to eat before your food gets cold. Flapjacks don't taste good when they're cold and as far as I know, Hoss is the only one who likes cold flapjacks. But then again, Hoss doesn't care if his food is hot or cold, just as long as he gets fed."

"Joseph, I am very unhappy to hear your brother say you are still trying to get out of doing your share of the work on this ranch," scolded Ben. "You are nineteen now and too old for such nonsense. However, since you insist on acting like you are a boy, I will treat you as though you are one. Catherine, from now on, whenever you are working with your brothers, you are in charge of Little Joe. If he does not do what you tell him to, let Adam or Hoss know and they will deal with him. If the two of you are working alone, let me know when you return home and I will take care of him."

"But Pa, Cat's only nine. Why should she get to tell me what to do?"

"Your sister had three jobs when she lived in Dodge. I spoke with all three men she worked for and every single one of them told me that she was a hard worker and never complained about anything she was asked to do. In fact, Quint told me that she often showed up for work when she was supposed to be on her way to school." Cat blushed and hung her head in embarrassment. "Although her motives for doing so were questionable, her work ethic was impeccable. Maybe you can learn a few things from your younger sister."

Then he reached over and gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug. "And as for you young lady, if I ever hear of you stopping by the blacksmith shop to work when you should be on your way to school, I will throw you in a large mud puddle."

"But Pa, school is boring and dumb. Horses aren't."

"I am very well aware of your feelings toward school. However, it is important. As I have told you before, one day, this ranch will be yours. A good education is the key to running any successful business, including a ranch. Just remember, if I have to throw you in mud puddles too often, Hop Sing will make you wash your own clothing and may make you help with the rest of the laundry also. Also, as of today, you may ride Star all the time, not just when you're with one of us. I've seen you on horseback enough to know that you are a very good rider."

"Really Pa?"

"Really daughter. Just remember, the rule about jumping fences and other large or high objects unless you are in danger still goes. If you are caught jumping things you should not be jumping, you will be in very big trouble. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir. Just wait until Fury grows up. I'm going to teach him how to fly so we won't need to jump over anything."

Everyone had a good laugh at Cat's comment. "You go ahead and do that Kitten. I promise that you will not be punished for flying your horse over things. But until you do teach Fury to fly, no jumping over fences or other large objects unless you are running away from danger. I want you to be safe. Oh and one more thing. No jumping Star over any mountains higher than five miles unless one of us is with you."

"Ok Pa. I promise I won't jump Star over any mountains higher than five miles unless someone is with me."

"That's my girl. Now finish your breakfast and go get your friends. Be sure to remind them to bring their swimming clothes. I'll join the three of you at Lake Tahoe this afternoon so you can go swimming. What horses are you going to take?"

Cat got a very mischievous look on her face. "I'm going to take Sport and Chub and Cochise. If Carrie was coming too, I'd take Buck with me too."

"What are we supposed to ride?" asked Hoss.

"There's a whole barn full of horses. You can ride any of them."

"You little scamp. I should throw you in the trough like I wanted to last night," teased Adam.

"How are you going to saddle them?" asked Joe. "I seem to remember Hoss having to pick you up so you could saddle Sport the last time you rode him."

"I already talked to Sport and Chub. They're going to lay down so I can put the saddles on them."

"Alright Cat. If you can get Sport to lay down so you can put the saddle on him, you can ride him."

"Catherine," said Ben. "I'm not sure how well Laura and Mary ride, so even if you do ride Sport, I think you should take Ginger and Star for your friends."

"Alright Pa. I don't think they ride a lot except in the back of their Pa's wagon."

After helping Hop Sing clear the table, Cat went out to the barn to saddle some horses for her, Mary, and Laura. After saddling Ginger and Star, she walked into Sport's stall with his saddle and blanket. She asked him to lay down so she could saddle him, but the horse ignored her. After several tried, she grew frustrated and said, "Dumb ol' horse. I didn't want to ride you anyway. I'll find me a better horse to ride."

She was unaware that her family had been watching her until Joe said, "He's a lot like our Yankee Granite Head brother," earning a scowl from Adam. "They don't listen to anybody but themselves and each other. You can ride Coach today. I'll saddle him for you while you go and get your saddle bags for those two wild beasts that keep following you around. Don't forget to bring your hat. You need to wear it."

When Cat came back out of the house, she noticed that Hoss had attached long lead ropes to Ginger and Star's bridles. "You're not used to taking extra horses with you, so the lead ropes will give you a little bit of room between Cochise and the other two. Once you're mounted and your puppies are in their saddle bags, I'll tie the lead ropes to your saddle horn. That will make it easier for you to take them with you. Once you get to the Ingalls take the lead ropes off of Ginger and Star and loop them around your saddle horn. You can tie the horses to the hitching rail just like you do here."

"Ok Hoss. Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. Does Mitch live near the Ingalls so I can invite him to the picnic on Saturday?"

"He doesn't live too far from them," replied Joe. "Give me a minute and I'll draw you a map." Joe came back out of the house a few minutes later with a piece of paper in his hand and showed it to Cat. "Do you see this road? I've marked it for you. It's the one that leads to Laura and Mary's house. Now, to get to Mitch's house, go three roads past the one that leads to the Ingalls' house and take that road. When you get to where the road splits, take the left branch. The road will split one more time. Take the right branch. It will take you right to Mitch's house. I've marked everything for you so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Now, let's get you mounted and those two wild beasts in their saddle bags so you can go and get your friends."

Cat hugged Joe and started to mount Cochise when Hoss picked her up and put her in the saddle. Then Joe and Adam each put a puppy in her saddle bags. Joe handed her the map and Hoss tied the lead ropes around her saddle horn. Even though he had already done it twice, Ben checked to make sure the saddle cinch was tight. " ** _Paaaaa!_** " complained Cat. "How many times are you going to check the cinch? Joe saddled Cochise and I know he checked the cinch. You checked it three times already. Cochise is a real smart horse, but I don't think he knows how to undo his saddle."

Ben laughed. "Alright Kitten. You win. I'm just being overprotective. Now scoot before I decided to tie you to the saddle just to make sure you don't fall off."

Cat urged Cochise into a walk. "Come on Coach. Let's go before Pa decides to do something else that's silly. If we don't hurry, he might decide to ride double with me." When Ben pretended to try and grab the saddle horn to swing up behind her, she urged the horse into a trot and then a canter. Cat rode into the Devlin's yard about twenty minutes after leaving the Ponderosa and found Mitch cutting wood.

He looked up and saw Cat with two extra horses in tow. "Hi Cat. What are you doing, running away from home? Does Little Joe know that you stole his horse?" He helped her dismount and took the puppies out of the saddle bags.

Cat giggled. "No. I'm going to get my friends Laura and Mary but I came here to invite you to a picnic on Saturday at Lake Tahoe."

"I would love to come to your picnic. What time should I be at the Ponderosa?"

"I don't know. I forgot to ask. Ten o'clock I guess."

"Ok. I'll ride out later today or tomorrow and ask for sure. Come in the house for a minute and meet my family."

"Ok, but I can't stay long. Laura and Mary are waiting for me."

Just then a young boy around Cat's age ran up to Mitch, pushed him and tried to run off, but was grabbed by Mitch. The boy tried to get free but Mitch shook him and said, "Behave yourself Mikey. We have company. Cat, this is my little brother Mike. He'll be ten in November, so you'll both be in the same grade in school. Mikey, this is Little Joe's sister Cat. Now be polite and say hi."

The two children said hi and sized each other up. Just then Mike spotted Lassie and Silver Chief and got down on his knees and started petting the puppies. "Are these your puppies? How old are they?" he asked Cat.

"Yes they are. The one you're holding is Lassie and the other one is Silver Chief. They're almost five months old."

"They're cute. I like them. Do you want to play?"

"Thank you. "I can't play right now. I'm on my way to get Laura and Mary Ingalls. They're spending the day with me on the Ponderosa. We're having a picnic at Lake Tahoe on Saturday. Mitch is coming. We're going to go swimming and fishing. You can come if you want to. I don't think that Pa will care if you come too. Hop Sing is a real good cook."

"Who's coming?"

"My Pa and brothers, Laura and Mary Ingalls and their little sister and Ma and Pa, and Mitch."

"Ok. Thanks. I like Laura. She's fun to play with." He gave each puppy a final hug and ran off.

Mitch took Cat into the house and introduced her to his parents. Then he helped Cat remount Cochise and sent her on her way to get Laura and Mary.

Cat rode into the Ingalls' yard ten minutes after saying goodbye to Mitch. Charles met her in the yard and helped he down off Joe's horse and tied all three horses to the hitching rail. "Hi Cat. I thought you would have been here thirty minutes ago."

"I had to go to the Devlin's and invite Mitch to the picnic on Saturday. I met his brother Mike and invited him too. I hope Pa won't be mad at me."

"No Cat, your Pa won't be upset because you were polite and invited Mike to the picnic also. Now, come on in the house and say hi to Mrs. Ingalls and Carrie before you, Mary and Laura leave to spend your day on the Ponderosa."

Cat walked into the house and greeted her friends and their mother. "Mrs. Ingalls, can you please fix my hair? Little Joe braided it for me this morning but he didn't get it even and Hop Sing didn't have time to show him."

"Of course I will Cat. We'll teach your Pa and brothers how to braid your hair and get it even. Laura, please get your brush and comb for me. Cat, I would like you to think about doing something for me."

"What's that?"

"I would like you to think about wearing dresses to church on Sundays. Sunday is the Lord 's Day and everyone wears their best clothes to church to show respect to the Lord. I know that Hoss and Little Joe don't like wearing those starched white shirts and their ties, but they do, and I think you should wear a dress also. It's the right thing to do. Even my girls and I wear our best dresses to church. Mr. Ingalls wears his best clothes also."

Cat scrunched up her nose and sighed. "I hate wearing dresses."

"I know you do Sweetheart but it's only for a few hours a week. You looked so cute in that dress last Sunday and I would like to see you look that cute every Sunday."

"Ok. I'll think about it."

"That's my girl. Thank you for saying you'll think about it. Now, your hair is right, so the three of you girls can leave for the Ponderosa and you won't have to worry about your hair. Have a good time and remember if you get tired of playing, you can come back here and cook and clean." Carrie even laughed at the thought of anyone getting tired of playing.

Charles helped all three girls mount their horses, tied Laura and Mary's swimming clothes behind their saddles, and looped the lead ropes over Cochise's saddle horn. When he walked back into the house, Caroline said, "That girl needs a mother."

"And I suppose you would like to apply for that job?" teased Charles. "Ben and the boys will never give her up."

"I know, but it would be nice."

"You can mother her whenever you're with her. I know Ben will appreciate any help you can give him."

While the girls were riding back to the Ponderosa, Laura said, "Ma's right about you needing to wear a dress to church. Everybody wears their best clothes on Sundays, even little babies."

"Laura and I don't like wearing our best winter dresses because they scratch but we have to anyway," added Mary. "The dresses we had made last Saturday should be ready tomorrow. Mary and I will help you pick out a dress to wear to church this Sunday and we'll help you pick material for more."

"Come on Cat," pleaded Laura. "You don't want to be the only one not wearing good clothes to church. All of the kids will laugh at you and you'll get in trouble for fighting."

Cat looked at her friends and sighed. "I guess you're right. I won't like it but I'll wear a dress to church but not to school. If we're going to do something after, maybe Pa will let me take my buckskins and I can change in the outhouse after church. I hate wearing dresses!"

When they reached the Ponderosa, the girls found Gerald Miller getting off his horse. "Hi Mr. Miller," said all three girls together.

"Hello girls. Cat, is Adam home?"

"I don't know. Come inside and find out." Just then Adam walked out the door to see if the girls were there yet. "Mr. Miller wants to see you Adam."

"Thank you Cat. When you go inside, you'll find two crates on the table in the living room. They are for you. I took the nails out so you could open them. Gerald, please come in. I want to see Cat's face when she opens the crates."

Everyone went into the house and the girls went over to the table in the living room. Cat took the lid off one crate and exclaimed, "Look, it's all the books I got in Denver." She started taking the books out of the crate, naming some of the titles. "Arabian Nights, Robinson Caruso, Gulliver's Travels, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Robin Hood… Miss Jackson read that to us in school when I was five. Laura and Mary picked up some of the books and looked through them with wonder. They had never seen so many new books all at once.

"Can we take one of your books home and read it?" asked Mary. "We'll be very careful with it."

"Sure, as long as it's ok with Pa. I also have Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and King Arthur in my room. I'm reading that one but you can take any of the other ones."

"What's in the other crate?" asked Joe.

Cat took the lid off and all three girls eyes grew as big as saucers. "Toys!" exclaimed all three girls at once.

"Wow!" exclaimed Cat. "Are these for me? I never had my own toys before."

"Yes Cat," answered Adam. "Those are for you. I bought them while we were in Denver. All of those toys are meant to be used outside, except the jacks can be used inside on the floor when it's raining."

Cat took the hoop and stick out of the crate and asked, "What's this? I've never seen it before."

"It's a hoop and stick," answered Joe. "I'll show you girls how to use it when you go outside to play."

Cat pulled more of the toys out of the crate. "Oh look! I got marbles and tops and yo-yos. Pete and Mike each had one of them. Let's go outside and play. Is my swing put together?"

"Yes," answered Hoss. "I put the board on it right after you rode out. Why don't you put your books back in the crate and I'll carry them upstairs for you? Also, ifn you put your toys back in the crate, it will be easier to take them outside."

After the toys and books were put back in their crates, Mary asked, "Who's going to push us on the swing?"

"I don't know," said Cat. "I've got three brothers. Pick one."

Laura and Mary whispered for a minute and then Mary said, "We want Adam to push us on the swing."

"Ok. Adam, will you push us on the swing?"

"I don't have time. Get Hoss or Joe to do it."

"Pa, will you please tell Adam to push us on the swing?"

Ben laughed. "Alright Kitten. Adam, when you finish talking to Gerald, please push the girls on the swing."

"You're forgetting something older brother," laughed Joe. "There's a new number one rule in this house. What little sister wants, little sister gets."

Everybody except Adam laughed at Joe's statement. Adam threw his hands up in surrender and said, "Can't we throw her back and catch her again when she's bigger and not so much trouble?"

"Sorry son. I wouldn't let you do that with Little Joe and you can't do it with Cat either."

Adam sighed. "Alright. You three girls go outside and play. I'll push you on the swing when I'm finished talking with Mr. Miller."

"Thank you Adam," said all three girls as sweetly as they could, earning laughs from everybody.

"Joe picked up the crate of toys and said, "Come on you three. I'll show you how to use some of these while you're waiting for Adam." The girls followed him outside where he showed them how to use the hoop and stick as well as the other toys they had never seen before.

"That girl is more trouble than Little Joe was when he was a boy," said Adam.

Mr. Miller laughed. "Adam, you are just now beginning to get lessons in little sisters. They are a whole lot different than little brothers. Cat has only been here a week. Wait until she makes more friends at school and you have a whole house full of little girls."

"Three of them is more than enough. The last thing we need around here is a house full of little girls. I love Cat but if I had known how much trouble little girls were, I would have told Pa to leave her in Dodge and let Matt deal with her for a few more years. Anyway, enough about my newest headache. What can I do for you Gerald?"

"Since you are an architect, I would like you to look the school over thoroughly and let the school board know if it is structurally sound. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been examined since it was built and that was a long time ago. I don't even know if the roof leaks."

"I'll be more than happy to look the school over. I'll ride into town tomorrow and take care of it. Since the Ingalls girls are here, we can ask them if the roof leaks."

"That's an excellent idea. I've got to get back to town, Adam, thank you very much for agreeing to look over the school. The last thing we need is the roof coming off or worse during a bad storm. Enjoy your sister while she's still little. You will face a whole different set of challenges when she becomes interested in boys." Adam groaned inwardly at the thought of Cat becoming interested in boys. "Now, let's go and talk to Mary and Laura so I can get back to town."

He and Adam walked outside and Adam called the girls over to him. "Mary, Laura, Mr. Miller needs to know if the school roof leaks."

"Yes it does," replied Laura.

"It's very bad when the rain is heavy and Miss Smith wouldn't let anybody move away from the leaks," added Mary. "I'm surprised more kids didn't get sick."

"Thank you girls replied Mr. Miller. Don't worry about Miss Smith. She isn't going to be your teacher any more. Mr. Winter's sister is going to be your teacher this year. She's very nice and I think you'll like her. She used to teach when she lived in Philadelphia. Adam, I'm going to call a meeting of the school board for Monday night. I would like you to give us your findings then. School is scheduled to start two weeks from Monday and I need to know if we will have to postpone it for a week. Thank you again for offering to help. I greatly appreciate it. You girls have fun playing and don't tire Adam out too much having him push you on the swing."

After Gerald left, Adam turned to the girls and said, "Alright you three. Let's get this over with. I have a lot of work to do today. Which one of you is going first on the swing?"

"Mary is," said Cat. "She's the oldest."

Adam spent more than an hour pushing the three girls on the swing. Finally he said, "Ok. The three of you have each had several turns with me pushing you on the swing. Now, I have got to get some work done. So do Hoss and Joe. If you still want someone to push you, maybe Pa will do it or you can push each other."

"But it's more fun when you do it," said Mary.

"I understand. However, this is a busy ranch and there is a lot of work to be done. You can push each other or you can ask Pa to do it." He walked into the house to get his brothers.

When they walked out of the house, Joe looked at his brothers and said, "You two go ahead. The girls need someone to push them on the swing, so I'll do it." Adam and Hoss each grabbed one of his arms and carried him to the barn where they supervised him saddling a horse. When they walked out of the barn, Joe said, "You fellas don't need me. Hoss is always telling me how puny I am. At least here, I can help the girls."

"Little brother," growled Hoss. "Ifn you don't git on that horse right now, I'm gonna throw you across the saddle and tie you to it. Now git moving."

"You know Hoss," said Adam. "It seems to me that we've been carrying the load for baby brother for quite a while now. Why don't you and I lay around and watch him work for a change? That way we can both keep an eye on him."

"Now that's a mighty find idea Adam. After all, little sister is busy playing with her friends and won't be there to make him do his work, so it's up to us to do it for her."

Just before they mounted their horses, Cat walked up to her brothers and hugged them. Then she looked at Joe and said, "Be good and do all of your work today. You don't want Pa to get mad at you again." Then she got a mischievous look in her eyes and said, "Actually, don't do all your work today because if Pa is mad at you, you'll have to keep doing my chores and I'll have more time to play."

Adam and Hoss laughed. "That's telling him little sister. Don't you worry none. We'll make sure baby brother stays out of trouble, even if we have to throw him in the creek. Now you girls have fun today and we'll see you this afternoon."

"Aren't you going to come home for dinner?"

"No Cat," answered Adam. "We have a lot of work to do, so Hop Sing packed some food for us." All three girls were clearly disappointed. "We've got our swimming clothes with us so if we get our work finished in time, we'll join you at Lake Tahoe and we can all go swimming. If the three of you can stay out of trouble, maybe Hoss and I will swim out past the end of the tree and let you swim to us, but you have to stay out of trouble." All three girls giggled. With all of the toys, the swing and Cat's dolls and puppies to play with, they wouldn't have time to get into trouble.

The girls played with Cat's toys and puppies for a while when Ben came out of the house and asked, "Would you girls like me to push you on the swing for a little while?"

"Yes please!" answered all three together.

"Ok. Who went first when Adam was pushing you?"

"I did," said Mary.

"Ok. Who went second?"

"Laura did," replied Cat.

"Alright, then Laura will go first this time. Cat will go second and Mary will go third. The next time you play on the swing, Cat will go first, Mary second and Laura third. Then each one of you will have had a chance to go first." After each girl had taken three turns on the swing, Ben said, "It's getting close to dinner time. Bring your toys and I'll show you where you can put them in the tack room. Then you girls can wash up and play in Cat's room until dinner is ready. You can go riding after dinner. I need to spend a little more time working on the books and then I'll join you at the lake so you can go swimming." The girls put the toys back in the crate and Cat carried it to the barn. Ben showed her a spot in the tack room where she could put the crate. "This is where Little Joe kept his toys when he was a boy. As long as you put them back in the crate when you're done playing with them, you'll always know where they are. Now, go wash up and play in Cat's room until dinner is ready."


	46. Chapter 46

The girls played in Cat's room for about thirty minutes when Ben called them down for dinner. While they were eating, Cat told Ben that she had invited Mitch's brother to the picnic. "That's fine Sweetheart. Michael is a very nice boy and I think you will be good friends."

"I like Mike," said Laura. "He's fun to play with."

Ben laughed. "That's good to know. I'm sure you girls will have fun playing with him on Saturday. When Mr. Miller was here, he told me that Mrs. Hansen said your dresses were ready, so we'll all go to town tomorrow to get them."

"Cat is going to need more dresses," said Mary. "She said she'd start wearing dresses to church on Sundays."

Ben was so surprised at Mary's announcement that he dropped his fork. "Oh? And how did you convince her to do that?"

"Laura did. Ma asked her to think about it but Laura convinced her she needed to."

"Laura, I think I am going to adopt you. How did you convince Catherine to wear a dress to church?"

"I told her that she would be the only one not wearing good clothes, all of the other kids would laugh at her and she'd get in trouble for fighting."

"I'm only wearing a dress for church and nothing else, not even school."

"That's fine. I'm very happy to hear you say that you are going to look like a little girl for church. I guess we're going to need to get you some more hair ribbons and sunbonnets also. I'll see if I can talk Mrs. Ingalls into letting her girls get a few more dresses, sunbonnets and hair ribbons."

"I'm still wearing my hat until we get to town."

Ben laughed. "That's fine Kitten. I think you looked cute with your hat over your sunbonnet. Don't worry. I'm not even thinking about asking you to wear dresses to school. I am just happy that you are going to wear dresses to church. Now you girls finish your dinner then I'll make sure your cinches are tight and you can go for your ride."

Before setting out on their ride, the girls helped Hop Sing clear the table and told Ben that they would help with supper even if it was just setting the table and helping to carry food to it. Then Cat got her swimming clothes from her bedroom and everyone went outside. "Little girls be caleful at lake," said Hop Sing. "No swim unless Mistah Ben, Adam, Hoss, or Little Joe there too."

"Don't worry Hop Sing," said Mary. "We won't. Mr. Cartwright, is it ok if we go in deep enough to get our ankles wet?"

"Yes it is. In fact, you can go in deep enough to get your legs wet half way up to your knees. If any of Catherine's brothers get there before I do and start scolding you, tell him that I said you could."

"Gee thanks Pa," said Cat and all three girls hugged him.

"You're welcome. Now, let me make sure your cinches are tight. I can't have any of my girls falling off because their cinch was loose." He helped all three girls onto their horses, tied Cat's swimming clothes behind the saddle and put her puppies in the saddle bags. "You girls have fun and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Ben started to walk back to the house when Cat called him. "Pa, I forgot to get a ball for us to play with at the lake. I put them in the crate with the toys. Would you please get one for me?"

Ben laughed. He was sure this wouldn't be the first time that or a similar request would be made. "Sure Sweetheart. I'll get a ball for you girls." He returned a few minutes later carrying one of Cat's balls. "Who gets to carry the ball, Lassie or Silver Chief?"

"I guess Chief can keep it with him."

Ben put the ball in the saddle bag with Silver Chief and said, "Ok girls. You've got your puppies and a ball. Have fun at the lake and I'll join you shortly." The girls rode off toward Lake Tahoe and Ben walked back into the house to work on the books. He looked at the books on his desk and thought, 'I should turn these over to Adam, but I need his help with so many other things around here. Sometimes I think I depend on him too much. Hoss was never very good with figures so that leaves Joseph. He's nineteen now and it's time he started helping more with the day to day running of the ranch. It will be interesting to see if having a younger sister depending on him will help settle him down.' He spent about twenty minutes working on the books, put them away and walked into the kitchen to talk with Hop Sing. "I'm going cross eyed working on the books, so I'm going to ride out and join the girls at the lake. Would you like to come along? I know the girls would be thrilled if you did. You spend too much time in this house and need to get out more. The girls offered to help with supper anyway they can, even if it's just setting the table and helping to carry food to the table. In fact, I'm not going to take no for an answer this time. I'll go saddle a horse while you get some clothes to swim in." Ben laughed as Hop Sing walked into his room, mumbling in Chinese the entire time. Less than ten minutes later, they were on their way to join the girls at Lake Tahoe. When they arrived, they found the girls in the water near the shore, playing with the ball Cat brought.

All three girls squealed with delight when they saw Hop Sing. "Hop Sing, we're glad you're here. Come and play with us," they all called at once.

He got off his horse and said, "Hop Sing change clothes then play." He went behind some bushes, changed clothes and joined the girls in the water. Ben joined them a few minutes later. After playing with the ball for a while, Ben tossed it up on the shore near the pile of the girls' clothing and everyone went for a swim. The girls were careful not to swim out past the end of the tree and were rewarded about thirty minutes later when Adam, Hoss, and Joe joined them. Cat's brothers swam out past the tree and invited the girls to swim to them. Everyone played in the deeper water for about thirty minutes and then went back to shallower water. Then Adam, Hoss, and Joe each grabbed a girl and put her on his shoulder. With Cat's brothers hanging onto their legs the three girls laughed and giggled as they tried to push each other into the water. Mary was on Hoss' shoulders and won because he tripped his brothers, causing them to drop Laura and Cat. Ben and Hop Sing laughed loudly as Cat and Laura tried to push Hoss down into the water. Seeing their little sister and her best friend struggling to push Hoss down, Adam and Joe decided to help them. Mary joined in too and eventually, the five of them were able to push the big man down.

"Hey, I helped you win Mary. Why did you help them push me down?"

"Because you cheated. You're not supposed to cheat."

Hoss pretended to be angry and picked up his brothers and the girls and threw them into deeper water, being careful not to throw the girls too hard. Everybody played and swam for another hour when Ben said, "It's getting late. We need to get dried off and head for home so Hop Sing can make supper. I don't want to keep Mary and Laura out too much past their bedtime especially because tomorrow will be another long day as we have to go to town. Which one of you girls made that small fire near your clothes?" The girls really wanted to keep swimming, but they didn't argue.

"I did," said Cat. "The Apaches taught me how when I was five or six. They taught me how to make a lean-to this time but I'm not real good at it yet."

"That's something that takes time and practice to master. The more you try, the better you'll become at it. You did a good job with that fire. All we need to do is put more wood on it and we'll be dry in no time at all."

"Since I knew we were going to be swimming, I didn't want to put much wood on it. I was afraid it would get too big and I wouldn't be able to put it out."

"That's fine. You did the right thing. It's much easier to put a small fire out than it is a big one. I am very proud of you for thinking about being safe."

Once everyone was dry, they decided to ride back to the house in their swimming clothes and change there instead of behind the bushes. Everyone tied their clothes behind their saddles and put out the fire. Cat tried to get her puppies but they weren't ready to go home yet. They had been chasing small fish near the shore and wanted to continue. Silver Chief grabbed Cat's ball and ran off with it. Lassie followed him. "Chief, Lassie, come on," called Cat "It's time to go home now so we can eat supper." The two puppies refused to go to Cat so she and her friends started chasing them."

"Sometimes I'm not sure who is more trouble," remarked Adam, "Cat or her puppies. Since we're already at the lake, I don't see why we can't throw them back and catch them again when they're not so much trouble."

"You don't really mean that," laughed Ben.

"Of course I do. We should throw Little Joe back too while we're at it. He's still more trouble than he's worth."

"Ah but think how dull your life would be without your youngest brother and little sister."

"It would be wonderfully quiet for a change."

Ben laughed. "I would give you a week and then you would be complaining that things were too quiet. It looks like the girls need some help rounding up those puppies. We should help them so we can get back to the house."

With some help from Hoss and Joe, the puppies were eventually caught and handed to Cat who scolded them, unaware that Adam was listening. She hugged them and said, "Look you two, you have to be good. Adam doesn't really like us much and wants us to go away. I don't think he can make me go away but I might have to give you away and I don't want to do that. I never had a puppy before and I love you and want to keep you forever."

Adam walked up to Cat, sat down beside her, put an arm around her, hugged her, and took Lassie from her. "You couldn't be more wrong. Not only do I like you and these wild beasts, I love you very much."

"But you keep saying…"

"Yes, I keep saying that you're more trouble than you're worth and I want to throw you back and catch you when you're bigger. I've been saying those exact same things about Little Joe for nineteen years now and he's still around. You're both so small, I want to treat you like a fish that's too small to keep and throw you back in the water and hope to catch you again when you're big enough to keep. The same thing goes for those wild beasts that keep following you again. But that doesn't mean I want to get rid of you or them."

"But Little Joe is your brother. I'm not really your sister. I'm just your cousin."

"Wrong again. You are my sister. You were my cousin but now you're my sister. The next time I hear you say that you're not really my sister or part of this family, I will put you over my knees and warm your backside. I really do love you Cat, even if you are too small and more trouble than you're worth. If I didn't, you wouldn't have gotten that crate full of toys. And, in case you didn't notice, there were more books in that crate than you picked out. They didn't buy themselves. We're just going to have to make you eat a lot more so you won't be so small. Now, let's get back to everyone else before they think we got lost."

Ben was getting worried because Cat and Adam were taking so long after the puppies had been caught, so he sent Hoss to see what was keeping them. He listened to part of the conversation and then rejoined the others. "Adam is having a talk with little sister. She thinks that because he keeps saying she's more trouble than she's worth and too small to keep, he doesn't like her and wants to get rid of her and her puppies. So he's tryin' to straighten her thinking out."

"I was afraid something like that was going to happen. You boys have got to remember that Catherine isn't used to being teased the way you tease Little Joe. Go easy on the teasing for a little while until she's more used to the way we do things."

Cat and Adam walked up a few minutes later. He still had his arm around her and was still carrying Lassie. Hoss picked Cat up and put her in Cochise's saddle while Joe put Silver Chief in one side of her saddle bags. Instead of putting Lassie in the other side, Adam put her inside his shirt. "I've decided to steal this one," he teased.

Cat giggled. "Don't forget what happened when we were at Uncle Luke's and you tried to steal Silver Chief."

"What happened?" asked Mary.

"Adam put Chief inside his shirt like he just did with Lassie. Chief had to go to the bathroom and wet all over Adam."

Hoss and Joe thought that was the funniest thing they had heard in a while and started laughing loudly. So did Mary, Laura, and Hop Sing.

"Yes, but Lassie is a lady and she would never do something like that."

"I don't care if she rides with you but don't blame me if she wets on you."

"Ok. I won't. I'll blame Little Joe instead." All three girls laughed at Adam's statement.

"Alright everybody, we need to get home," said Ben. "Supper won't make itself and everybody still needs to change clothes."

When everyone reached the house, the girls went upstairs to Cat's room where they changed clothes. Then they went down to the kitchen and asked Hop Sing how they could help with supper. "Little girls pick vegetables. Pick corn, beans, lettuce, tomato, gleen peppel, and cucumber."

"I don't know how to do that," said Cat. "Nobody in Dodge grew their own vegetables."

"We'll show you," said Laura. "We pick vegetables for Ma all the time. How much corn do we need to pick?"

"Hoss get four, Mr. Cartlight, Adam, and Little Joe get two, and little girls get one. Pick thlee lettuce, six tomato, four cucumber, and four peppel and bowl of beans." Hop Sing handed each girl a large bowl and also gave Mary a bucket for the corn and a large pair of scissors for the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Laura and Mary showed Cat how to pick vegetables and before long, they had enough picked for supper. When they carried everything back into the kitchen, Hop Sing said, "Little girls shuck corn and snap beans." Laura stayed in the kitchen to snap the beans while Mary and Cat took the corn outside to shuck it. When the beans had been snapped and the corn shucked, Hop Sing looked at everything and said, "Vely good. Little girls set table and then play until supper leady."

After the table had been set, the girls walked up to Adam and much to the amusement of his brothers asked, "Will you push us in the swing?"

He looked up from the book he was reading, glared at his brothers sighed and said, "I'm reading. Why don't you ask Hoss or Joe to push you?"

"Because we want you to," replied Cat. "You can read later after I go to bed."

He looked at his father for help and seeing the amusement in Ben's eyes, sighed and surrendered. "You are more trouble than you're worth. I wish Pa would let me throw you back until you're big enough to keep. Alright. I'll push you for a while. Whose turn is it to go first?"

"It's Cat's turn," replied Mary.

They went outside and Adam pushed each girl on the swing for a while. After Laura had taken her turn, he sat down on the swing and said, "I've pushed you girls twice today. I think you should push me for a while."

The girls giggled. "Ok," said Mary. "But you're going to have to help us get you started. You're a lot bigger than we are."

"Nope. You're going to have to do it all by yourselves. You didn't help me get you started so I shouldn't have to help you"

"But you weigh almost as much as Hoss does," protested Cat.

"Little sister, you are going in the water trough for that remark. I do not weigh anywhere as much as Hoss does. Now, I have pushed the three of you on the swing twice today. So therefore, you need to push me for a while."

The three girls tried pushing Adam but he kept his feet on the ground so they couldn't. The girls whispered to each other for a minute and then walked around to the other side of the swing. Ben walked out of the house just in time to see the girls push Adam off the swing backwards. He laughed loudly at the sight of his eldest son being manhandled by his younger sister and her friends. Adam got up off the ground, brushed himself off, picked all three girls up, and started walking toward the trough.

"Adam, what are you planning on doing to your sister, Mary, and Laura?" asked Ben. "I certainly hope you aren't planning to throw them in the trough."

"That is precisely what I am going to do. This sister of mine had the nerve to tell me that I weigh almost as much as Hoss does. Then she and her friends dared to push me off the swing. Tomorrow I am going to take her out to the lake and throw her back. We can catch her again when she's big enough to keep. In fact, I think I'll do the same thing to Joe while I'm at it."

"You need to stop teasing your sister like that. She's going to start believing that we don't want her any more. Now, it's time for supper. Everyone needs to wash up. Either put the girls down on the ground or carry them into the house."

"It would be a lot more fun to throw them in the trough."

Ben laughed. "Yes, I can believe it would, but supper is ready and everyone needs to wash up. You can throw the girls in Lake Tahoe on Saturday when we're out there for the picnic. Right now, all four of you need to come in the house. I do not want Hop Sing upset because you are late for supper.

Adam reluctantly put the three girls down and walked into the house. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright," said Laura and Mary as all three girls hugged Ben.

"You're welcome," said Ben as he hugged the three girls. "Now go and get washed up for supper. Hop Sing gets very upset when anybody is late for supper."

Cat was getting tired of Adam saying she was too much trouble, too small, and needed to be thrown back until she was bigger, so she decided to start teaching him a lesson. His hat was on the armoire so when she walked into the house, she picked it up and put it on the seat of his chair at the table. Ben saw her, smiled to himself but didn't say anything. 'So now it starts,' he thought. 'I wondered how long she would take being teased by him before she started to get even. This should be interesting.'

Hop Sing called everyone to the table. Adam happened to glance at his chair before sitting down and saw his hat in it. "What is my hat doing in my chair? Which one of you put it there, baby brother or baby sister?"

" **I am** ** _not_** **a baby!** I am almost ten years old and that is **_not_** a baby! It's not my or Joe's fault that you don't know where to put your dumb ol' hat."

"Your sister is right," teased Ben. "It is neither your sister's nor your youngest brother's fault that you did not put your hat where it belongs. I suggest you do so now and sit down so we can eat supper before this wonderful meal Hop Sing prepared gets cold." Adam sighed, took his hat and put it on the armoire. Since his back was turned, he didn't see Cat smile at their father or him give one of her braids a playful tug. Everyone else had a very difficult time to keep from laughing. "Hop Sing, this meal is delicious. If you cook like this everytime Mary and Laura are here, they're not going to want to go back home."

"That fine with Hop Sing. Little girls big help. They set table, pick vegetables, snap beans and shuck corn. Little girls stay hele. They mole help than sons. Hop Sing teach them how to cook good. Sons go to little girl's home and little girls stay here."

"Hey now Hop Sing, wait just a doggone minute," stammered Hoss. "You can't go trading me and Adam and Little Joe for two little girls. They ain't hardly big enough to do anything around here. Besides that, Mrs. Ingalls can't cook enough to keep me from being hungry."

"Hop Sing no cale. Little girls mole help than sons and no complain when told to pick vegetables, snap beans, shuck corn and set table. Sons complain evelytime Hop Sing tell them do something to help with meal."

The girls traded amused looks and giggled while Hop Sing and Hoss argued. "Catherine, who is going to take Mary and Laura home tonight?" asked Ben. "As much as I know you'd love to have them spend the night, they need to go home. Their parents will miss them and it wouldn't be fair to expect Mrs. Ingalls to cook for your brothers, especially Hoss with no warning."

"I am. I got them, so I'm going to take them home again."

"I'm sorry Sweetheart, but it's already dark outside and you're not allowed out of the yard by yourself after dark."

"Hoss can come with me."

"Not tonight Cat. You've had a full day and tomorrow is going to be busy also. You will need to get ready for bed shortly after supper."

Cat started to pout. Before she could say anything and get in trouble in front of her friends, Hoss said, "Let her come with me Pa. We ain't gonna be gone that long."

"Yeah Pa," added Joe. "I was out after dark with Hoss plenty of times while Adam was away at school. It's not that late and like Hoss said, they're not going to be gone very long."

"I realize that son, but you were not a nine year old girl. There is a big difference between a nine year old boy and a nine year old girl."

"If that is your only reason for not letting Cat go along with Hoss to take her friends back home, then you're just being overprotective again," countered Adam. "Cat will be just as safe with Hoss as Joe was when he was nine. In fact, she'll probably be safer because Hoss was only fifteen when Joe was nine and he's an adult now."

"Alright. Catherine can go with Hoss to take Mary and Laura home but nowhere else. Straight there and straight back again."

"Mister Cartlight spend too much time in sun today." Said Hop Sing. "He not think light. It late and dark outside. Number two son no going to take Missy Cat anywhele except to take friends home. He man not little boy now. He love Missy Cat and no let anything happen to her. Missy Cat safer with Hoss than with fathel and other brothers. Hoss sometimes have mole sense than number one and number three sons together."

Adam and Joe scowled and Ben burst out laughing at Hop Sing's comments. "Alright, alright You win. I'm just being overprotective again. Cat can go with Hoss to take the girls home."

"Thanks Pa," said Cat, smiling at her friends. Laura and Mary communicated silently across the table and decided to tell their parents about how overprotective Ben was being of Cat. They didn't think it was right he was trying to keep her from doing anything just because she is a girl and not a boy.

After supper, the girls helped Hop Sing clear the table and went upstairs to Cat's room so Laura and Mary could get their swimming clothes out of her room. "What book are you going to take?" asked Cat.

Her friends looked at the books again and then Mary said, "We'd like to borrow Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

"Ok. I just finished it and it's a good book. Maybe you can read it to Carrie too. I think she'll like it. Go ahead and take the book from the bookcase. Since Lassie and Silver Chief will be in my saddle bags, maybe Hoss will carry it inside his vest for us."

The girls walked downstairs just as Ben walked to the staircase to call them. Laura and Mary hugged him and thanked him for letting them spend the day on the Ponderosa. When they went outside, Cat handed the book to Hoss and asked. "Laura and Mary are borrowing my book. Will you please carry it for us? I'm afraid it will get dirty if I put it in my saddle bags with my puppies."

Hoss took the book, put it inside his vest and said, "Sure Punkin'. I'll be more than happy to carry your book for your friends. Now let's take them home before their parents start to worry that Pa decided to keep them too." All three girls giggled. Hoss picked each one up and put her on her horse. Then he put Cat's puppies in her saddle bags, mounted Chub and rode out of the yard with the girls.

They entered the Ingalls' yard fifteen minutes later. Hoss dismounted and helped each girl get off of her horse and handed Mary and Laura their swimming clothes and the book. The girls entered the house with the puppies and Hoss right behind them. "I found something I think belongs to you," said Hoss as he entered the house.

Charles and Caroline hugged all three girls. "Oh good. You brought this one back too," said Caroline as she hugged Cat. "I was afraid you would leave her at the Ponderosa."

"I'd leave her if I could. I know she'd love to stay, but Pa would kill me ifn I didn't bring her home with me. We had a hard enough time convincing him to let her come along."

" _Oh?_ " asked Charles. "Why, is she in trouble or something?"

"No, Pa's just being real overprotective and don't like it when she's out of his sight. In fact, he'd be real happy if he could just keep her in the house all the time and not let her do anything."

Before he could say more, Caroline said, "Girls, go and put your swimming things in with the dirty clothes so I can wash them tomorrow and then get ready for bed. You can tell us all about your day once you've changed clothes. Now Hoss, please tell us what your father is trying to do to Cat."

"He's being real overprotective of her. She wants more room to roam and he's trying to keep her as close as possible. When Cat came here this morning, he checked her cinch three times even though Joe saddled Cochise and checked the cinch himself. Pa didn't want her to come with tonight because it's after dark and he doesn't want her out after dark unless he's with her. When Joe pointed out that he was out after dark with me many times when he was nine, Pa said that there's a big difference between a nine year old boy and a nine year old girl. It took Adam and Hop Sing to convince him to let her come along. Adam, Joe and I had a long talk while we were out working today and we're going to start showing Cat how to get places on the ranch and back home again safely by herself. Ifn we wait for Pa to show her, she'll never be allowed to go anywhere on her own and then she'll try to get to one of her uncles on her own. Adam is goin' to town tomorrow to inspect the school house to make sure it's safe for the kids. I think I'll talk to him about sending telegrams to Matt and Rip to let them know that Pa's bein' real overprotective of Cat. Oh yeah, that reminds me. Pa said that the dresses for the girls are ready and he's gonna pick you and the girls up around ten tomorrow morning. He said that you'll eat dinner in town since you'll already be there. Well, I'd better be getting little sister home before Pa thinks we went to town."

"Hoss," said Charles. "When you have Adam send those telegrams, tell him to let Cat's uncles know that they don't need to do anything right now. Caroline can talk to your father tomorrow and I'll talk to him at the picnic on Saturday. Cat's only been here a week, so let's give things time to improve before they take any action. I do agree that you and your brothers need to start showing her how to get places on the ranch and back home again safely. She especially needs to be taught how to go to her parents' graves. That should be a place she should be allowed to visit anytime she wants to without anyone with her."

"Those are some good ideas. I'll let Adam and Joe know too."

Charles walked over to the ladder that led to the loft and said loudly, "Girls, you need to come down here. It's getting late. Cat needs to go home and your mother and I want to hear all about your day before you go to bed."

"Alright Pa," said Mary. "We'll be right down." Mary came down the ladder with Carrie close by so if she slipped, Mary could catch her. Then Cat and Laura came down. Mary had Cat's book in her hand and walked over to her mother and handed her the book. "Cat got a whole bunch of books and let us borrow this one. She already read it and said it was very good. We thought we'd read it down here so Carrie can hear it too."

"Pa and I read together every night before I go to bed. Except Little Joe's reading with me right now because I'm reading King Arthur and that's his favorite book. He reads one page and I read the next one and we read one chapter a night. When they finish this book, they can borrow another one. Pa and Adam got me a lot and said they'll get me more when I read all of them."

"That sounds like a fine idea," said Charles. "We'll start reading the book before bed tonight and Caroline, Mary, Laura, and I can all take turns reading a page until we have finished one chapter. Thank you for letting the girls borrow your book. That was very nice of you."

"You're welcome. They can borrow my books anytime they want to."

"You had better start for home now with Hoss before your Pa starts to worry about you. If he wonders why you were gone so long, tell him it's because Mrs. Ingalls and I tried to keep you and it took Hoss a while to convince us to let you go home with him." Charles and Caroline hugged Cat and Charles walked out with Hoss and Cat to where the horses were tied. After Hoss put her on Cochise, he and Charles each put one of her puppies in each side of her saddle bags. Then Hoss attached a lead rope to Ginger's bridle and tied it to Cat's saddle horn. Then he attached a lead rope to Star's bridle, mounted Chub, tied the lead rope to his own saddle horn, and started out of the yard with Cat riding next to him.


	47. Chapter 47

**Author's Note:** To my guest reviewer: Thank you for reading my story. I appreciate your comments. Cat saw the wisdom in what Laura was saying about not wearing good clothes to church. She has Little Joe's temper and will start fights with anyone who teases her about wearing buckskins to church. Ben will have no problem giving her a few swats in front of everybody before taking her home for a necessary discussion in the barn. Don't worry, Cat's wildness will still come out even when wearing a dress on Sunday mornings and she may still get into some fights after church.

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No sooner had Hoss and the girls ridden out of the yard when Ben began pacing. Finally Adam couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Pa, will you please sit down and relax? You can't keep her next to you all of the time. She'll resent it if you try and we'll lose her. I'm positive that our little experiment next week will show that Cat is very good at hiding her tracks. If I'm right and she tries to get to Rip or Matt, it may be days before we find her, if we ever do. You don't see Charles and Caroline keeping their girls next to them all of the time, do you? In fact, have you ever seen any parents keeping their daughters next to them all of the time? I know I haven't, so why do you want to do it to Cat?"

"She's been hurt so much that I just want to keep her from ever being hurt again."

"She hasn't been hurt much more than other kids Pa," said Joe. "Lots of kids are orphaned and raised by relatives. Except for the occasional nightmare, she doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was standing next to her mother when she was killed. When I read with her last night, she told me that she wished her mother had never come back. Then she'd still be in Dodge where she was happy. Cat loves the Ponderosa but she's not happy because you're being so overprotective. I was just as frightened as you were when the team got away from her but she wasn't hurt, just scared and she was over it by the time we got back home. You saw that fire she built today. There aren't many nine year olds who can build a fire and know how to keep it from getting out of control but that's exactly what Cat did. From what I've seen since you brought her home, except for not being very good at building a lean-to, she can pretty well take care of herself."

"Joe's right," said Adam. Remember what we were told in Dodge? Cat is very independent, can take care of herself, and doesn't think she needs people. If we don't start showing her around the ranch so she can go places without one of us being along, we could lose her. Besides that, depending on what I find when I inspect the school tomorrow, she'll be starting school in another week. Do you plan on one of us riding with her every day? I certainly hope not. That would embarrass her in front of all the other children and she's liable to start some fights and then just leave."

"You're both right. I'll try to stop being so overprotective. I just want to keep her from getting hurt. I was fine until the team ran away with her. Once that happened, I became overwhelmed with the desire to keep her from ever getting hurt. She's my little sister's little girl and I need to do my best to keep her from harm."

"That's understandable," said Adam. "But you will never be able to keep her from ever getting hurt. Nobody can. You weren't that overprotective of Little Joe, even after Marie died. Why is Cat so much different? She's not much smaller than Joe was when he was nine."

"I guess it's because she's a girl. My little sister's little girl. That's the only explanation I can think of right now."

Adam and Joe just sighed. "Come and play checkers," said Adam. "Your pacing won't bring Hoss and Cat home any sooner. They'll be here as soon as they're done at the Ingalls'." Ben sat down and tried to concentrate on the game of checkers with his oldest son.

About an hour after leaving to take Laura and Mary home, Hoss and Cat rode into the yard at the Ponderosa singing a silly song they had made up. "And the cat said ribit," sang Hoss.

"And the frog said meow," sang Cat as she and her brother burst out laughing at their silly song.

"They're home. Now will you relax?" asked Joe. "Come on Adam. Let's give them a hand with the horses. It will take Cat a while to groom and feed two of them." The two brothers walked out to the barn where they spotted Cat trying to take the saddle off of Cochise. "I'll take care of Coach for you," said Joe.

"And I'll take care of Star," said Adam. "You take care of Ginger. She's not as big as the other horses, so it won't take you as long to groom her."

While they were grooming the horses, Cat said, "Thanks for letting me ride Cochise today Joe. I had fun. And you know what?"

"No, what?"

"Cochise can jump higher than Sport can."

"He can? Wow! I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me. But are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. The last time I rode Sport, he could only jump over a mountain that was ten miles high. Cochise jumped one today that was at least twelve miles high. It might have even been fifteen miles high."

"I am impressed, but didn't Pa tell you that you were only allowed to jump over mountains that were five miles high?"

"Yes he did, but that's only when I'm riding Star. He didn't say anything about when I was riding Cochise."

"Well, I'm making that rule now. No jumping Cochise over any mountains that are higher than five miles unless Pa, Adam, Hoss, or myself are with you. If you had fallen off when you were jumping that very high mountain, you could have been badly hurt. Mary and Laura aren't big enough to catch you. If one of us are with you and you fall off, we can catch you."

"Oh. I didn't think of that. Ok. I won't jump Cochise over any mountains that are higher than five miles unless one of you is with me."

"Thank you for that promise. Now, it's getting late so you need to finish grooming Ginger and get her fed. Then you need to use the outhouse so you don't have to do it once you're ready for bed."

Cat finished grooming and feeding Ginger and walked over to the outhouse while Joe went into the house. After Cat and Joe walked out of the barn, Hoss decided to talk to Adam about sending telegrams to Matt and Rip. "I talked with Charles and Caroline tonight and we think when you go to town tomorrow, you should send telegrams to Rip and Matt to let them know how overprotective Pa is being of Cat. Charles said to tell them they don't need to do anything now because Cat's only been here a week, but they should know what's happening."

"That does sound like a good idea. Pa will be in town tomorrow so I think I'll have Roy send them. Pa won't question why Roy is in the telegraph office but he will question why I am. Since I need to inspect the school, I think I'll take you, Joe, and Mitch along. With four of us looking things over, we shouldn't miss much."

"I'll be glad to help. It shore will be funny to see little brother have to ask Cat if he can have a beer with us when we're finished."

Adam laughed. "Yes it will be but it's his own fault. If he spent as much time working as he does trying to get out of it, he'd get a lot more work done and not always be in trouble."

"That's true, but he wouldn't be our little brother ifn he did that. You know he's always been like that, even when he was just a little tyke. Ma would tell him to put his toys away and he would try and get one of us to do it for him."

"I remember that. Marie would scold him and he would try to blame us. At least he's outgrown that."

While Cat was using the outhouse she heard strange noises on the roof. She walked out and looked up to see a pair of raccoon kits playing on the outhouse roof. "They are so cute," she said to her puppies. "I want them for pets. How can we get them to come down?" She looked around the yard for something to stand on and finding nothing, decided to try calling the pair down. "Here babies. Come down here so I can play with you. I want you to be my pets. I'll call you Bandit and Pirate but you need to come down here because I can't get up there."

After Joe had been in the house for a little while, Ben asked, "Joseph, where is your sister? She should have been finished grooming and feeding one horse by now."

"She was using the outhouse. I'd better check on her to make sure she's ok." Joe walked out of the house and looked toward the outhouse where he saw his sister trying to coax the young raccoons down from the roof. He picked Cat up, ignoring her protests and put her over one of his shoulders.

Cat kicked and pounded Joe in the back. "Put me down!" she demanded. "I want to play with the baby raccoons. They're cute and I want them for pets!"

He continued ignoring her and walked into the house followed by his brothers who wondered why their sister was over one of his shoulders.

Ben looked up from his book, saw his daughter over her youngest brother's shoulders and asked, "Why are you carrying your sister like that?"

"I caught her trying to coax a pair of raccoon kits down from the outhouse roof. This was the easiest way to get her to come into the house."

While Ben, Adam, and Hoss laughed at Cat, she kept kicking and pounding Joe on the back. " **Put me down! I want those babies as pets. I've already named them, so they are mine now!** "

Ben held out his arms. "Give her to me son. I'll settle her down."

Joe handed Cat to his father and said, "Good luck. Hoss named her right. Wild Cat is perfect for her. She fights like one."

Ben took Cat, sat her in his lap and held her tightly as she struggled to get loose. "Alright Cat. Settle down now. You can't have those raccoon kits as pets. Between you and your puppies we already have enough wild things in this house."

"But I've already named them so that makes them mine."

"You may have named them but that doesn't make them yours. They are wild animals and belong outside. Now settle down before I make you go to bed early." Cat continued to try and get loose while Ben tried to calm her down. He finally ran out of patience, turned her over and delivered a very hard smack on the seat of her pants. Cat yelped in surprise. "Now settle down before you end up going to bed with a very sore bottom. You have a choice. You can either settle down and play a game of checkers with Joe before bed or I can send you to bed right now with a sore bottom. Which will it be?"

"I'll play checkers but I still want those baby raccoons."

"I said no and that's the end of the discussion," he said sternly. "If you continue, not only will you be going to bed with a sore bottom, you will be spending tomorrow afternoon doing chores."

Cat didn't want a sore bottom and to spend the following afternoon doing chores, so she reluctantly went to play checkers with Joe. When she went upstairs to get ready for bed, she looked out her bedroom window but didn't see the raccoons any more. "If they're back on the outhouse after Pa blows out the lamp, I'm going to climb down the tree and try to get them to come in the house with me," she told her puppies. "I'll prove to everybody that they can be good pets."

While Cat was getting ready for bed, Joe said, "I'll bet a day's chores that if those critters are on top of the outhouse after she goes to bed, Cat will climb down the tree and try to get them to come in the house."

"No bet," said Adam. "That one would be too easy for you to win. I've seen what she's like around baby animals and we're going to have our hands full keeping her away from them."

"I ain't takin' that bet either," said Hoss. "That little Wild Cat is worse than I ever was."

"I hope she doesn't do something that foolish," said Ben. "I don't want to have to punish her for disobeying me." He walked upstairs a few minutes later to find Cat in her nightclothes taking her braids out. He picked up her brush and said, "Come and sit on your bed when you're finished and I'll brush your hair for you." While he was brushing her hair Ben told Cat, "If those raccoons come back tonight, you are **NOT** to go outside after them."

"But paaaa…"

"Catherine, if you disobey me on this, the spanking I gave you on Tuesday will seem like nothing compared to what you will get. This is your only warning. **DO NOT** go outside after those raccoons if they come back. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir but it's not fair. They're so cute and I really want them for pets."

"What did I tell you downstairs?"

"I couldn't have them for pets."

"That's right, I also told you that we were not going to discuss it any more, didn't I?"

"Yes sir."

"What else did I tell you?"

"I don't remember."

Ben smiled to himself. He remembered his father having a similar discussion with his younger sister and receiving the same response. "I told you that if you continued to discuss it, you were going to go to bed with a sore bottom and that is exactly what is going to happen."

"That's not fair. You're the one that started talking about them."

"No Catherine. I did not start talking about the raccoons. I told you what would happen if you went outside after them and you chose to start talking about having them as pets after you had been told not to do it any more."

"Yeah, but if you didn't tell me not to go outside after them, I wouldn't have said I wanted them for pets."

"Catherine…" Before he could say anything else, Adam interrupted.

"Pa, I need to talk to you."

"It can wait until I finish with your sister."

"No, it can't."

Ben sighed and walked out into the hallway. "What is so important that it can't wait for a few minutes?"

"Cat is right. You opened the door for her to say she wanted those raccoon kits as pets by telling her not to go outside after them and what would happen if she did. Until now, she hadn't mentioned them again until you brought the subject up."

"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with your sister?"

"No. I've been standing in the doorway for several minutes waiting to talk to you."

"What do you need?"

"Once she's ready for bed, I need Cat to come downstairs for a few minutes. Since you put her in charge of Little Joe, I need to ask her something."

Ben chuckled. "Alright son. I'll bring your sister downstairs as soon as I apologize to her." He walked back into Cat's room, sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. "I need to apologize to you. You were right and I was wrong. If I hadn't told you not to go back outside to look for those raccoons, you wouldn't have told me again that you wanted them for pets."

"They are really cute."

Ben hugged her and laughed. "Yes they are. Almost all baby animals are cute. Now, we need to go back downstairs. Adam needs to ask you something about Little Joe." They walked downstairs Ben sat down in his chair and pulled Cat into his lap. "What do you need to ask your sister Adam? It's time she was in bed."

"Gerald Miller asked me to inspect the school to make sure it was structurally sound. I want to take Hoss, Joe and Mitch Devlin along to help. With four of us looking at the school, we shouldn't miss much. Cat, you're in charge of Joe, so it's up to you if he comes with me or stays home."

"I should say no because you're going to inspect the school and I don't want to go to school. Joe, if I say yes, will you promise to do what Adam says and stay out of trouble?"

Ben, Adam, Hop Sing, and Hoss laughed at the expression on Joe's face. He was not happy about needing permission from his little sister to go to town. "Yes, I'll listen to Adam."

"Ok. You can go but nobody is allowed to fix the school. You have to tell me what's wrong with it so I can push it down. If I push the school down, I won't have to go to school."

Everyone laughed at Cat and Ben hugged her. "I'm sorry to tell you Kitten, but even if you push the school down, you would still have to go to school. We would just find somewhere for school to meet until a new one could be built."

"No! That's not fair. If there is no school building, there should not be any school."

"Missy Cat be silly tonight," laughed Hop Sing. "If you no go to school, how you learn to lead and light?"

"I would find a way."

Ben hugged his daughter. "Not every child is as clever as you are. That's why we need schools. Now, say goodnight to everybody and go up to bed. Joe will be up to read with you in a minute." He hugged her again, kissed her on the cheek, gave her a playful swat and sent her on her way. Cat hugged Hop Sing, Hoss, and Adam goodnight, called her puppies and went upstairs. Joe joined her a few minutes later. They read a chapter in King Arthur. Then he put her puppies on the bed with her, hugged her, blew out the lamp and went back downstairs.

"So, exactly what are we going to be doing at the school tomorrow?" he asked Adam.

"We are going to be doing a thorough inspection of the building to make sure it is sound. Laura and Mary said that the roof leaks but I won't know how bad the roof is until we get up there. The building is old and Gerald has no idea if it's ever been inspected or not. I don't want to take a chance that the roof could come off or a wall collapse with Cat inside. She's already been through a lot these past several months and I honestly think that if something happens to that school while she's inside of it, we'll never get her to go into any school building again."

"I agree son. If something happened to that school building with Catherine inside of it, we would never get her to go anywhere near one ever again. I'm afraid we'd be lucky to even get her to go inside of a church. I want to thank all three of you for looking out for her well being and safety as well as those of the other children in and around Virginia City."

"Why are you going to town tomorrow Pa?" asked Adam. "If there's something you need, we can get it while we're in town and save you the trip."

"Thank you son, but the dresses the girls had made last week are finished and they need to try them on. Also, your sister said she would wear a dress to church, so I want to get her some more."

All three of his sons laughed at his statement. "Anyone want to wager a day's chores on how long that will last?" asked Joe. "I'll give it three weeks."

"I'll take that wager," said Hoss. "I think she'll go four weeks."

"Count me in," said Adam. "I think she'll go until the weather turns cold. What about you Pa?"

"Apparently I seem to have more confidence in your sister than you do. I think that she'll keep wearing a dress to church and not wear her buckskins."

Just then Hop Sing walked in with a fresh pot of coffee. "What you bet on?"

"Pa told us that Cat said she was going to wear a dress to church on Sundays. We're bettin' a day's chores how long it will be until she changes her mind and starts wearin' her buckskins," said Hoss. "Little Joe says it will be three weeks. I say it will be four weeks. Adam here says when the weather turns cold and Pa says she won't start wearin' her buckskins."

"Hop Sing think Missy Cat go until end of October before not wealing dress to church."

"I am surprised that none of you seem to have much faith in Catherine," said Ben.

"It's not a matter of faith Pa," said Joe. "It's a matter of knowing Cat. There is a very good reason why Hoss named her Wild Cat and I think that she will continue to be wild long after she is married and has children of her own."

"Joe's right," said Hoss. "That little gal ain't never going to settle down. Whoever marries her is going to have his hands full."

Ben just sighed. He hoped that his sons were wrong and that Cat would eventually settle down. But then again, her mother never had. Even when she was pregnant, Kate had ridden like she was trying to outrun the wind. Michael had been the calmer of the two and Ben hoped their daughter had inherited some of her father's calmness. The five men sat and talked for a while then Hop Sing announced he was going to bed. Ben decided to take a walk while Adam, Hoss, and Joe went upstairs to get ready for bed. Joe had left Cat's bedroom door open and as the three brothers walked to their rooms, they heard Cat call out in the beginnings of a nightmare. They rushed into her room and sat with her until the bad dream passed. They hugged her and reassured her that all was well and she was safe. Once she had recovered from the nightmare, Adam said, "I'll take her to the outhouse this time. I think Pa wants her in his bed so if you two would please put her pillow and favorite blanket in there, I would appreciate it." He picked his sister up and carried her downstairs and outside to the outhouse. Ben returned from his walk and saw his eldest son carrying his little sister. Before he could ask what was going on, Adam said, "She had another nightmare. I said I'd bring her out here and Joe and Hoss are putting her pillow and favorite blanket in your bed."

"Thank you son. I wish I could find a way to prevent these nightmares. They have got to be hard on her."

"I'm sure they are. Hoss, Joe, and I also wish we could keep them from happening. We hate to see her all upset like that."

Cat walked out of the outhouse and Ben picked her up and gave her a big hug. "I'm sorry that you had another nightmare Sweetheart. I hope they go away and never come back very soon. Adam's going to take you back upstairs and put you and those wild beasts that keep following you around in my bed. I'll be up shortly."

"Come on squirt. Climb up on my back so I can get you back to bed." Adam carried Cat up to their father's room and put her in his bed. Hoss put her puppies next to her and Joe put the blanket over all three of them. After all three of her brothers hugged her, Adam turned the lamp down low and they walked out of the room.

"Come into my room for a minute," said Joe. "I have an idea and I want your opinion."

They walked into Joe's room and closed the door behind them. "What is your idea?" asked Adam.

"I'm not real sure, but I wonder if the nightmares might have something to do with the fact that Cat hasn't been able to grieve for losing her mother."

"Sure she has," said Hoss. "She's had two months now."

"Not really," replied Joe. "Everyone has kept her very busy and I think she needs time to sit and grieve for her mother. If the two of you don't mind, when we're in town tomorrow, I want to ask Reverend Long and Paul Martin what they think. If they agree with me, we can take Cat out to work with us tomorrow afternoon and when we're finished, I'll take her to her parents' graves. I'm going to teach her how to get out there so she can go there whenever she wants to. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to ask Pa if I can. He'll just say no. I think you'll both agree with me that she needs to be able to visit her parents. You know I go out there to my mother's grave when I need to be alone and think."

Hoss and Adam thought about what their brother had said. "I think it's a good idea," answered Hoss. "Joe is right Adam. Little sister ain't had time to cry over losing her mamma and I think she should."

"I don't know if that's the solution or not," said Adam. "However it certainly can't hurt. Cat does need to know how to get to her parents' graves and she certainly needs time to grieve. Pa had time to grieve for all of our mothers. I had time to grieve for Inger, and all of us had time to grieve for Marie. We showed Joe how to get there not long before I left for college. I'll take my measuring tape with us tomorrow but I'll forget to bring a pencil and paper to write down the measurements of any wood we'll need. I'll tell Joe to go and borrow a pencil and piece of paper from someone. That way if Pa comes over to the school and wants to know where Joe is, I can honestly say that I sent him on an errand. Believe it or not Joe, I agree with you not asking Pa if you can show Cat where her parents are buried and how to get there. He's being so overprotective right now, I'm certain he would say no because he knows it would upset her. I'm going to check on Cat and head for bed. I suggest you do the same before Pa comes up here and asks what we're doing. I'll see the two of you in the morning." He walked out of Joe's room and into Ben's to check on his sister.

"Adam's right," said Hoss. "Ifn Pa comes up here, we'll have to tell him what we're plannin' for tomorrow. I'm goin' to bed. Goodnight little brother. I'll see ya in the morning." Hoss walked out and Joe got ready for bed. Then he walked down the hall, entered his father's room and sat with his little sister.

When Ben walked into his bedroom, he was surprised to see his youngest son sitting with his sister. "Hi Pa," I thought I'd sit with Cat for a while. I feel so sorry for her when she has those nightmares. I wish I could keep them from coming."

"I know son. So do your brothers, Hop Sing, and I. Go on to bed. Your sister will be fine. I'll change clothes in her room and then I'll go to bed." The next morning Cat showed no signs of the nightmare she had experienced the night before. She took Adam's hat down from the hat rack above the armoire and put it in his chair in the living room. Ben watched her from his desk and laughed to himself. Adam came downstairs and almost sat on his hat. He glared at his sister who was helping Hop Sing set the table and demanded, "Cat, did you put my hat in my chair?"

Before she could answer, Hop Sing said, "Missy Cat help Hop Sing get leady for bleakfast. No have time to move Adam's hat. Number one son need to put hat whele it belongs!"

Joe and Hoss walked downstairs in time to hear Adam questioning their sister about his hat. They hugged their sister and laughed at Adam's frustration at his hat not being where it belonged. "What's the matter older brother?" laughed Joe.

"Did ya forget where your hat goes?" laughed Hoss.

"I don't suppose the two of you had anything to do with my hat ending up in my chair?"

"Now, you know we all went upstairs together and little sister was having a nightmare," answered Hoss. "Joe and I stayed upstairs while you took her to the outhouse and we just now came downstairs. So besides you, the only one who could have done anything with your hat is Pa and he ain't likely to go messing with your dumb ol' hat."

"I can't see Hop Sing moving your hat either," said Joe, immensely enjoying the prank his sister was playing on their eldest brother. "That means you must have put it in your chair yourself because Cat's puppies aren't big enough to take it down and put it in your chair."

Before the discussion could go farther, Hop Sing carried the food to the table and said, "Bleakfast leady. Evelybody sit down at table."

While they were eating, Ben asked, "Joseph, since you and Hoss came downstairs just before breakfast was served, who gathered the eggs this morning?"

"I did," answered Cat. "Joe let me ride Cochise all day yesterday, so I said I'd get the eggs this morning. Hop Sing showed me how to make flapjacks."

"That light," said Hop Sing. "Missy Cat get eggs and make flapjacks. She do good job and not burn any. She folget flying pan handle hot and almost burn self. Hop Sing tell her use towel just in time. If she be older, maybe Hop Sing not tell her but she just little girl and just learning to cook, so Hop Sing not let her burn hand."

"These flapjacks sure are tasty," said Hoss. "They're almost as good as Hop Sing's."

"Thank you for not letting Catherine burn herself Hop Sing," said Ben. "Hoss is right. These flapjacks are very good." Adam and Joe added their praise to their father and brother's.

"Missy Cat good pupil," said Hop Sing. "She learn quick when to turn flapjacks over. She not sure when to take them out of pan but she do good job for filst tly."

Cat blushed from the praise. "Thank you," she said quietly and went back to eating her own breakfast.

"What time were you boys thinking of going to town?" asked Ben.

"I thought we'd leave around nine," replied Adam. "That will give us time to get some work done around here first. Hoss and Joe are almost done with that list you gave them before we left to get Cat. If they work at it, they should get one more item about half done before we leave. I want to stop and get Mitch Devlin on the way to town. It won't hurt to have a fourth set of eyes looking at the school."

"That's an excellent idea. We'll probably be leaving about the same time. We need to stop and pick up Caroline and the girls. We'll be having dinner in town. The three of you and Mitch may as well join us. Catherine, since your brothers will be leaving for town at the same time we are, you can go out and watch them work. Joseph still has to do the morning chores, so after you help Hop Sing clear the table, you can go and work with Fury for a little while."

"Little sister made the flapjacks this morning, so I'll clear the table," said Hoss to everybody's surprise. "Her hard work needs to be rewarded and I don't mind clearing the table from time to time."

"Thanks lots Hoss," said a surprised Cat.

"T'ain't no problem at all little sister. Now you can spend a little more time working with that colt of yours."

"How is the training coming?" asked Adam.

"He lets me touch his legs now. He still won't pick his feet up, but he doesn't run away anymore when I touch them."

"Does he let you brush him?"

"Yes but he doesn't let me use the curry comb. He also doesn't like his mane and tail brushed and combed."

Ben laughed. "That sounds like your brothers when they were boys. They didn't like having their hair brushed and combed either."

"Paaaaaa," complained all three of Cat's brothers together.

"Don't tell little sister what we were like when we were boys," said Adam. "We're trying to convince her that we were perfect and still are."

Ben laughed. "I hate to disappoint you son, but none of you were perfect when you were boys and you still aren't."

"Mr. Cartlight not pelfect either. Only Hop Sing and Missy Cat."

Hop Sing's statement made the entire family laugh. "Hop Sing," laughed Ben. "You know as well as I do that Catherine is far from being perfect."

"Missy Cat only girl in family. That make her pelfect. Hop Sing say so."

"I give up," said Ben. "Catherine, finish your breakfast and then go work with Fury. Don't spend too much time with him so you can ride out with your brothers for a while."

"Ok Pa. Thanks for saying you'd help Hop Sing clear the table Hoss."

"That's quite alright little sister. You go ahead and spend some time working with that colt of yours. Just be patient with him and before long, he'll let you pick his feet up and use the curry comb on him."

"Missy Cat come to kitchen and get callots for baby horse," said Hop Sing. Cat followed him into the kitchen where he gave her two carrots and sent her on her way. She stopped in the tack room and grabbed a brush before heading out to work with Fury. She gave him one of the carrots before starting to work with him. He stood still while she brushed him and to her surprise, he let her pick up one of his feet. When she tried to pick another one up, he ran off and came back a few minutes later.

Cat started to get upset when she heard Joe say, "That's ok Cat. He's only two months old. Give him time. Like Hoss said, just be patient and it won't be long before you'll be able to pick all of his feet up. I know you don't have a lead rope with you but see if he'll walk next to you. I know that he'll follow you but I want to see if he'll walk next to you. Fury walked beside Cat for a few feet and then ran off again. "Don't worry about it Cat. You're doing a good job with him. Give him his other carrot and then go and saddle Star. We're almost ready to go and we don't have a lot of time to spend working this morning. After you saddle Star, go and get your hat and gloves. By the time you finish doing that, I'll have the wood boxes full and Cochise saddled."

Cat gave Fury his other carrot, hugged and kissed him and followed Joe back to the barn where she started to brush Star before saddling him.


	48. Chapter 48

After saddling Star, Cat led him out to the hitching rail to wait for her brothers and was surprised to see the buckboard loaded with fencing materials. She tied Star's reins to the hitching rail and walked into the house to get her hat and gloves. "Why is that fence stuff in the buckboard?" she asked Hoss.

"Because some fences need mending."

"Why?"

"This is a big ranch and fences always need to be fixed."

"Why?"

"Because after a while, the fence posts get rotten and have to be replaced. Sometimes the cows knock them down and sometimes rustlers pull them down so they can steal the cattle."

"Why?"

"Because the wind, rain, and snow eventually make the wood rotten. If somethin' scares the steers, they will stampede and not care if the fence is there or not. Rustlers are bad people who are too lazy to work for what they want, so they steal from others."

"Why?"

Hoss picked her up, hugged her and said, "That's enough questions for now."

"Why?"

"Because we have work to do."

"Why?"

"Because this is a very big ranch and there is always a lot of work to do. No more questions. You need your hat and gloves if you're comin' with us." He put her down and Cat started to run toward the stairs. Hoss stopped her and gave her a very hard swat. "You just had a necessary discussion in the barn with Pa 'cause you was runnin' in the house. Do you want to have another one? 'Cause if you do, I can take you to Pa right now."

"No, I don't want another one."

"Then walk while you're in the house. 'Cause if Pa catches you runnin' in the house again, you're gonna have a very sore bottom and might not get to go to town today."

Cat walked upstairs and ran to her room, got her gloves and then ran back to the stairs, stopping just before Adam spotted her.

Joe walked into the house just as Hoss swatted Cat. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"She was runnin' in the house again."

"She'd better be glad you caught her, not Pa or Adam. If they had, she'd have a very sore bottom. I'll talk to her again when I take her out to Michael and Kate's graves this afternoon. I don't know what else we can do to get her to stop running in the house."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The way she's goin', she's gonna end up feelin' Pa's belt on her bare bottom & I shore don't want that to happen."

"Me neither. I'm going to go and saddle Cochise. Maybe you'd better carry Cat when she comes downstairs so she doesn't run and get in trouble."

"I might just do that little brother. Chances are if Adam or Pa are nearby, I won't have to. I don't think she'll be runnin' in the house if they're close. I think we've made her understand that Adam will take her right to Pa if he catches her not behaving. Leastwise I hope we have. I shore don't want to see little sister havin' to sit on a cushion. Here comes Adam now & Cat is right behind him so I don' think she's gonna run in the house right now." Joe walked outside to saddle his horse and Cat walked up to Hoss who picked her up. "Girl, I declare I've picked up feathers that weigh more than you do. You gotta start eating more before a strong wind carries you away."

"Why?"

"'Cause we don't want a strong wind to carry you away."

"It might be fun to fly like a bird."

Hoss carried his sister into the kitchen where Ben was talking with Hop Sing. "Pa do you have any of them there ship anchors from when you was a sailor? Little sister here weighs less than a feather an' I'm afraid a good strong wind is going to carry her off."

Ben and Hop Sing laughed. "No, I'm afraid not son. Until we can put some meat on her bones, if the wind picks up too much, tie a rope around her waist and tie her to the wagon. That should keep her from flying off."

"But Pa, it might be fun to fly like a bird."

"Not today Kitten. We have to pick up Caroline and the girls in a few hours. I won't have time to look for you if the wind carries you away. Your brothers won't either. They have to go to town and inspect the school."

"If I fly away like a bird, I won't have to go to school."

Ben, Hoss, and Hop Sing laughed. "Sorry Kitten. You'll still have to go to school. Now scoot before I change my mind and make you stay here and help Hop Sing clean the house."

"EWWWWWWWW YUCK!" Cat started to run out of the kitchen only to be grabbed by Ben who delivered a very hard swat to her bottom."

"Would you like to have another necessary discussion in the barn?"

"Um no."

Ben delivered another hard swat. "No what?"

"No sir."

"Then stop running in the house. Now **_walk_** outside with Hoss. And remember, the next time I catch you running in the house, you will have a very hard time sitting down. The same thing will happen if you don't speak to me correctly. I know that Matt taught you how to speak to adults and I also know that Adam had a talk with you about how to speak to me. I don't tolerate disrespect from any of my children. Now go before I decide to give you the spanking you deserve."

Cat walked out of the kitchen with Hoss. "I told ya what would happen ifn Pa caught you runnin' in the house. You're lucky ya only got one swat. Ya won't be so lucky next time. Same goes with how ya talk to him. Adam and I told ya last week how to talk to Pa. Girl if ya don't watch yourself, you're gonna end up with a very sore bottom and there won't be nothin' me, Adam, or Little Joe can do about it. Now let's go before ya get into real trouble."

After Cat walked out of the kitchen, Hop Sing looked at Ben and said, "Missy Cat lot like number three son. Both test limits. Always need be reminded of lules. Suffer consequences of actions and words."

"Yes old friend. If I didn't know better, I would say those two had the same mother."

"Missy Kate and Missy Marie lot alike. Both strong willed and have stubborn children. Little Joe have to learn hard way. Missy Cat do too. Hop Sing know you not like punish children but do it to teach lesson and show you love for them. Little Joe know how much fathel love him. Missy cat learn too. It just take time. Now go enjoy peace and quiet with all children gone from house."

"That's a good idea. I was going to work on the books but I think I'll do some reading. I haven't had much time for that since I brought Catherine home."

"That good idea. Hop Sing fix flesh coffee."

As soon as they were outside, Hoss scolded Cat again. "Girl, you don't know how close ya came to going over Pa's knees again. I just got done scolding ya for runnin' in the house and ya go and do it in front of Pa. That spankin' ya got weren't nothin' compared to what you will get if ya don't stop doin' things ya ain't supposed to do. An' another thing, I know that ya know how to talk to Pa. I heard ya talk to Rip and Matt the right way so ya need to talk to Pa like that too. Me, Adam, and Joe are tryin' to keep ya out of trouble, but ya gotta do what you're supposed to do! Now get on your horse before I decide to give ya a few swats as a reminder of what you're supposed to do."

"What was that all about?" asked Adam.

"Pa caught her runnin' in the house again an' she didn't say no sir to him when he asked if she wanted to have another necessary discussion in the barn."

"I don't know what we're going to do about that girl. She's just as hard headed as Joe was when he was a boy. I guess she's just going to have to learn some things the hard way. Maybe I should talk to her again."

"Nah. Wait a bit. I done scolded her three times and swatted her once. Pa scolded her and swatted her twice. Also, Joe said he was going to talk to her again about runnin' in the house. It might do some good but probably not. That girl is just as hard headed as our little brother."

Adam laughed. "Yes, he was hard headed, wasn't he?"

"What do ya mean was? He still is. He's nineteen and thought Pa wouldn't find out about him gambling while you was gone to get Cat."

"I will have to agree with you about that. He should have remembered that sooner or later, Pa always finds out when we do something wrong. We had better get going. We only have a few hours to work before we need to have Cat back home and head for town ourselves."

Hoss climbed up on the buckboard seat and Adam mounted his horse. Cat rode up to Hoss and asked, "Hoss, can I drive the wagon?"

"Not this time Punkin'. Ya gotta get more experience driving it empty before ya can drive it full. Maybe when we get home from church on Sunday, I'll hitch it up and ya can practice driving it up and down the road to the house and around the yard but it will still be quite a few years before you're allowed to drive it full. Even though I'm lots bigger than Adam, I was eleven before Pa let me drive a full wagon. Adam was twelve before he was allowed to and Joe was thirteen because he was so small when he was a boy."

"Oh. Ok. Where are we going this morning?"

"We're going out to the west pasture," replied Adam. "We want you to pay attention to how we get there so you will be able to go there on your own someday soon. We'll point out landmarks that will help you find your way back out there."

Cat became excited and started wiggling in her saddle. "Really Adam?"

Adam smiled at his sister's excitement. "Really Cat. Hoss, Joe and I are going to start showing you how to get around the ranch. Now, let's go so we can get some work done before we have to go to town. Pa will skin us alive if we get you back to the house later than he wants to leave."

They rode out toward the pasture with Adam and Joe pointing out landmarks to help Cat remember how to get there. Once they arrived, Joe said, "Cat, I hope you remembered to bring your gloves. You won't be able to help us if you don't have them."

"I brought them. Lassie is keeping them for me."

"Alright then, let's get some work done," said Hoss helping Ca down from her horse. Adam and Joe each took a puppy out of its side of the saddle bags and Joe took Cat's gloves out.

"Wow!" exclaimed Joe. "Adam, Hoss, would you look at these gloves? I don't think I've ever seen work gloves that fancy." Adam and Hoss admired Cat's gloves too.

"Well, would ya look at that?" said Hoss. "Gerald Miller made sure everybody would know whose gloves these are." Each glove had a cougar and Cat's name burned into it on the back near the top. The cougars and Cat's name had been dyed different colors on each glove. The middle part of the back had the Ponderosa brand burned into it.

"I am extremely jealous," teased Adam. "I am the eldest and I never had work gloves that fancy. Since I am the eldest and you are the youngest, I think you should give those gloves to me."

Cat giggled. "They're too small for you."

"We'll just have to see about that." He took one of the gloves and pretended to try it on. "Well, it is a tight fit. It will stretch out after a while."

"Older brother, you couldn't put your whole hand into one of those gloves in two months worth of Sundays," teased Joe.

Adam gave a very loud sigh and said, "Yes, I suppose you are correct. I'll just have to let baby sister keep them for a while."

"I'm not a baby!" said Cat.

"Yes you are. Compared to the rest of us, you are a baby. You are the youngest member of the family and the only girl so that makes you our baby sister. If it makes you feel any better, I still call Joe 'baby brother'."

Cat looked at Joe and giggled. She couldn't imagine her nineteen year old "twin" being a baby. Joe grumbled at his eldest brother reminding him he was still being thought of as Adam Cartwright's baby brother. They started mending the fence and allowed Cat to put the last nail in each strand of wire. As she had done before, she apologized to each nail before hitting it and bent many of them. Her brothers just laughed and praised her each time she got a nail to go into the fence post. They finished the job, put everything back in the wagon and started for home. "Alright little sister," said Adam. "Let's see how well you paid attention to what Joe and I taught you on the way here. You're going to tell us how to get home.

Cat did her best and only missed three turns. When she missed each one, Adam gently corrected her and pointed out the missed landmarks. Once they rode into the yard and dismounted, Adam hugged her and said, "You did very good remembering how to get home. Only missing three landmarks was very good for the first time. You may not miss any the next time."

Ben still wanted to keep Cat close and was upset to learn that her brothers had taught her how to get out to the west pasture and back home again. "Why did you teach your sister how to get out there and back again? You know I'm not ready for her to learn that yet."

"When will you be?" asked Adam. "Do you plan to have someone ride around the ranch with her until after she's grown and married? I certainly hope not because she will resent you for that and will probably go back to Matt."

"Besides that," added Hoss. "You know how dangerous working with barbed wire is. What woulda happened if some of that wire broke loose and all three of us were hurt? Or what if she was out working with just one of us and we got hurt? How would Cat have known where to go to get help?"

"You keep telling her that this ranch will be hers one day," said Joe. "But you don't want her to learn how to find her way around it. How is that going to help her learn to run it? Will she have to depend on ranch hands to show her what needs to be fixed and how to get there?"

Just then Cat walked up after having unsaddled Star and rubbing him down so Ben changed the subject. He hugged his daughter and asked, "Well boys, how did this little one do today?"

"Same as last time," answered Joe. "She apologized to every nail for hitting it and bent a lot. But she tried real hard and did a good job."

Ben hugged Cat again. "Silly girl. You don't have to apologize to the nails for hitting them. I promise you, they don't feel a thing. Now, go, use the outhouse and wash your face so we can get Caroline and the girls and go to town."

"I'm hungry. Can I have a snack before we go? Fixing fences is hard work."

"It's 'May I', and yes you may. Just don't take too long."

Cat ran to the house, walked inside, closed the door and ran to the kitchen. "I'm hungry Hop Sing. Pa said I could have a snack before we go to town. Fixing fences makes me hungry."

"Missy Cat go wash hands and face and sit down at table. Hop Sing bring snack."

Cat left the kitchen, ran upstairs to the washroom, washed up, and ran back downstairs where Hop Sing had put a sandwich and glass of milk on the table for her. Ben walked into the house, smiled at his daughter eating her snack and walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and to talk to Hop Sing. "I can't believe the boys showed their sister how to get out to the west pasture and back home again when they know I'm not ready for her to learn her way around yet."

"When you be leady? When Missy Cat all grown up and have children? You think she be happy to stay at house or have family member go evelywhere with her all time? You fool if you think so. Missy Cat nevel be happy to stay at house or have family member go evelywhere with her all time. You not do that with Little Joe. Why tly do it with Missy Cat?"

"I guess because she's a girl and she's been through so much in her young life that I just want to always keep her safe."

"That not possible. Horse can spook even when somebody else thele. Child can step funny and twist ankle even if somebody holding hand. Finger can get cut turning book page. Impossible to keep child from evel getting hurt. Missy Cat healthy stolng child and not be happy if not allowed to do anything alone. You ask Missy Ingalls. She tell you same thing."

Ben sighed. He knew Hop Sing was right but he just wasn't ready to give Cat more freedom. When would he be ready to let her go? Adam and Hop Sing had asked the same question. Was he really planning on holding her as close as possible until she was an adult? School would be starting soon. Was he planning on having someone ride with her long after she knew how to get there and back? That would cause big problems if he did. She would be teased and called a baby by the other students, causing her to start fights which would result in her being punished. He had a lot of thinking to do. Cat walked into the kitchen carrying her plate and glass. She put them in the sink and said, "Thanks for the snack Hop Sing. It was good. Pa, I'll be ready to leave as soon as I use the outhouse. Can Lassie and Silver Chief come with us to town?"

"Missy Cat welcome," said Hop Sing. "You too skinny and need eat mole and get big like Hoss." Cat giggled.

"Yes, of course your puppies can come with us," replied Ben. There are people in town that would be very angry with me if I made you leave them at home. Now go and use the outhouse so we can leave."

Cat walked out of the kitchen door and ran across the yard to the outhouse. Before Ben left the kitchen, Hop Sing said, "You think about what Hop Sing say. Then you know he light."

"I will Hop Sing. I'd better get outside before that wild child decides to go and play with her colt." He walked outside and found Cat waiting for him in the buggy with the reins in her hands. He climbed into the buggy and was tempted to take the reins away from Cat. Knowing what her reaction would be, he looked toward the mountains where he saw rain clouds. "Cat, do you have a rain slicker?"

"What is that?"

"It's a coat you wear to keep you dry when it's raining."

"No, I never had one."

"How did you keep dry when it was raining and you had to go to school?"

"I stayed on the boardwalk until it ended and I ran the rest of the way. Miss Jackson put extra wood in the stove and let me and the other wet kids sit by it until we were dry. If it was raining real hard, Uncle Matt kept me in his office until it slowed down or stopped."

"Well, you are going to need a rain slicker here. It's almost a two hour ride from the ranch to town and if it starts raining while you're on your way, you'll be soaked before you get there and could get sick. If it's raining too hard, you will stay home until it stops and dries out some. Nobody rides between the Ponderosa and town when it's raining hard unless it's an emergency. It's just too dangerous. Chores still have to be done because the animals need to be taken care of and you can get soaked just going from the house to the barn. Let's get going, we can talk more on the way to the Ingalls' house."

Once they were on the main road, Cat asked, "Will I have to go to school when it's snowing? I remember how much snow there is here at Christmas."

"No, you will not. Out here, a simple snowstorm can become a blizzard in no time at all and people can get lost. You'll study at home and Adam will help you until you are able to attend school again. When we see a storm coming, we tie a rope between the house, chicken coop, and barn so we can still take care of the animals. You will not be expected to do your chores during a blizzard. Once winter comes, we will put extra wood boxes by the kitchen door and on the porch and keep them full. Enough extra wood to last several days will be cut and stacked next to them so it will not be necessary to cut any during the blizzard."

"How will I use the outhouse if I can't go outside?"

"You won't. A Chamber pot will be put into each of the bedrooms and you will use that."

"I don't know what that is."

Ben hugged her. "Don't worry about it right now. Winter is still a long ways away. We'll show you everything you need to know before then. I will also be buying you a new winter coat, hat and mittens before then."

"I don't need a hat and mittens. My Apache mother just made some for me when I was there."

"That's good. I'll look at them before winter to make sure they'll keep you warm enough and that they still fit."

"I think the coat she made me for winter last year still fits."

"I'll look at that too. Winter here gets a lot colder than it does in Arizona and Dodge and I do not want you getting cold. Alright, we're here. Let's go and get Caroline and the girls so we can go to town."

Cat knocked on the door and Charles opened it and invited her and Ben inside. After pouring a cup of coffee for Ben and a glass of milk for Cat, Caroline said, "Who braided your hair this morning Cat?"

"Little Joe did and he got it all uneven again."

"I see that. Finish your milk and I'll fix it. Now Ben, don't look like that. It will only take me a few minutes to get it right. You forget, I've been doing this every day ever since Mary was little. Laura, please go and get your hairbrush for me. Cat, tomorrow at the picnic, I will do my best to teach your family how to get your hair even on both sides. I know they know how to braid, but they're just not used to doing a little girl's hair." Cat finished her milk and Caroline had her hair rebraided a few minutes later. "There you go. Now your hair is even on both sides. Laura, thank you for letting me use your hairbrush. Girls, we've kept Mr. Cartwright waiting long enough. Go outside and get in the buggy. Carrie, I want you to sit in the back with your sisters and Cat for right now. I need to talk to Mr. Cartwright about something." Once the buggy was on the main road, Caroline looked at Ben and said, "I understand you are being very overprotective of Cat all of a sudden. Why?"

"When we left here on Wednesday, I allowed Joseph to let Catherine drive the wagon when we got close to home. A rabbit spooked the horses and she couldn't stop them. I realized then how badly she could have been hurt. I felt that I had failed in my duty as a parent to protect her and keep her from harm. I want to keep her in the house or by my side all of the time so she will be safe. I reluctantly allowed her to ride out with her brothers this morning only to realize that they have decided to teach her how to get around the ranch. I am not ready for her to learn that yet. She could get hurt or worse."

"You are not being fair to Catherine. When will you be ready for her to learn how to get around the ranch? When she's an adult? Or will you ever be ready? You can't keep her from getting hurt. It's a part of life. Are you going to make her ride in front of you on your horse for school every day? That horse can stumble. Cat can be thrown and get hurt. She could step wrong coming down the school or church steps and twist an ankle or do you plan to carry her everywhere? There's nothing to prevent you from tripping over something and dropping her. I don't think you acted like that with your sons, so why are you treating Cat that way?"

"Because she's just a little girl. My little sister's only child. She has been through so much in her young life and I need to keep her from ever being hurt again."

"Charles and I have three daughters. We do our best to keep them safe but we realize that accidents are a part of life. How much longer do you think Cat will tolerate not being allowed to do anything before she rebels and tries to reach one of her uncles? I'm quite certain that she was thrilled at being taught how to get someplace on the ranch by herself instead of being told not to learn the way. If she doesn't learn her way around and you or one of her brothers is hurt, how will she know how to find help? Or will she just have to stay with the injured person and hope someone finds them before it's too late?"

Ben sighed. "You sound like my sons and Hop Sing."

"That's because we can all see that what you're trying to do is going to end up hurting Cat. You mean well, but you are going to end up hurting her in the long run. Why don't you ask Reverend Long and Dr. Martin to join us for dinner? The girls can go play on the swings at the school after we eat and you can ask them for their opinion on what you are trying to do."

"Alright, I'll do that. If they agree with what I'm doing, maybe everyone will allow me to raise my daughter the way I think is best."

"And what if they don't agree with what you are doing? Will you listen to the advice from the people who know and love you and Catherine?"

"Yes I will. Who told you that I was being overprotective of Catherine?"

"Laura and Mary told Charles and I how your sons and Hop Sing had to convince you to let her go with Hoss to bring them home after supper yesterday. They also told us how you kept checking the cinch on her saddle even though they had been riding part of the morning and afternoon but had not loosened the cinches. Mary also mentioned that you became upset when your sons swam out past the end of the tree and let the girls swim to them. She said you acted like you just wanted Catherine to stay in ankle deep water while everyone else was having fun."

While Cat was having her snack, Adam walked up to his room and returned with his folding ruler. He made a quick detour to the dining room where he gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "Have fun in town today. We'll see you at dinner."

"Ok. Just remember, you're not allowed to fix the school. I want to push it down so I don't have to go to school."

"If you push the school down, you'll still have to do your lessons. You'll do them right here and I'll be your teacher. Little Joe can tell you that I'm not a fun teacher. I had to substitute for his teacher many times after I came home from college and he did not like it at all. If he misbehaved, I punished him and then brought him home where Pa punished him again. If I have to teach you here, I will be a lot harder on you than Miss Winter would. I will not accept any grade less than eighty percent. If you score less than eighty percent, you will be punished with extra work until your grade comes up. And since you will be taking me away from my ranch work, you will not be given recess. Your only break will be for dinner which will be eaten right here and when you are finished eating, you will go right back to work."

"That's not fair."

"Sure it is. I will have to spend most of my day teaching you and then I will have to go and do ranch work. Why should I give you play breaks when I will be working two jobs? Think about what I said and then decide if you really want to push the school down." He kissed her on top of her head and walked into the kitchen to let his father know he and his brothers were leaving. "I think I just changed Cat's mind about pushing the school down."

"Oh, how did you do that?"

"I told her if she pushed the school down, she would have to do her lessons here with me as her teacher. Then I told her that I would be a very mean teacher and she would not get any recess, even after dinner and if she received any grade under eighty percent, she would be punished with extra work until her grade improved."

Ben laughed. "Son, you are devious. I know you would never do those things to your sister, but you many have convinced her that attending school is much better than the alternative. I'll see you and your brothers at dinner."

While they were riding to get Mitch, Joe looked at his brothers and said, "I've decided that I want you there when I take Cat to her parents' graves. I think she's going to need all three of us. I also just realized that we can't do it today. There just won't be time. The Winters are coming for supper and will be at the house between four thirty and five. Even if we leave town at one, it will be three before we get home. Since Pa has to take Caroline and the girls home, it will be three thirty at the earliest before Cat gets home. It takes an hour to get to where my mother and Cat's parents are buried, so we wouldn't get there before four thirty which means Cat wouldn't be here when the company arrives. I don't know about the two of you, but I don't want Pa yelling at me because we had our little sister out on the ranch instead of home to greet the company, especially because one of the people coming is her new teacher."

"Joe's right," said Hoss. "Ifn we have Cat out on the ranch instead of at home when the Winters arrive, besides having to listen to Pa yell at us, it would probably be next year before we were allowed off the ranch. All of the work Joe and I were supposed to go when you and Pa were gone is done, so my restriction will end next Friday. It will be nice to be able to go to town whenever I want to, not just because I'm on an errand."

"I agree with both of you," said Adam. "As the eldest, I'll never hear the end of it from Pa if Cat is not there to meet her new teacher. Since we've got the picnic with the Ingalls' tomorrow, it looks like it will be Sunday afternoon before we can take her out there. Joe, I still want you to talk to Paul Martin and Reverend Long. We need to be sure we're doing the right thing before getting Cat all upset when she hasn't even been home two weeks." They rode into the Devlin's yard a few minutes later and asked Mitch if he would help them inspect the school. He agreed to help, told his parents where he was going and saddled his horse.

When they reached the school, Adam and Joe went up on the roof while Hoss and Mitch started inspecting the timbers under the school. Hoss found one he thought should be replaced, so he yelled for Adam and Joe to come down from the roof and look at the beam. "Yes Hoss," said Adam. "That beam should be replaced. Joe, I put a pencil and piece of paper in my saddle bags before we left the house. Will you get it for me?"

Joe returned a few minutes later and said, "There is no paper and pencil in your saddle bags. All that was in there was your folding ruler, so I brought it."

"I must have forgotten to get paper and pencil from Pa's desk when I was teasing Cat. Go over to Paul Martin's and ask him for some."

"Why do I have to be the one to do your errands? The pencil and paper were your responsibility so you should go and get them."

"Because I'm the eldest and I told you to do it. If you don't, I'll tell Cat you wouldn't listen to me."

Joe sighed, grumbled about having to listen to Adam and Cat and ran over to Paul Martin's house where he found the doctor bandaging Reverend Long's hand. "Hi Joe," said Paul. "Come on in. I'll be with you in a minute."

Reverend Long looked at Joe and said, "I'll be you're wondering what a minister could possibly do to get his hand burned. I was helping Joanne with the baking and forgot to use a towel to pull the biscuits out of the oven. You'd think a man my age would remember something simple like that but I didn't and now I'm paying the price. What brings you to town today?"

"My brothers, Mitch Devlin and I are inspecting the school to see what kind of repairs it needs. My official reason for coming here was to ask Dr. Martin for a piece of paper and a pencil."

"I take it there is an unofficial reason."

"Yes there is which is why I'm glad you're here so I don't have to look for you. Cat is still having nightmares and I started thinking it might be because she hasn't had time to grieve her mother's death."

"You mean she hasn't been out to her mother's grave since the funeral?" asked Paul.

"No. Everyone's kept her very busy since my aunt died and the last time she was at her mother's grave was the day after the funeral."

"How long ago was that?" asked Reverend Long.

"It was in early June. The week before mine and Cat's birthday."

The two men looked at each other with surprise on their faces.

"What on Earth is Ben thinking?" asked Paul. "He knows better than that. I know he took time to grieve when Marie died and even though Joe was only five, so did all three of you boys. No wonder that poor girl is still having nightmares."

"You and your brothers need to take Catherine out to her mother's grave as soon as you possibly can. Not allowing her to grieve will cause a lot of problems later."

"That's what I thought. Pa is going to go through the roof when we do it."

"What do you mean?" asked Paul. "Why would he do that?"

"He's being very overprotective of her and doesn't even want her out of his sight for any time at all. In fact, he would be very happy if all she did was sit on the settee and read or do needlepoint."

"Why is he doing that? He was never like that with you even when you were a small boy."

Joe told the two men about what happened with the wagon when they were on their way home on Wednesday and how his father felt he wasn't being a good parent and needed to keep Cat from ever getting hurt.

"I'll tell you what," said Reverend Long. "How would you and your brothers like it if Paul and I took the blame for you taking Cat to her mother's grave?" At seeing Joe's puzzled look he continued. "Your father invited Paul, Joanne, and I to join all of you for dinner. I know about Cat's nightmares because she had several on the train. After dinner, the girls can go and play on the swings at the school. Once they're gone, I'll ask if Cat is still having nightmares. Once someone says yes, I'll ask if she's been out to her mother's grave since the funeral. When you or one of your brothers says no, I'll tell you to take her out there today. Paul can back me up. Ben can't possibly get angry at the three of you if we tell you to do it. We'll also talk to him about being overprotective of your sister."

Joe thanked them. "Don't mention it," said Paul. "It's our pleasure to help your sister. Now here's your paper and pencil. We'll see you at dinner."


	49. Chapter 49

Joe walked back over to the school and told his brothers what Paul Martin and Reverend Long had said. "That's great," said Adam. "Pa probably won't argue with them."

Mitch came out from under the school. "Joe, what took you so long to get a piece of paper and a pencil? Did you have to go back home for them?"

"No. Dr. Martin was busy and I had to wait until he was finished with his patient. Besides that, if older brother here had remembered to bring them, I wouldn't have had to go and get them from Paul."

"Alright you two," said Adam. "We need to meet Pa, Caroline, and the girls for dinner in about an hour, so let's get busy. We may as well measure the roof first as it needs to be completely replaced."

While Cat's brothers and Mitch were busy at the school, Ben, Caroline, and the girls were in the general store. "Hello Ben," said Mr. McLeod. "I didn't expect to see you again this soon."

"Hello George. I am learning that raising a little girl isn't going to be as easy as I thought. It seems like almost every day I discover something else she needs. Catherine has decided to wear a dress to church instead of her buckskins, so I think we need more material and hair ribbons. Catherine, how many more dresses are you going to get?"

"Just two but only if Carrie, Mary, and Laura can get more too."

Ben just rolled his eyes while the other adults laughed. "Alright said Caroline. They may have two more each. Girls, pick out some material that you like."

While the girls were picking out material, Ben said, "George, I just discovered that Catherine does not have a rain sicker. I can't have her sitting in school soaking wet all day. She'll get sick."

"Yes she will. Once she and her friends pick out their material and hair ribbons, we'll try some rain slickers on her."

"She'll need some kind of boots also," added Caroline. "Her feet will be soaked before she gets from the house to the barn."

"I didn't think about that. Caroline, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. If it weren't for you, Catherine wouldn't have many of the things she needs. George, do you have anything in the way of rain boots for children?"

"No Ben I don't. Most of the girls who live on farms and ranches are driven to town when it's raining. Otherwise they do like the girls who live in town and tie oil skins around their shoes and remove them at the school. We'll have to see if I have a pair of boots that Cat likes. When it comes to clothing, boys are much easier to please than girls."

James walked into the store while the girls were looking at material for dresses. "Hi Cat. It's nice to see you again. Did you bring your puppies?"

"Hi James. It's nice to see you too. Yes, I brought Lassie and Silver Chief. I think they're over there chasing a mouse." Just then Lassie walked up carrying a mouse and received a lot of praise from everyone.

"Come on Lassie," said James. "I'll show you where to let it go. Then you and Silver Chief can play with Prince while Cat is shopping." Cat told her puppies to go with James and they followed him out of the store.

"I would have preferred to kill that thing," said George. "However, there would have been four very unhappy little girls. I have learned that most little girls like almost all animals, including mice, as long as they're not being teased with them by boys. Unfortunately, by the time they turn thirteen, most of them no longer like animals like mice and frogs and some of them no longer like any animals at all."

It took a while but the girls finally picked out fabrics they liked. Carrie had never had a new dress before, so she was amazed by all of the different fabrics to choose from. Once Cat had picked out her fabric and hair ribbons, Ben called her over to look at the rain slickers. All four girls looked at them. Mary held one up and said, "Look Cat. This one is all one piece and has a hood. You put your arms through the side holes and since there's no collar, the rain won't go down your neck. The hood is big enough to cover your hat so it won't get wet either."

Cat tried it on and it was a little bit big. "That's ok," said Mr. McLeod. "You're a growing girl and if you get one that fits just right, you may only be able to wear it a few times before you need a new one."

"Oh, ok. I wish it was in a different color than black."

"Actually, I also have it in brown. It's not a real dark brown, so I think you'll like it." He opened the door to the store room and asked James to bring the crate of children's rain ponchos out into the store.

"How about your girls Caroline?" asked Ben. "Do they need new rain slickers?"

"Mary is the only one who will need a new one. Her old one should fit Laura and I can shorten Laura's for Carrie."

"Nonsense! Laura, Mary, Carrie, pick out new rain slickers for yourselves too. Caroline, I am not spoiling your girls. These are things they need. Laura and Carrie remind me of Little Joe when he was a young boy. He mostly wore Adam's old clothing and rarely got anything new. So please indulge me and allow me to buy a few new things for all three of your girls. Now, what about boots? Do they need them?"

"No they don't. Because it's such a long walk, Charles drives them to school in the wagon. Except for picking vegetables, weeding the garden and gathering eggs, they don't have any outside chores. Charles or I gather the eggs when it's raining."

"What about new shoes? Please don't say no Caroline. The help you and Charles have given and will give me with Catherine is invaluable. I know absolutely nothing about raising girls and you have three. The cost of the rain slickers, dresses, hair ribbons, and shoes is nothing compared to the help I have received from you so far."

Caroline sighed. "Very well Ben. If you insist. Mary, Laura, Carrie, find some shoes that fit you."

"Cat, you need to look at boots and see if you can find a pair that fit you," added Ben.

"Why do I need boots Pa? I have my moccasins."

"You need boots for when it rains. The yard can get very muddy and your feet will be soaked before you can get out to the barn. We'll get you some warm boots before cold weather sets in."

Cat looked at the boots and found a pair she liked. "Can I please get these Pa?"

"Do they fit?"

"I don't know."

"Silly girl. You need to try them on before we buy them. I'm not going to spend money on something that doesn't fit you."

Cat sat down on the floor, took her moccasins off and tried the boots on. "Oh darn. They're too small and they're the only pair I liked. All the rest are black or dark brown and I don't like them."

"Alright Kitten. We'll think of something. Maybe there's a pair of Joe's old boots in the attic. They may be too big for you but you can always wear extra socks. We'll get you some more just in case they're needed. Caroline, is there anything else I need to buy for Catherine right now?" When Caroline said no, Ben said, "Girls, you may each have a bag of peanuts but you can't eat them until after dinner." The girls thanked Ben and filled bags with peanuts.

Ben was getting ready to pay for everything when Cat said, "Pa, can we get peanuts for Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, and Mitch? If we do, maybe they'll let me push the school down."

All of the adults laughed. "Catherine Michael Cartwright, you have got to be the silliest little girl I have ever met. There is no way that you will ever be strong enough to push the school down. Besides that, do you really want Adam to be your teacher? I know what he told you this morning. Ask Joe how mean Adam is as a teacher. Adam had to substitute for his teacher several times when he returned from college and Joe was not very happy when Adam was substituting."

Cat scrunched up her nose and made a sour face. "No, I don't want Adam for my teacher. He'll be mean. I want Little Joe to teach me."

"I'm sorry Sweetheart. It's either go to school or have Adam teach you. Joseph did not go to college. Adam did which is why he would be your teacher. Now, do you still want to get peanuts for your brothers and Mitch? If you do, get them now because we still need to go and see Mrs. Hansen before dinner." The girls filled four more bags with peanuts and put them on the counter next to their other things. Ben paid for everything and James helped his father wrap all of the purchases in paper. Once everything was wrapped, James brought Cat's puppies back into the store and the group left, put everything except the new material into the buggy, and walked over to the dressmaker's shop.

Mrs. Hansen had Laura, Mary, and Cat try on the dresses she had already made and measured Carrie for her new dresses. When she was finished, she stooped down, picked up Lassie and Silver Chief and said, "How come I'm not making new clothes for these two?"

The girls giggled and Carrie said, "Because they always wear the same clothes."

"That they do, however, if they're going to keep going to church, this young man should at least have a tie and this young lady needs a bow." She rummaged through some scraps and made a tie that she slipped over Silver Chief's head and around his neck. Then she made a bow to tie on Lassie's head. All four girls just kept giggling at the sight of the two puppies wearing a tie and a bow.

Ben and Caroline laughed at the puppies also. "Get your things girls," laughed Ben. It's time to meet the Longs, Dr. Martin, Catherine's brothers and Mitch for dinner. You can put your things in the buggy before we go to the restaurant."

Before entering the restaurant, Caroline took Mary and Laura aside and said, "After dinner, I would like you girls to take Carrie and Cat over to the school to play for a little while. Please ask Mitch to go with you to push you on the swings." The girl said they would do as their mother asked and walked into the restaurant.

They sat down near Cat and Ben asked, "What would you girls like for dinner?"

"Chocolate cake," said all four girls at once, causing everyone else to laugh.

"Sorry girls," laughed Ben. "Chocolate cake is for dessert. You need meat, vegetables and potatoes."

The girls ordered their food and milk. Once they finished their dessert, Mary asked, "May Laura, Cat, Carrie, and I go over to the school and play on the swings for a while?"

"Of course you may," answered Caroline. "Have a good time. We'll come and get you when we're ready to leave."

The girls got up to leave when Ben said, "Catherine, I want you to stay here."

"Why? I want to go and play with my friends."

"Because I said I want you to stay here."

"But that's not fair. How come I can't go and play with Laura, Mary, and Carrie?"

"Because I said I want you to stay here. If you continue to argue with me, we will have a discussion in the barn when we return home. Now sit down and have another glass of milk." Cat did as she was told but tears started falling from her eyes.

"Ben," said Paul. "Why won't you let Catherine go and play? Has she done something wrong?"

"No. I just want her to stay here where I know she's safe."

Adam spoke up. "Pa is being very overprotective of Cat. He's afraid that she'll get hurt if he lets her do anything without him being right there. He is upset with my brothers and I because we showed her how to get out to the west pasture and back home again."

"Catherine, you go and play with your friends," said Paul. "We grownups need to talk for a little while." Ben gave his friend an angry look but didn't say anything. Cat looked at Caroline and her brothers and they all nodded their heads.

"Gee thanks Dr. Martin. Mitch, will you please push us on the swings?"

"Of course I will. How could I refuse an invitation from four pretty ladies?" Mitch and the girls walked out of the restaurant and over to the school where he pushed them on the swings.

"Alright Ben," said Paul. "Out with it. Why are you being so overprotective with that child all of a sudden?"

"On the way home from town Wednesday, I told Joe to let Catherine drive the fully loaded wagon up the road to the house. The team was spooked by a rabbit and she couldn't hold them. I realized then what could have happened to her. She could have been seriously hurt or worse. I can't let that happen. She's my little sister's little girl and I need to keep her safe from harm even if it means not letting her do anything."

"Did you act that way with your sons the first time a team ran away with them?" asked Reverend Long.

"No, but they were boys and needed to learn how to handle a runaway team."

"Why won't Catherine need to know how to handle a runaway team?" Paul asked. "You said that the Ponderosa will be hers someday. Won't she need to drive a wagon to town for supplies? Won't she need to drive the buggy to pick up guests who come in on the stage? Or is she just supposed to sit back and let her husband or hands run her ranch and depend on them to be honest with her and do what is best for the ranch?"

"Ben, do you realize how unfair you are being to Cat?" asked Reverend Long. "Do you plan to drive her to school every day in the buggy or have her ride with you on your horse? Do you know what her school life will be like? She is nine, not five and will be greatly teased. Do you plan to cut up her food for her so she won't cut herself with a knife? You can never keep anybody from getting hurt all the time." He held up his bandaged hand. "Look at me. I'm a grown man and I managed to burn myself today. I was helping Joanne with the baking and forgot to grab a towel before I took the biscuits out of the oven."

"David is right," added Paul. "I already know that Cat has Little Joe's temper and if she is teased and called a baby at school, she will start a fight. I know that your children are not allowed to start fights and will be punished if they do. Do you want Cat to start fights and be punished because of your actions? How will that be fair to her? I thought you loved her more than that. Do you want to lose her? How long do you think she'll put up with it before she tries to go back to Dodge? If you don't stop being so overprotective of Catherine, I will personally telegraph her uncles to come and get her. As a physician, I refuse to stand by and let you crush her spirit because she might get hurt. Getting scrapes, bumps, and bruises is part of growing up. I'm quite sure that your sisters occasionally got injured when they were girls. Ask Caroline how many times her girls have gotten hurt doing something simple like playing a game or helping around the house."

"That's an easy question to answer," replied Caroline. "My girls are always getting scraped, bumped or bruised. Just last week, Mary bruised some of her toes when she accidentally dropped a stack of books on them. Laura was gathering eggs yesterday and got pecked by a hen. So, as you can see Ben, there is no way to keep any child from getting hurt, no matter how hard you try."

Ben sighed. "I don't like it but I'll start easing up on Catherine's restrictions."

"Good," said Paul. "We're going to hold you to that. Adam, Hoss, Joe, David and I want you to let us know if your father does not ease up on your sister's restrictions."

"Now that we've got that problem solved," said Reverend Long, "Is Catherine still having nightmares?"

"Yes," said Joe. "She just had one last night. Adam says her nightmares are just as bad or worse than mine where when my mother died."

"That's understandable. Standing next to anyone when they are murdered is a very traumatic thing, especially for a young child. Paul and I were talking about that earlier. Has she been out to her mother's grave since the funeral?"

"No," said Ben. "I don't want her going out there. She'll just get upset."

"Do you mean to say that she hasn't had time to mourn?" asked Paul.

"No," replied Hoss. "She's been kept real busy since the funeral. The funeral was on a Friday, Cat and Joe's birthday was the following Tuesday. She left the day after to spend two weeks with her uncle and the Apaches in Arizona. Then she spent another week in New Mexico with her father's best friend, Lucas McCain. After that, she went to Dodge for two weeks. We've kept her real busy since she got home."

"That needs to be remedied immediately," said Reverend Long. "Hoss, I want you and your brothers to take your sister out to her mother's grave this afternoon. She needs time to mourn."

"I'll take her out there when I'm ready for her to go there," said Ben.

"No Ben. This is something Catherine needs to do with her brothers and the sooner the better. From what Paul has told me, all three of them lost a mother when they were infants or very young. She needs to be with someone who has experienced losing a parent at a young age."

"It will be Sunday afternoon at the earliest before we can take her out there," said Joe. "The Winters are coming to supper and should be at the house around four thirty. We still have to finish inspecting the school. Adam thinks it will take about thirty minutes. It takes almost two hours to get home and another hour to get out to where Cat's parents and my mother are buried. If we go there when we get back to the ranch, we won't be back home before the Winters arrive. We'll be lucky to be home in time for supper. As Paul can tell you, Hop Sing gets extremely upset when we're late for supper. Tomorrow, the Ingalls are coming over to spend the day picnicking at Lake Tahoe. That picnic has been planned since Cat got home and she's looking forward to it."

Paul laughed at Joe's comment about Hop Sing. "Yes David, Joe is right about Hop Sing. Even though I'm not family, I have experienced his wrath when I was late arriving for a meal I had been invited to. Believe me, it is not pleasant being scolded by him."

"You got off easy Paul," laughed Adam. "At least he didn't threaten to go back to China like he does when one of us is late."

"Hop Sing doesn't really do that, does he?" asked Reverend Long.

"He shore does," answered Hoss. "Now he threatens to go back to China and take Cat with him."

"The way he acts toward Catherine, you'd think she was his daughter, not mine," laughed Ben. "Just last night, he informed me that she was perfect."

"That is precious," laughed Paul. "Adam, what has your inspection of the school revealed so far?"

"The entire roof needs to be replaced. It has a lot of holes in it and there are several weak spots. One post and two beams under the school also need to be replaced. The walls are sound. We'll inspect the inside when we go back over there."

"That sounds like a lot of work," said Reverend Long. "School is supposed to start a week from Monday. Do you think all of the repairs will be completed before then?"

"Depending on what we find inside, I am going to recommend that the school board delay the start of school by one week. The next meeting is Monday night and it's going to take time to get the work completed."

"That'll shore make little sister happy," said Hoss.

"I take it Catherine does not like school," said Reverend Long.

"No she does not," replied Ben. I don't know how many times Matt punished her for skipping school when she was five, but it didn't do any good. She decided that she wasn't going to go to school and nobody could make her."

"How did he finally get her to attend school?"

"Actually, it was my sons that did it. Joseph told her if she didn't go to school, she wouldn't be allowed to spend her holidays and summers on the Ponderosa."

"I remember that," said Paul. "I don't remember ever seeing her more unhappy than when she went back to Dodge that January. It was all I could do to keep from laughing when she told me why she was so sad."

"Now that she's living her, how are you going to get her to attend school?" asked Reverend Long.

"Matt told her that she wouldn't be allowed to spend her summers in Dodge and Joseph told her that part of the punishment for skipping school was having to ride double with me or one of her brothers."

"We'd better get back over to the school if we're going to be home before the Winters get there," said Adam. "Also, Mitch might be getting tired of pushing them on the swings."

While everyone was at the restaurant talking, Mitch was busy pushing the girls on the swings at the school. Laura looked at the ladder and asked, "Mitch, will you take us up on the roof? I want to see what Virginia City looks like from up there."

"Not right now. Let's wait for Cat's brothers to come back. It will be safer if all four of us help you go up there." When Adam, Hoss, and Joe returned to the school, Mitch said, "The girls want to go up on the roof. Hear me out before you say no Adam because I figured out how we can do it safely. You, Joe, and I will be on the roof. Only one girl will be on the roof at a time. We will tie a rope around ther waist. It will also be tied around our waists and we'll take up the slack as she comes up the ladder. Hoss will be on the ladder with her and follow her onto the roof. She will have to hold his hand until she gets up to the top and then she can either hold your hand or his but she has to hold someone's hand the entire time she's up there. When it's time to go back down, Hoss will get on the ladder first and you'll help the girl get onto the ladder. As long as we keep the rope tight, even if a girl slips she won't fall off the roof."

Adam thought about what Mitch said and agreed. They explained everything to all four girls and they agreed to do exactly what they were told. Since Carrie was a little nervous, it was decided that Mary would go first to show her how easy it was. The rest of the group walked out of the restaurant while Carrie was up on the roof. She waved to her mother who waved back. Ben started to rush over there when he felt Paul's hand on his shoulder. "Relax Ben. That child is safer than you or I would be up there. She is securely tied to Adam, Joe, and Mitch and she's holding Hoss' hand. They seem to have thought it out very carefully before deciding to take the girls on the roof. Watch how they're helping Carrie get down." Ben relaxed as he watched while Hoss got on the ladder and waited for Carrie. Adam walked her almost to the ladder then had her sit down and scoot the rest of the way on her bottom. He held the rope tight and Hoss had his arms around her as she turned around and put both feet on the ladder. Once Carrie was safely on the ground, Hoss tied the rope around Laura's waist and helped her up the ladder. Ben started to tense up again as Cat went up onto the roof. Once Cat was back on the ground, Adam, Joe, and Mitch untied the rope from their waists and Adam tossed it to the ground before the three of them went down the ladder. The girls coiled the rope and handed it to Adam who thanked them and tied it on his saddle. Before rejoining Ben and Caroline, all four girls hugged Cat's brothers and Mitch and thanked them for taking them up on the roof. Reverend Long helped them get into the buggy. Then he said, "Catherine, I expect to see those puppies in church every Sunday. They are so well behaved, some adults can learn from them."

"Ok Reverend Long. As long as Pa says they can come I'll bring them."

He smiled and said, "I guarantee that your Pa will not say no because I said to bring them, isn't that right Ben?"

"Reverend Long, if you want Catherine to bring her puppies to church, I promise you that she will bring them. However, I can guarantee that there will be quite a few members upset with your decision."

"You see little one, I told you that your Pa would allow you to bring your puppies to church if I said to bring them. Don't worry about people getting upset. Those puppies are God's children too and I intend to remind them of that." They said goodbye to Reverend Long and Paul and Ben drove the buggy out of town.

After they dropped Caroline and the girls off at home, Ben told Cat to put her puppies in the front seat and climb over and sit next to him. He turned the buggy around and handed her the reins. He was very quiet on the way home and Cat was afraid that she was in trouble because Reverend Long had told her to bring her puppies to church. "Are you mad at me Pa? I didn't ask Reverend Long if I could bring my puppies to church. Honest, I didn't."

Ben hugged her and said, "I'm not angry at you Kitten. I know you didn't ask Reverend Long if you could bring your puppies to church. I'm just thinking about what we talked about after you girls went over to play at the school. Did you like being up on the roof?"

"It was fun but I was sad because I couldn't see the Ponderosa from there."

"No, you wouldn't be able to. The ranch is too far from town to even see it from the hotel roof."

"Oh, that's too bad. I really wanted to see what Lake Tahoe looked like from here. Maybe they could build a really high building just so I can climb up to the top and see the lake."

"You sure are being silly today. Ask Adam when he gets home but I think that building would have to be almost as high as a small mountain. It would take you several days to walk up all of the stairs to the top."

"Wow! That would be a really high building. Do they have buildings that high in Boston and Chicago?"

"No Sweetheart. I don't think they have buildings that high anywhere in the world. People don't have time to spend days just walking up to the top of a building. Besides that, except for the fact that a certain silly little girl wants to be able to see Lake Tahoe from Virginia City, there is no need for a building that high." Cat drove the buggy into the yard and stopped it in front of the barn. She started to run out to the pasture to see Fury when Ben said, "Take your things up to your room. Then you can go and see your colt."

Cat carried her things upstairs then ran back downstairs and into the kitchen to ask Hop Sing for some carrots for Fury. Hop Sing saw her running and scolded her. "Missy Cat no lun in house and kitchen. That vely naughty. Hop Sing use wooden spoon on Missy Cat bottom. Then he take you to fathel. Maybe then you no lun in house." He took out his wooden spoon and used it on her bottom five times. Then he took her to Ben. "Missy Cat lun in house and kitchen. Hop Sing use wooden spoon on bottom five times."

Ben looked at Cat and asked, "Well Catherine, were you running in the house and the kitchen?"

Cat looked down at the floor and said, "Yes sir."

"Look at me when I talk to you."

Cat looked up at her father and said, "Yes sir."

"What am I going to do with you? Everyone has told you how dangerous it is to run in the house and kitchen. You have been scolded, swatted, and spanked. Now Hop Sing has used his wooden spoon on you. What is it going to take to get you to stop running where you're not supposed to? If we didn't have company coming in a little while, you would be getting another spanking. Now go and stand in the corner by the fireplace until I tell you differently."

Cat reluctantly did as she was told. "What am I going to do with her?" he asked Hop Sing. "Nothing we have done has worked so far. I don't want to have to keep taking her out to the barn, especially if it's not going to correct her behavior. Do you have any ideas?"

"Hop Sing think and tell you. You ask sons, shellif Loy, Dr. Paul, and Levend Long. Maybe they have ideas too."

"I will. Thank you my friend. Tell me if you want Catherine to help you with supper and I'll send her into the kitchen. Until then, she can stand in the corner and think about what she has done wrong."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe arrived home a little while later. They took care of their horses, walked into the house, and saw their sister standing in the corner. They walked over to their father's desk and Hoss asked, "What did little sister do that got her put in the corner?"

"Hop Sing caught her running through the house and kitchen. He used his wooden spoon on her and brought her to me. I put her in the corner. Nothing we have done to keep her from running in the house has worked. I would like the three of you to think of things we can do to keep her from running where she shouldn't. I don't want to keep taking her out to the barn if spanking her isn't going to correct her behavior."

"Alright Pa," said Adam. "We'll talk and let you know what we think of."

"Thank you son. I appreciate your help. We have to keep your sister from running in the house before she or someone else gets hurt or worse. What else did you find at the school?"

"The walls and stairs are sound but a dozen desks need to be replaced. They have been damaged beyond use due to the leaky roof. Also that school needs a good coat of paint inside and out. As I said at dinner, I am going to recommend that the start of school be delayed by a week to allow time to do all of the repairs."

"Alright son. If you think that's what's best, I'll support you at the meeting Monday night. We'll donate the necessary lumber. However, we have a ranch to run and cannot do all of the work."

While they were talking, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Sons help fix suppel. Shuck corn, snap beans, set table and cut out biscuits."

Cat turned around and said, "I'll cut out the biscuits Hop Sing. I like doing that."

"Missy Cat naughty and lun in house. She be punished. No cut out biscuits. Stay in corner until fathel say diffelent." Cat couldn't believe that Hop Sing wouldn't let her cut out the biscuits, turned back around and started crying.

"I'll cut out the biscuits," said Adam. "I always liked doing that."

"I'll snap the beans," said Hoss.

"Little Joe can shuck the corn and set the table," said Adam and Hoss together.

"Why do I have to shuck corn and set the table?" complained Joe.

"Because you're the youngest and we said so," answered Adam, giving his brother a gentle push. "Now get busy baby brother. You have a lot of work to do."

Once the brothers were in the kitchen, Joe said, "You know, I kinda feel sorry for little sister being told she couldn't cut out the biscuits. I know how much she likes doing it."

"We do too," said Adam. "However, she's got to learn to stop running in the house and kitchen before someone gets hurt or worse. Maybe that's part of the solution. Not letting her do things she likes doing. What do you think? Every time she runs in the house, besides having to stand in the corner, which she hates, she won't be allowed to ride her own horse for a day. She'll have to ride double with Pa or one of us. Each time she gets caught running where she's not supposed to, a day gets added onto her restriction. Maybe having to ride double to school will get her to stop."

"Say, you know. Ya just might be onto somethin' there Adam. Now we just gotta tell Pa and see what he thinks."

"See what Pa thinks about what?" asked Ben, walking into the kitchen.

"We think Adam might of figured out how to get little sister to stop runnin' in the house," answered Hoss.

"Alright son, what did you figure out?"

"Make her do something she doesn't like and don't let her do something she does like. She'll have to stand in the corner, which she doesn't like and since she loves riding, she won't be allowed to ride her own horse. When she gets caught running in the house, she has to stand in the corner and will have to ride double with one of us. Each time she's caught, her time in the corner gets increased by oh, say fifteen minutes, and her restriction from riding her own horse gets increased by a day. Maybe a few hours of standing in the corner and several days of having to ride to school double with one of us will cure her of running where she's not supposed to."

"That is an excellent idea. How did you happen to think of it?"

"Actually, Joe did when he said that he felt sorry for Cat when Hop Sing told her she couldn't cut out the biscuits and had to stay in the corner instead. We hate seeing her cry but maybe it will work."

"Well, it certainly can't hurt to try. I'd rather do that than take her out to the barn. Joseph, don't worry about setting the table. I'll take care of that for you. Tomorrow, will you please go up in the attic and see if you still have any boots from when you were a boy? Your sister will need boots for when it's raining. Gerald only had one pair she liked and they were too small for her."

"Sure Pa. I'll do it after breakfast. Oh, and thanks for setting the table for me. I have a lot of corn to shuck."

"That's quite all right son. I'm going to leave your sister in the corner for a while longer. She'll have plenty of time to think about what she did wrong and the consequences for doing it. I'll tell her about Adam's idea after the Winters leave. She won't be happy and hopefully the thought of spending a lot of time standing in the corner and several days of having to ride double with one of us will keep her from running in the house." He walked out of the kitchen and started setting the table.


	50. Chapter 50

A/N: To my guest reviewer: Ben has raised his sons from birth while Cat hasn't even been on the Ponderosa for two weeks. Right now, he's getting advice because he is learning how to raise a girl. Girls have different needs and react differently to things than boys do. Also, he is being very overprotective of her. Once he stops doing that, he won't be getting advice unless he asks for it. He's also trying to find a solution to Cat running in the house before someone gets hurt or worse.

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After setting the table, Ben sat down in his chair. He looked at the clock, read for a few minutes and then called Cat to him. She stood in front of him and he asked, "Do you know why I punished you?"

"Because I was running in the house and Hop Sing caught me."

He smiled inwardly at the last part. "That's right. You were running in the house again. What have you been told about running in the house?"

"Not to."

"Why aren't you supposed to run in the house?"

"Because it's dangerous and someone could get hurt."

"That's right. Running in the house is very dangerous. Do your uncles or I allow you to do things that are dangerous?"

"No sir."

"Then why do you keep doing what you know you're not supposed to? Do you think I enjoy punishing you?"

"No sir."

"Do you like being punished?"

"No sir."

"Then I strongly suggest you think long and hard about running in the house before your punishment gets worse than it already has been, because I can guarantee you that it will get a lot worse." Before sending her back to the corner, Ben turned Cat over his knees and delivered two very hard smacks to her bottom. Cat yelped in surprise. "That is just a little reminder of what will happen if you continue running in the house. Now go back and stand in the corner until I tell you otherwise." Cat went back to the corner and cried as she stood there while Ben read for another ten minutes. Then he called her back over to him, hugged her and told her all was forgiven. "Our guests will be here soon. I want you to go upstairs, wash up and stay in your room until I call you to come downstairs. It shouldn't be long, maybe only fifteen or twenty minutes. I forgive you Catherine and I truly hope and pray that this is the last time I have to punish you for running in the house. As your brothers will tell you, I do not enjoy punishing my children. I do it to teach a lesson."

Cat went upstairs to her room, washed her face and hands, and then sat on the floor playing with her dolls and dollhouse. Ben walked upstairs to get her fifteen minutes later. He stood in the doorway to her bedroom and smiled as he watched her play. 'She might think she's an Apache warrior,' he thought, 'but she's still a little girl who likes to play with dolls.'

Cat looked up, saw her father standing in the doorway smiling at her and said, "Hi Pa."

"Hi Kitten."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Watching you play."

"Why?"

"Because I never had a little girl before and I like watching you."

"Oh, ok."

"Our company isn't here yet. Why don't you grab a book and come on downstairs? I'll push you on your swing for a little while and then if they're not here yet, you can sit in my lap and we'll read together."

"Ok. Should I bring King Arthur?"

"No, you and Little Joe are reading that one. Let's pick a different book. How about Gulliver's Travels? That sounds like a good book."

"Ok. I'll bring that one." Cat put her dolls away, took the book from her bookcase and went downstairs.

"Just put your book by mine and let's go outside for a little while." Cat set her book down and followed Ben outside to her swing. He pushed her for about ten minutes and looked at his watch. "I don't know why they're not here yet. Maybe the twins are acting up again."

"Mr. Winter has children?"

"Yes, he and his wife have two boys who are around your age. I think they may be ten but I'm not sure. They are not nearly as well behaved as you are. They even have temper tantrums. I'll push you for another ten minutes and if they're not here yet, we'll go inside and read until they get here."

Mr. Winter drove his buggy into the yard five minutes later. After he helped his wife and sister out, they all walked over to where Ben was pushing Cat on her swing. "Sorry to be late Ben. Seth and Jackson decided to get into a fight shortly before we were to leave home. As part of their punishment, they were not allowed to come with us today. It took me a while to find someone to stay with them. James McLeod agreed to stay with them while we were here. They have an early bed time and a week's restriction to the house with extra chores." Ben started to stop the swing while Mr. Winter was talking. "No, don't stop it yet. She's having so much fun and we're enjoying watching you push her. It's a shame the boys decided to act up. They could be here playing with Catherine."

"Alright John. If you don't mind, I did promise her another five minutes."

"Well then, don't break your promise on our account. I wish I had a little girl to push in a swing."

Before Ben could answer, Cat called, "Push me higher Pa. I want to see if I can touch the top of the tree."

"I don't even think Hoss could push you that high silly girl. You're just about as high as I can push you. John, I'll let you borrow this one when she's acting up."

Mr. Winter just laughed. "That sweet child can't possibly act up."

Ben laughed. I already told you that Hoss named her Wild Cat when she was just a toddler. She's been in trouble already twice this week because she won't stop running in the house. Alright Cat, our company is here and your time is up. I'm going to stop the swing now." The Winters were expecting a temper tantrum and were surprised when Cat didn't argue with her father.

When the swing finally stopped, Cat got of and hugged Ben. "Thanks for pushing me Pa. It was fun."

"I'm glad you had fun. Now, let me introduce you to our company. I know that you remember Mr. Winter. This is his wife, Margaret and his sister, Susan. She is going to be your teacher when school starts. Margaret, Susan, this is my daughter, Catherine."

Cat said hello to the Winters and asked, "Pa, can I show Fury to the Winters?"

Ben laughed. "Sure Kitten. If they want to see Fury, you can show him to them. Where are your puppies?"

"I think they're in the kitchen helping Hop Sing."

The Winters laughed. "That's a new one for me," said Mrs. Winter. "How do puppies help in the kitchen?"

"By eating any food that Hop Sing drops," replied Cat.

"Sometimes I think he drops some of that food on purpose," laughed Ben. "Those are two very well fed puppies. Cat, why don't you go ahead and take our guests out to see your colt? I'll find your puppies and send them to you."

"Ok. Thanks Pa." Cat turned to the Winters and said, "Fury is out in the pasture with the other foals and their mothers." She led them out to the pasture. Fury saw her and ran over to her and was hugged and kissed.

"He sure is handsome," said Susan. "How old is he?"

"He's almost three months old. I got him at my mother's funeral. A cougar killed his mother and my cousin, Mark McCain and I threw rocks at the cougar to scare it away."

"You and your cousin were very brave," said Mr. Winter. "I don't know if I would be brave enough to do what you did."

"May I pet him?" asked Susan.

"Yes. He likes to be petted. Adam told me about a flying horse named Pegasus and I'm going to teach Fury how to fly just like Pegasus did."

Ben joined them with Lassie and Silver Chief. "Cat, why don't you show our guests what you've trained Fury to do so far? I'm sure they would like to see how smart he is." The Winters watched, amazed, as Cat picked Silver Chief and Lassie up and put them on Fury's back. Then she walked around the pasture with Fury's chin on her shoulder and the puppies still on his back. Then she put the puppies on the ground and started to run. Fury trotted along side her without a lead rope. When the pair reached the group, Ben handed Cat a carrot which she broke in half. She put one half in the back pocket of her buckskin pants and Fury gently took it out and ate it. Then Cat put the other half between her teeth and once again, Fury gently took the carrot and ate it. "I really wish you wouldn't do that," Ben told her. "He might accidentally bite you."

"Fury would never bite me, would you boy?" In response, the colt put his head over one of Cat's shoulders and pulled her in closer to him so she could hug him.

"Look at that," said Margaret. "That colt is hugging Catherine. I've never seen anything like it before in my life and I grew up on a ranch."

"We don't know why he acts the way he does toward her. It could be because she rescued him or it could be because she slept with him that first night. Whatever the reason, one thing is for certain, those two love each other and would spend every minute of every day together if I would let them. I half expect to wake up one morning and find the colt in bed with her and her puppies. Catherine, we need to go up to the house now. Say goodbye to Fury. You can play with him again tomorrow."

"Ok Pa. Can I please run around the pasture with him one more time before going up to the house?"

Ben laughed. "Alright Kitten. One more time around the pasture and no, he cannot come in the house for supper and he cannot sleep in your bed."

"AWWWWW. I think he'd look cute sitting in a chair at the dining room table."

Everyone laughed. "Alright silly girl. One more run around the pasture and that's it."

Once again, the Winters expected a tantrum or at least an argument, but Cat just said, "Ok Pa. I'll be in the house in just a few minutes." She took off running around the pasture with the colt trotting beside her.

"You've done a great job raising her," said Susan.

"I wish I could take the credit, but I can't. That's one reason I wanted you to meet Catherine before school started. She is my younger sister's daughter and was raised by one of her father's brothers in Dodge City. Her father was killed in the war and her mother was murdered in June. I adopted her after my sister was killed. It's a long story how Catherine came to be raised by her father's brother. Maybe we can meet for dinner in town some day soon and I can tell you the story. I do need to warn you that she will be wearing her buckskins to school. All attempts to force her to wear a dress have resulted in Catherine being severely punished and ending up in tears. She's been through so much in her young life that I refuse to put her through that. She has decided to wear a dress to church but I have no idea how long that will last."

While they were walking back to the house, Cat ran past them to her swing. She pushed of f with her feet as hard as she could, swung a few times and then jumped off while the swing was in mid air. "I'd rather you didn't do that," said Ben. "You could get hurt."

"I won't get hurt Pa. Me and Mike and Pete used to do it on the school swings in Dodge all the time and we never got hurt. I still don't know why Uncle Matt got so mad at us when we climbed up the water tower. We were just having fun and weren't hurting anything."

Ben sighed. "It's Mike, Pete, and I and you could have been hurt. Accidents happen. One of you could have lost your footing and fallen off the water tower. You could have landed wrong when you jumped off the swing and gotten hurt."

Cat thought for a minute and said, "Ok Pa. I won't climb the water tower in town and I won't jump out of the swing when it's real high in the air."

Ben picked her up, put her over his shoulder and gave her a light swat. "That is for giving me more gray hairs than I already had. You and Little Joe are so much alike that if I didn't know better, I would swear that you had the same mother. I think I'll keep you right where you're at so you don't get into any mischief before we get into the house."

"But that's what Pete and Mike said I'm supposed to do."

"I'll just bet they did." He started tickling her and Cat giggled all the way into the house.

The Winters all laughed at the interaction between Ben and his new daughter. "I'll tell you what Ben," said John. "I'll swap my twins for your daughter for two weeks. You can straighten them out and I can spend two weeks spoiling your little girl."

"That sounds like fun Pa. I've never been spoiled before."

"I don't think so. You haven't even been home for two weeks and still need to learn how things are done here. Besides that, I'm still trying to straighten Joseph out and he's nineteen. Now I have to straighten you out too."

"Hop Sing says I'm perfect, so I don't need fixing."

"Little girl, you are far from perfect despite what Hop Sing says. Now, let's take our company into the house." He opened the door and Adam, Hoss, and Joe got up to greet their guests.

"What have you got over your shoulder Pa?" asked Adam.

"A gift for the three of you. Who wants it?"

"I'll take it," replied Adam. "I have always enjoyed getting gifts."

"Alright son here you are."

Ben handed Cat to Adam who looked at her and said, "Little sister, you need your face and hands washed. They are filthy."

"No I don't. I washed up before going outside with Pa."

"I'm taking you upstairs so you can wash up and this time I recommend standing closer to the soap and water. Let's go Squirt. Hop Sing won't let you anywhere near the table as dirty as your face and hands are." He picked a complaining Cat up, put her over his shoulder and carried her upstairs.

"Ben," said John Winter. "I am absolutely amazed at that child. Even though they're ten, my boys would have had temper tantrums when they were told their time on the swing was up and when they were told it was time to come in the house. How do you do it?"

"As I told your sister, I can't take the credit. Catherine was raised by one of her father's brothers. He's the U. S. Marshal in Dodge City and he did a very good job raising her. I'm sure that she had some tantrums when she was very young as all children do, but as long as she knows what to expect, she doesn't give me any problems. She'll ask to run around the pasture with Fury one more time like she just did or to swing for another five minutes, but she won't argue with me even if I say no."

Adam and Cat came back downstairs. He sat in his chair and put her in his lap. The adults talked for a while. Cat tried paying attention to what was being said but started getting bored. Adam could tell she was getting restless and said, "Cat, supper should be ready soon. Why don't you show your pretty bedroom to our guests before we eat? Hoss, Joe, and I worked hard to fix it for you."

"Ok." She looked at the Winters and said, "Do you want to see my bedroom? Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe fixed it for me." They followed Cat upstairs to her bedroom. While John stayed in the doorway, the ladies admired the room.

"This is a beautiful room," said Margaret. I love how the walls are green like your eyes and how you can see Lake Tahoe from one of your windows."

Susan looked at the bookcase and asked, "Do you like to read?"

"Yes ma'am. I read a lot. Right now, me and Little Joe are reading King Arthur when it's my bedtime."

"I'm glad that you like to read. Reading can take you to far away places that you may never have the chance to visit. I do notice that we're going to need to work on your grammar. You should have said Little Joe and I.

"Where do your puppies sleep?" asked John. "I don't see a bed for them. Do they sleep in the barn?"

"They sleep in my bed with me. I'm the middle of a puppy sandwich." The ladies were not happy with that answer and decided to talk to Ben about allowing the puppies to sleep in Cat's bed. They felt that the animals should be sleeping in the barn, not in the house, and certainly not in a child's bed.

Margaret took her husband out in the hall. "John, I want you to get Ben alone. We need to talk to him about allowing those animals to sleep in Catherine's bed. That is simply unacceptable. They should be in the barn, not in a child's bed."

"No Margaret, not here and not now. This is Ben's home and we are his guests. If you want to talk with him about his daughter's puppies the next time you see him in town, I can't stop you, but it had better not be at church and you will not mention it while we are here. He probably has a very good reason for allowing it. Don't forget, that child has been through a lot in her young life and having those puppies in her bed may be helping her to cope. Remember, her mother was murdered only two months ago."

Susan saw her brother and his wife go out into the hall and decided to take the opportunity to get to know Cat a little better. She sat down on the bed and invited Cat to sit next to her. "I know that your name is Catherine, but I'll bet that you like to be called Cat, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"That's what I thought. When I was growing up, one of my best friend's name was Catherine and she only wanted to be called Cat. Now tell me, what is your least favorite subject in school?"

"Arithmetic. I hate it."

Susan laughed. "I think that you and I are going to get along just fine. Believe it or not, I hated Arithmetic when I was your age too. You know, you never introduced me to your puppies. I would like to meet them."

"Oh. Sorry." Cat picked up Silver Chief and put him on the bed. "This is Silver Chief. My Apache brother Little Bear gave him to me." Then she picked up Lassie, put her on the bed and said, "This is Lassie. Mr. McLeod's brother gave her to me. They're four months old now. Whenever I go riding, they ride in my saddle bags."

Susan was concerned about Cat having an Apache brother but didn't say anything to her. She decided to talk to Ben about it when they met in town. She spent a few minutes playing with the puppies and said, "I think we'd better go back downstairs. Supper should be almost ready."

"Yeah. Hop Sing hates it when anybody is late for supper. He even yells at Pa when he's late."

"Well in that case, we had better go downstairs. I don't want Hop Sing yelling at me because I'm late for supper."

They walked back downstairs and a few minutes later Hop Sing told everyone supper was ready. "Missy Cat help bring food to table."

"Ok Hop Sing. I'm not real strong but I'll carry whatever I can."

Cat walked into the kitchen and Margaret looked at Ben and said, "That child is amazing. Our sons would never agree to help bring food to the table."

Cat carried the bowl of biscuits to the table and Hoss started to help himself, resulting in being scolded by his sister. "Hoss, you can't take your food before our company does. It's not polite."

"I guess she told you big brother," teased Joe.

"I'm just real hungry."

"You're always hungry," replied Adam. "Cat is right. We have company, all of the food isn't on the table yet and the blessing hasn't been said."

Hop Sing carried the platter of corn to the table while Cat carried the salad. When they were back in the kitchen, he handed her the bowl of green beans and said, "Put on table then sit down. Hop Sing bling lest of food to table and feed puppies in kitchen."

Cat carried the beans to the table and Joe held her chair so she could sit down. "Thank you Joe."

"My pleasure little sister."

After Hop Sing finished bringing the food to the table, Ben said the blessing and handed the bowl of potatoes to John. As the food was passed around the table, the Winters expected Adam to put food on Cat's plate and were surprised when he held each item so Cat could help herself.

"Hey little sister," complained Hoss. "Save some corn, potatoes, and gravy for me."

"Joe looked at the bowl of potatoes, elbowed Hoss in the side, and said, "There's still enough potatoes in that bowl to feed two of you. Cat hardly weighs more than a feather and needs to eat as much as possible so a strong wind doesn't carry her off. You just need to remember to leave enough food for me and Pa. In fact, I think you should get your food last so there's enough for the rest of the family."

"Alright you two," said Ben. "Remember, we have guests. Your brother is right Hoss. There is more than enough food left to feed two of you and Catherine does need to gain some weight."

"You know I love Hop Sing's squished potatoes and gravy," said Cat. "They're almost as good as chocolate cake."

"They're called mashed potatoes," said Hoss.

"I know, but when Hop Sing mashes them, he's squishing them so I like to call them squished potatoes. I could call them squmashed potatoes 'cause that would be squished and mashed put together."

Adam gave one of her braids a playful tug. "You go right ahead and call them squished or squmashed potatoes if you want to. I agree with you. It doesn't matter what you call them, they're still delicious."

After eating several bites of her food, Susan said, "This is a wonderful meal Mr. Cartwright. No wonder John insisted we accept the invitation. Hop Sing is an excellent cook and you are very fortunate to have him."

"Please call me Ben. Yes, Hop Sing is a wonderful cook and I feel blessed that he is here. He is more than just our cook. He is part of the family and even though I own the Ponderosa, Hop Sing is the real boss. I have even felt the sting of his wooden spoon when I interfere with his cooking by simply lifting the lid off of a pot. Catherine is the only one who doesn't get chased out of the kitchen when he's cooking. She made our flapjacks this morning and did an excellent job." Cat blushed and looked at her plate when her father complimented her.

Seeing Cat's discomfort at being complimented, Susan said, "Cat, since you and I are going to be friends, when we're not in school, you can call me Miss Susan. However, when we're in school, you're still going to have to call me Miss Winter. How does that sound to you?"

"It's ok if Pa says I can."

"Catherine," said Ben. "It is always alright to do something an adult says you can. If Miss Winter wants you to call her Miss Susan when you're not in school then you should do it." Everyone enjoyed the meal and when it was over, Ben said, "Catherine, if you help Hop Sing clear the table, we'll be able to have dessert sooner."

"Ok Pa. Just as soon as I finish my squmashed potatoes and milk."

Ben laughed. "How many helpings of potatoes does that make?"

"Three I think, because I had two pieces of corn."

"How about having a little more meat with those potatoes? There's one small piece left."

"Ok, as long as it's not too big. I need to save room for chocolate cake."

Everyone laughed. "As far as I can tell, you always have room for chocolate cake no matter how much you eat. It's a small piece. Pass me your plate and I'll put it on there for you."

Cat finished her food and began clearing the table. Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Hoss help clear table too. He eat most and only snap beans so he help clear table." Once the table had been cleared, Hop Sing served the chocolate cake and to everyone's amusement, gave Cat the largest piece.

After everyone had finished their dessert, they all went into the great room to sit and talk some more. Adam sat in his chair and pulled Cat into his lap. She started getting bored listening to the adults talk so she whispered something in Adam's ear. "Alright. Go and get it." She walked upstairs and returned with his guitar and handed it to him. "What song do you want me to play first?"

"The one about the wind."

"Do you remember what it's called?"

"No, not really. I remember it's something about a name for the wind."

"You're right. The song is called 'They Call the Wind Maria'. I learned it in one of the mining camps when I was in California."

After Adam finished the song, the others began requesting songs. They sang for a while then John looked at his watch and said, "We have time for one more song and then we need to go back to town. It's a long ride and James needs to get home so he can help his father in the store. Since it was Catherine's idea to have Adam play for us, I think she should choose the last song."

"Alright Squirt, what do you want me to play?"

"I want you to play 'Early One Morning'."

"I thought you would."

Once Adam finished the song, the Winters got up to leave. They thanked Hop Sing for the wonderful meal and everyone walked outside. As they were saying goodnight to everyone and getting in their buggy, Cat asked, "Pa, can I go and say goodnight to Fury?"

"No you may not. It's dark outside and I don't want you in the pasture after dark. Also, it's getting close to your bedtime so I think you should say goodbye to the Winters, use the outhouse and get ready for bed."

Cat sighed, looked longingly toward the pasture where Fury was and slowly walked over to the outhouse. John laughed. "Typical child. Anything to delay bedtime for as long as possible. Goodnight Ben. I'll see you in church on Sunday."

Cat wasn't ready to go to bed yet, so she took her time going back to the house. She really wanted to go and play with Fury but knew she'd be in trouble if she did. She stood out in the yard looking up at the moon and stars when Joe called her. "What's taking you so long Cat? If you don't hurry, we won't have time to read before you go to bed. I thought you wanted to read more of King Arthur."

"Ok Joe. I'll be in as soon as Lassie and Silver Chief finish doing their business."

Her puppies finished and Cat ran to the house. Once inside, she started to run to the kitchen to see if Hop Sing would give her a snack before bed when she felt herself grabbed from behind by a pair of strong hands. "Little girl, we need to have a serious talk about you running in the house," said Ben. "Since I caught you before you did, you are not in trouble right now, however we do need to have a serious talk." He walked over to his chair, sat down and put Cat in his lap. "Joe, please go and get Hop Sing. I want the entire family to hear what I am going to tell your sister."

Joe walked into the kitchen and told Hop Sing that his father wanted him. Hop Sing walked into the great room and said, "Little Joe say you want Hop Sing."

"Yes Hop Sing. Please sit down. Thank you for coming out here. I know you've had a busy day and are anxious to relax before bed, but I need you and my sons to hear what I have to say to Catherine. I just caught her starting to run in the house again. Since nothing I have done so far has worked, I have come up with a different idea. Catherine, starting tomorrow, when you are caught running in the house, you will have to stand in the corner for an hour and will not be allowed to ride any horse by yourself for a day. You will have to ride double with one of your brothers or myself. Each time you are caught, thirty minutes will be added onto the time you have to stand in the corner and one day will be added onto the time you will have to ride double with one of us. You will also receive a bare bottom spanking if you are caught running up or down the stairs, in the kitchen, or if you run into somebody. If the person you run into is holding a gun, I will use that big belt in the barn on your bare bottom. This is your only warning. I do not want to punish you but I will if I have to." Cat scowled when she was told what her punishment for running in the house would be. She hated standing in the corner and didn't want to ride double like a baby. Ben looked at his sons and Hop Sing. "If you catch Catherine running in the house, put her in the corner and let me know. If she needs a spanking, I will take care of it. Hop Sing may use his spoon on her but I will administer any spanking that is necessary. Catherine, do you understand what you have been told?"

Cat didn't like what her father had just told her but she just replied, "Yes sir."

"Good because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. Now go and get ready for bed."

"But I was going to ask Hop Sing for a snack. I'm hungry."

"You just finished a large meal. I can't believe you're hungry again."

"I know, but I am."

"Alright. Go and get ready for bed. Then you may have a snack." Cat walked upstairs and returned a few minutes later in her night clothes. "Hop Sing put a snack on the dining room table for you. Once you finish it, carry your plate and glass to the kitchen, say goodnight to Adam and Hoss and then go upstairs. Joe will be up to read with you shortly.

Cat finished her snack, said goodnight to Hop Sing, Adam and Hoss and went up to her room. Joe joined her a few minutes later and they read one chapter in King Arthur. Then he hugged and kissed her goodnight, put her puppies in the bed with her, turned the lamp low and walked downstairs. Ben walked upstairs to say goodnight to his daughter. He sat on the bed next to her and said, "I am very proud of the way you acted when the Winters were here. They were very impressed with your behavior and so are your brothers, Hop Sing, and I."

"Do Mr. and Mrs. Winter's sons really have temper tantrums?"

"Yes they do."

"How old are they?"

"They are ten, why?"

"I didn't think that ten year olds had temper tantrums. I thought only real little kids did that."

"How old were you the last time you had one?"

"I'm not sure, but it was before I started school, so it may have been when Uncle Rip, Adam, and Hoss took me back to Dodge after I lived with the Apaches. I remember I wanted to stay with the Apaches but my Grandfather said I had to go back and live with my white family. I may have had one then."

"Ok, so you were only four or five. That's what I thought. It's nothing to be ashamed of. All little children have temper tantrums. Sometimes it's because they're not getting their own way and sometimes it's because adults aren't listening to what they have to say. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you were very well behaved while our guests were her and Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, Hop Sing, and I are very proud of you. Now, it's time for you to go to sleep. You had a very busy day and tomorrow will be busy also because we'll be out at Lake Tahoe for a picnic with the Ingalls, Mitch, and Mike Devlin almost all day." He hugged and kissed Cat goodnight and said, "Goodnight Kitten. Never doubt that I love you very much and I am very happy that you're my little girl now." He tucked her in, blew out the lamp and went back downstairs.

He sat down in his chair and said, "Well Adam, I sure hope that your plan works."

"I do too Pa. Hoss, Joe, and I hate to see her getting in trouble for running where she isn't supposed to. I just thought of something. Cat may not be aware of the real danger that loaded guns pose. I know that she was standing next to her mother when she was killed, but I don't know if she's aware of the very real danger that a loaded pistol poses. Matt said he did his best to shield her from as much violence as possible. That's why he sent her out to the Tanners whenever a cattle drive came through. I have an idea that may help."

"What is your idea son?"

"I'm going to talk to Mike Thomas after church on Sunday and get some scrap pieces of different sized wood from the lumber yard. Then we're going to take the wood and Cat out away from the house and each of us is going to fire one bullet into each piece of wood from different distances. For example, Joe could fire from up close, I could fire from farther away, Hoss would be farther away than me and then you would be farthest. Maybe after seeing the wood, Cat would understand why we keep telling her it's so dangerous to run in the house."

"That's a great idea Adam," said Joe. "I sure hope it works."

"I agree with Short Shanks," said Hoss, earning him a glare from Joe.

"Yes, that is an excellent idea and I truly hope it makes the proper impression on your sister."

"There's just one thing," said Adam. "Until we show her how much damage a pistol can do to a piece of wood, if she's caught running in the house, just make her stand in the corner and don't make her ride double with one of us."

"She probably won't run in the house tomorrow," said Hoss. "She's gonna be playing with Fury and her puppies after breakfast and then she's gonna be getting ready for the picnic and we're going to be out at the lake most of the day."

"Sunday morning she'll be getting ready for church and then all of us will be in church, so she won't have time to run in the house then," added Joe. "Also, if one of us tries to stay with her whenever she's in the house for the next two days, she won't run."

"It shore can't hurt to try Pa," said Hoss.

"Alright Adam," said Ben. "I will go along with your idea because it may serve to keep Catherine from running in the house. As you said, she will be busy most of tomorrow and Sunday morning, so she won't have much time for running. I appreciate your willingness to stay with her when she's in the house to keep her from running. Now, I don't know about the three of you, but I've had a long day and tomorrow will be another long one and I am tired, so I am going to bed. I suggest you do the same."


	51. Chapter 51

Cat slept late the next morning. By the time she went downstairs, her brothers were finishing up the morning chores and Ben was on his second cup of coffee. She yawned and stretched as she walked down the stairs and almost bumped into Ben who put his coffee down, hugged her and said, "Good morning sleepyhead. I can tell that you're not fully awake yet."

"How?"

"Because you have your moccasins on the wrong feet and your shirt is backwards."

"Oh."

"You should fix them before your brothers tease you."

"I need to use the outhouse first. I'll 'xplode if I don't."

Ben laughed. "Well, I wouldn't want to you explode, so you had better use the outhouse. I think your puppies need to use it too."

"Ok. They will."

Cat walked out the door and headed for the outhouse. Her brothers came out of the barn and noticed that she was dressed wrong. "Hey Cat," said Joe. "Did you forget how to get dressed? Do we need to help you in the mornings?"

"Come here Punkin'," said Hoss. "Let me help you get your shirt right."

"Go 'way. I need to use the outhouse before I 'xplode. I'll fix it later."

Hoss laughed. "Ok Punkin'. You go and do what you need to do. You can fix your clothes later."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked into the house and greeted their father. "I guess a very busy day and a late night were too much for Cat. We noticed that her shirt is on backwards and her moccasins are on the wrong feet," remarked Adam.

"Yes, they probably were, but it doesn't hurt to let a child stay up late occasionally. It never hurt any of you boys. Cat was so well behaved with the Winters, I decided she deserved the privilege of staying up a little later than normal. Although I must admit it was funny to see her coming down the stairs dressed all wrong. At least she put her pants on right."

After Cat finished using the outhouse, she thought pumping some cold water on her head would help her wake up so she walked over to the trough and started pumping water. She wasn't fast enough and the water stopped running before she got to the front of the pump. Thaddeus came out of the bunkhouse and saw her trying to pump water on her head. "Good morning Miss Cat. Would you like some help?"

"Good morning Thaddeus. You can just call me Cat. So can Joshua. Yes, I would like some help. Thank you."

"My pleasure. If you'll walk around to the front of the pump, I'll work the handle and you can tell me when to stop."

Cat walked to the front of the pump and put her head under the spout. Thaddeus pumped water until Cat said, "Stop please. Thank you."

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yes I do. Thank you."

"You know, a little girl like you shouldn't go out and stay in town late at night," he teased.

Cat giggled. "But it was a lot of fun. I moved all of the cowboy's horses around so they wouldn't know which one was theirs. It took a long time because there were a lot of horses."

"That does sound like fun. Now, I think you had better go back in the house before you're late for breakfast. From what I've been told, Hop Sing doesn't like it when people are late for meals."

"You're right. I don't want him to yell at me this morning. Thank you for helping me with the pump."

"You're very welcome. Have fun today."

"I will. Thanks."

Cat and her puppies ran toward the house while Thaddeus walked over to the outhouse. When he returned to the bunkhouse, Joshua looked at him and said, "What took you so long?"

"I was helping Cat with the pump."

"That's Miss Cat to you pup," growled one of the other hands. "What makes you think you can address the boss' daughter by her name?"

"Because Cat said they could," said Pete walking in the door.

"And what gives you that right?"

"You're new here, so I'm going to tell you just once and then you're going to drop the subject. I have worked here ever since Mr. Cartwright built this ranch and have earned that right. Both Mr. Cartwright and Cat told me I could call her by her name. Now, I suggest you drop the attitude, finish your breakfast and get to work. This ranch won't run itself."

"That brat is just a baby and doesn't know what she's talking about. Also, I don't see the boss' sons doing anything to help keep this ranch going."

"Then you must be blind," replied Dave. "Those three work just as hard as the rest of us and they've been teaching Cat how to work cattle and mend fences too. Jason and I were out working with them earlier this week and she was real cute pounding nails into the posts. She kept apologizing to the nails for hitting them and bent a lot, but she tried real hard."

"I don't know what your problem is Frank," said Pete. "But if you're going to keep working here, you'd better drop the attitude. If you don't want to work here, fine. I'll go up to the house and ask Mr. Cartwright for your wages. Then you can be on your way and get a job somewhere else. It's your choice. Nobody's forcing you to stay."

Breakfast wasn't quite ready when Cat walked into the house. Ben looked at her wet head and asked, "Do you feel more awake now?"

"Yes. Thaddeus pumped the water for me."

"That was very nice of him. Now, I think you had better go upstairs and put your shirt on the right way."

"Can Thaddeus and Joshua come on the picnic today?"

"They can if they want to. Adam, will you please go out to the bunkhouse and tell Joshua and Thaddeus that they have been invited to join our picnic today?"

Nobody in the bunkhouse noticed Adam standing in the doorway while the exchange with Frank was happening. "Good Morning Pete. Is there a problem?"

"Good Morning Adam. Frank here has taken offence at the fact that Joshua, Thaddeus, I, and many of the hands have permission to call your sister 'Cat' instead of calling her 'Miss Cat'."

"Frank, what people call my sister and how much work my brothers and I do on **_our_** ranch is none of your business! Furthermore, Catherine is neither a brat nor a baby and, as Pete stated, you can either fix your attitude or collect your pay and find another job! I will be letting my father know about this problem and he can make the final decision as to what will be done about it. Now, for the reason I came out here before breakfast. Joshua, Thaddeus, how do the two of you feel about spending the day with four little girls?"

The brothers looked at each other, shrugged, and Thaddeus replied, "It's ok I guess. Why?"

"The Ingalls family will be joining us for a picnic at Lake Tahoe today and Cat has invited you to join us. Joe's friend Mitch Devlin and his younger brother Mike will be there also. We'll spend the day fishing and swimming. Hop Sing always packs enough food to feed a small army and Hoss."

"Adam," laughed Pete. "That's no way to talk about your brother. You act like he's a big eater. Everyone who knows him knows that Hoss doesn't eat much more than a baby elephant."

Everyone except Frank laughed.

"Sure Adam," said Thaddeus. "Josh and I would love to join everyone for the picnic even if it does mean spending the day with four little girls. Besides that, we're kind of fond of one of those little girls."

"You've just made that little girl very happy. We've got plenty of fishing poles if you don't have any. Everyone should be here by ten. Cat will probably want to show Fury to Mitch and his brother. She's quite proud of that colt and can't wait until he's old enough to ride."

Adam walked back into the house. Joe looked at him and said, "It sure took you a long time to invite Joshua and Thaddeus to the picnic."

Adam saw Cat coming back downstairs and said, "There was a problem. I'll tell you about it later." He looked at Cat and teased, "Well little sister, did you forget how to get dressed this morning? Do you need us to help you from now on?"

Cat stuck her tongue out at her brother and said, "Only if I can help you get dressed."

"Heavens no," he replied. "Not the way you got dressed this morning. Everything would be in the wrong place and backwards."

"Yeah," teased Hoss. "Our shirts would be where our pants go and our pants would be backwards where our shirts go."

"We'd probably end up wearing our boots on our heads, our socks on our ears, and our hats on our feet," added Joe.

"I think you'd look cute with your socks on your ears," said Cat. "You should do it tomorrow morning."

Ben walked over, picked Cat up and hugged her. "Come on silly girl. Breakfast is ready and if we don't sit down soon, Hop Sing will throw our food away and go back to China." He carried her over to the table, set her down and pulled her chair out.

During breakfast, Hoss asked, "Cat do you remember that hurt cow you found last week?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, her leg is better and we need to take her back to her friends this morning before the picnic."

"Is her leg really all better?"

"Yes it is. I'll show you after breakfast before we take her back to her friends. Adam, Joe, and I talked and since you found her, you get to take her back."

"All by myself?"

"Do you remember how to get there?"

"No."

"Well then, we'll go with you and show you the way so you don't get lost.

"Cat," said Adam. "You'll be happy to know that Joshua and Thaddeus will be joining us for the picnic today."

"That's good. I really like them."

"I know you do and they like you too. It was very nice of you to tell them that they didn't have to call you Miss Cat like the other hands do."

"They're my friends. They rescued me after my mamma died. I'm glad that they're here now."

After breakfast, Joe went up into the attic to see if he had any boots for Cat while Adam and Hoss went out to the barn to saddle horses. Cat helped Hop Sing clear the table then walked up to Ben who was sitting in his chair with a book and a cup of coffee. "Pa, if I tell you something will you promise not to get mad at me?"

Ben had an idea what she was going to say, pulled her into his lap and said, "Of course I won't get angry with you if you tell me something. What's on your mind?"

"Sometimes I wish my mamma had never come back."

Ben hugged her and said, "I know you do."

"You do and you're not mad at me?"

"Of course I do and I am **_not_** angry at you. I understand how you feel. Your whole life and world were turned upside down because she came back. If she hadn't come back, you would still be living in Dodge and just coming here on school holidays. Living here is a big change from what you have been used to. That's why the only rules I'm concerned about right now are safety rules and they are the same rules Uncle Matt had for you. No running indoors and no jumping your horse over fences. Once you start school, I'll be enforcing two more rules you had in Dodge. You have to go to school and you are not allowed to start fights. I really want you to understand that I love you very much, even when you do things you're not supposed to, and I am very happy that you're my little girl now. Does that make you feel better?"

Cat hugged him and said, "Yes it does. Will I ever get used to being here and stop wishing my mamma had never come back?"

"Of course you will Sweetheart. It will just take time. Remember, you haven't even been here two weeks yet. One day, it will seem like you've always lived here but it won't happen overnight. You will also look back on that week you had with your mother as a chance to get reacquainted with her. Just be patient and take things one day at a time. Now, here comes Joe and it looks like he found an old pair of his boots. Let's see if they fit you."

Joe walked back downstairs and handed a pair of boots to Cat. They were brown with a fancy design on them. "These were my dress boots when I was eleven or twelve. I don't know why I kept them. I guess I was always hoping to give them to a little brother but I never dreamed I'd be giving them to a little sister. They're going to be big on you, so why don't you go and get two more pairs of socks? Then you can try the boots on and we'll hope they fit with three pair of socks inside them."

Cat went up to her room, got two pairs of socks and came back downstairs. She put the extra socks on and then tried the boots on. "They're still too big," she said sadly.

"Try taking the extra socks off and wearing your moccasins inside them."

Cat did as Joe suggested. "They fit now," she said happily.

"That's very good," said Ben. "Now you have a pair of boots to wear when the weather is wet. We'll take them with us the next time we go to town and see if anyone can figure out how to make them fit better so you don't have to wear your moccasins inside of them. I would prefer it if you also wore them when you're helping your brothers with ranch work. They'll give you a little extra protection in case you happen to drop something on your feet."

"Ok. I can do that."

"That's my girl. Now you and Joe need to join Adam and Hoss so you can take that cow back where she belongs."

Cat and Joe walked outside to where Adam and Hoss were waiting. "Come on Punkin', let's go look at that cow so you can see that her leg is all better now."

"Ok Hoss. I really hope her leg is all better."

"It is. You'll see in a few minutes."

Once Hoss and Cat walked off, Adam said, "I need to talk to Pa about what happened in the bunkhouse this morning. You need to know it too."

The two brothers walked into the house. "I thought you were going to take that cow back where she belongs," said Ben.

"We are," replied Adam. "Right now, Hoss is taking Cat to show her that the cow's leg is better and to get her. Something happened in the bunkhouse that you need to know about."

Ben grew concerned. "What happened son?" Adam told his father about Frank's attitude and that both he and Pete had told the man to fix his attitude or draw his pay and leave. "Thank you for telling me about that problem. I'm going to talk to Pete and see if this man is a good worker or not. I'm also going to talk to some of the other hands to see how well he gets along with everyone. Once I know what he's like I will talk to him with Pete present and let him know if he still has a job or not. Have you told Hoss about this?"

"Yes I did. That's why I asked him to help saddle the horses while Joe was looking for boots."

"Thank you and I appreciate your decision not to involve Cat right now. She's got enough on her mind without worrying about one of the hands. Now you had better get outside because your sister will want to know why you were in the house instead of outside."

Ben walked outside with his sons and smiled as his daughter walked up leading the cow. "Look Pa. Hoss was right. Her leg is all better. Now she can go back with her friends."

"I see that Sweetheart. You had better take her back now because everyone will be here for the picnic in a few hours."

"Ok Pa. I wish I had a bigger horse than Star to ride. I rode a big horse in Dodge and don't know why I can't ride one here. I've ridden Sport and Cochise and Hoss said I could ride Chub sometime soon. I'm not a baby any more."

"I'll think about it. Right now, you had better take that cow back where she belongs." Cat mounted Star and Hoss tied the cow's rope to her saddle. Then he mounted his horse and all four of them rode out of the yard.

Ben walked over to the bunkhouse where the hands were leaving to go about the day's work. He talked to them about Frank and learned that the man was not a very good worker and none of the men wanted to be around him. Frank walked out of the bunkhouse and Ben told him to go back and walked in behind him. Everyone else left and Ben asked Pete to stay. Then he looked at Frank and said, "Adam told me about your attitude toward my daughter. What anyone calls her is none of your business. The same goes for what my sons and I do on our ranch. I have also spoken with many of the hands and have learned that you are not a very good worker and have a very bad attitude about everything. I pay an honest day's wage and I expect an honest day's work in return. If you do not fix your attitude and start doing your share of the work, you will be looking for other employment. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir Mr. Cartwright."

"Very well then. Get your horse and attend to whatever work you have been assigned to do today."

Ben walked out of the bunkhouse and spotted Joshua and Thaddeus mending the corral fence and chopping wood for the bunkhouse. He walked up to them and said, "Well boys, I understand that you are going to be spending the day with four little girls. Now, that decision wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you are quite fond of one of those little girls, would it?"

"Oh no, not at all," they both lied, causing Ben to burst out laughing. "That's what I thought. She's thrilled that you're going to be joining us. And to be honest, I am glad also. I haven't had a chance to talk with you since you came here and this will give me the chance. I'd like to get to know you better. Oh, and since we're going to be in a family setting, you may call me Ben while we're out at the lake."

"Thank you," said Joshua. "We are looking forward to spending the day with that certain little girl. The last time we spent any time with her, she was pretty banged up."

"Yes, I know. I know that you've been told this before, but I can't tell you how grateful I and the rest of the family are for what you did for her. She's the youngest child in the family and my younger sister's only child and it would have killed the rest of us if she had died."

"We just couldn't leave her at the bottom of that ravine," said Thaddeus. "It's going to be fun watching her grow up."

"Well, I'd better let the two of you get back to work. We'll see you at ten. Be sure to wear or bring clothes you can swim in and prepare to be outfished by at least one little girl."

"Little girls like to fish?" asked Thaddeus incredulously.

"Not all of them do but Cat and Laura do."

"This should be an interesting day," replied Joshua. "Do they bait their own hooks or does someone have to do it for them?"

"Believe it or not, they bait their own hooks. They also take the fish off their hooks and know how to clean them."

The two brothers looked at each other in amazement. "Next you're going to be telling us that they aren't afraid of frogs and toads either," said Thaddeus.

"You are correct. "Frogs, toads, and snakes don't bother them at all. In fact, her Godparents said that on the way to Arizona, a snake sleeping in the road startled Cat's horse and Ginger ran off with her. Once she stopped the horse, Cat went back to find the snake and yell at it for sleeping in the road where it could get hurt. I almost had to spank her the other night because she was trying to catch some raccoon kits that were on top of the outhouse. I wouldn't put it past her to climb out her bedroom window one night to try and catch them."

Joshua and Thaddeus laughed. "Mr. Cartwright," laughed Joshua. "You certainly do have a little Wild Cat on your hands. Like my brother said, it's going to be a whole lot of fun watching her grow up."

Ben laughed. "Yes it is but I wish she weren't quite so wild. I went through that with Joseph and although he has settled down some, he's still wild. Catherine is wilder than Joe was and isn't afraid of doing dangerous things."

"I certainly hope not," said Thaddeus. "I didn't risk my life getting her from the bottom of that ravine only to see her risk her life again by doing something dangerous."

"I'll tell you about it later. Anyway, finish what you're doing and then take the rest of the day off. Hop Sing will most likely cook whatever fish we catch for supper and many hands will be needed to clean them. You will also be eating supper with us. I'll let Pete know."

Joshua and Thaddeus were surprised at the supper invitation. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright," said Joshua. "It will be a pleasure to join everyone else for supper. We'll see you at ten."

Ben walked back to the bunkhouse and told Pete that he had given Joshua and Thaddeus the rest of the day off and that they would be joining the family for supper. Frank overheard the conversation and became irritated. He thought he should get the day off, go on the picnic, and have supper with the family, not Joshua and Thaddeus. Ben looked out one of the windows, saw Frank eavesdropping and told Pete that he wanted Frank working as far away from Lake Tahoe as possible and that he wanted two of the most experienced hands with him to keep him from interfering with the picnic. Then he walked out the door and confronted Frank. "It has been at least ten minutes since I told you to get your horse and attend to the work you were assigned for the day. Instead I find you standing here listening in on my private conversations. I will tell you this once only. I do not tolerate eavesdropping from anyone, especially my hands. The next time you are caught eavesdropping, your employment on the Ponderosa will be terminated immediately. You have until Friday to straighten yourself up and do the job you were hired to do or you will be unemployed. This is your only warning. Now go and see Pete. He has a new assignment for you today."

Ben walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and told Hop Sing about the problems with Frank. "He no like Missy Cat. You tell Pete keep him far from her so he no hult her."

"Don't worry, I will. I'm also going to tell Pete to keep him with experienced hands who can do just that. Once school starts and she's going by herself, I'll make sure he's working as far away from the road as possible. I don't want him anywhere near her until his attitude improves. I hope it does because I need as many hands as possible for the fall roundup next month. I'll even have Cat out there chasing strays. I'm not sure if I am going to tell her that the cattle drive is going to Dodge."

"You no tell her. She get upset and want to go on dlive. She skip school to go on dlive. Get in big tlouble."

While Cat and her brothers were taking the cow back to the rest of the herd, the first west bound stage of the day was pulling into Virginia City. A tired Reverend Jonas exited the stage, stretched and accepted his bag when it was handed to him. Then he walked over to the Sheriff's office to see Roy, who was just leaving to get some breakfast. "Good morning Reverend Jonas. If I had known you were going to be on the early stage, I would have met you. Have you had any breakfast? I'm on my way to get some now and would be grateful for the company if you would care to join me. You can put your bag in my office and retrieve it after we've eaten."

"Good morning Roy. No, I haven't eaten breakfast. Thank you for the invitation. I gladly accept." The two men walked over to the café and ordered breakfast. Roy asked about Oklahoma and the Reverend told him that he and his wife had settled in and his new congregation was more than twice the size of the one in Virginia City. Reverend Jonas asked how things had been in Virginia City since he left and how the new minister had been accepted.

"Things here have been pretty quiet. Mrs. Thompson had twins, a boy and a girl, and they are very happy. Amy Nicols and Robert Andersen are betrothed and plan to marry in the spring. Ben Cartwright adopted his niece and Catherine is learning to adjust to life on a ranch instead of in a city. It's not an easy adjustment for her because she had a lot of freedom in Dodge, which she doesn't have on the Ponderosa."

"I understand. It will take time but I am certain that she will eventually adjust. Please tell me, what did my niece do to have her employment as the school teacher terminated? I'm assuming that the theft of the books was discovered after she was terminated."

"Yes it was. I don't know what she did, I just know that the school board meeting was very noisy. Paul Martin is on the school board. He'll be able to tell you why they made their decision. If you'd like, we can walk over there after we finish our coffee."

"That would be fine. Thank you. I am looking forward to seeing Paul again."

The two men finished their coffee and walked over to the doctor's office. He was sitting at his desk, reading the latest medical journal and looked up when the door opened. He shook hands with Roy and Reverend Long and said, "Good morning Roy. Michael, it's good to see you again. I trust your trip from Oklahoma was uneventful. I'm sorry you had to make the trip on such short notice, but this problem needs to be dealt with."

"I understand and I am sorry my niece has caused problems. Please tell me what she did to cause the school board to terminate her employment."

"Please sit down and we will talk."

"Thank you. Roy, you are welcome to stay and listen if you want to. Then, I would appreciate it if you would accompany me to talk with Judge Taylor."

Roy sat down and Paul began to speak. "You are not going to be happy, but I need to tell you that I wanted to terminate your niece's employment long before you left for Oklahoma. However the majority of the school board overrode my recommendation. The younger children were not allowed to use the outhouse and were punished if they had an accident in their pants. Your niece favored a handful of students and neglected the rest. The children were expected to complete assignments with no instruction on how to do them and were given low grades when the assignments were wrong. Ben Cartwright took his daughter's books to the school to ask if they were the same ones being used here. Your niece has never met Catherine but told Ben that she was stupid and so were most of the students in the school."

Reverend Jonas listened to what Paul had to say and asked, "Why wasn't I informed of this sooner? I would have removed her from the teaching position myself."

"I wanted to tell you but I was forbidden to do so by the majority of the school board. They kept her on as the teacher out of loyalty to you. I should have ignored them and told you anyway."

"That is utter nonsense and grown men should know better! They should have known that as a man of God, I would not have tolerated that behavior from anyone, let alone my niece."

"I know that, which is why I wanted to tell you. I did the best I could and with their parents' permission, had the older students come over here after school where I assisted them with their Arithmetic and Grammar. I believe that some parents got together to help the younger students."

"I am glad that the students weren't left to struggle because of my niece. Paul, let me ask you something as a doctor. Is it possible that Prudence is insane? She has always been slow and even as a child tended to take things that didn't belong to her, even if she didn't need them."

"No Michael. I do not think your niece is insane. She may have a mental defect that causes her to behave the way she does, but my professional opinion is that she does not need to be institutionalized. You probably should take her to a specialist in New York or Boston for their opinion. I recommend keeping her under close supervision and finding something she can do where she doesn't have to be responsible for handling other people's belongings. She should never be allowed to teach again."

"Thank you for your professional opinion. Judith is a seamstress and has started making dresses for some of the ladies in the congregation. Prudence could help her with the sewing. Rest assured, she will never step foot into a classroom again. Now, if you two will accompany me, I need to go and make my apologies to Judge Taylor. When is the next school board meeting? I need to apologize to the parents and let the school board members know that I am not happy with their decision to keep my niece's behavior problems hidden from me. I am her guardian and as such, I should have been notified immediately."

"The next school board meeting is Monday night. Adam Cartwright and his brothers inspected the school for soundness and he is going to report his findings at the meeting."

"Well, since I am certain that Prudence has not obeyed my instructions to pack her belongings, I will attend that meeting and leave on Tuesday. Does the teacher's house have one or two bedrooms? If possible, I should stay there to supervise her packing."

"It has three bedrooms," replied Roy. "Given what you have just told us, I think you will need to supervise her with her packing. You can leave your bag in my office until you're ready to go over there."

The three men walked over to the courthouse and spoke with the judge who was very understanding. He said that he had only instructed Miss Smith to report to him and Roy because he was afraid she would run away before Reverend Jonas arrived. He also said that because all of the stolen books had been returned and the school board was not pressing charges over the threat to burn down the school, Reverend Jonas was free to take his niece with him when he returned to Oklahoma. Reverend Jonas thanked the judge and walked out of the courtroom with Paul and Roy. "Let's walk down to the parsonage," said Paul. "I want to introduce you to Reverend Long and his wife."

"I really should ride out to the Ponderosa and apologize to Ben for the way Prudence acted toward Catherine."

"They're not home," said Paul. "The Ingalls, Mitch and Mike Devlin are joining them for a picnic at Lake Tahoe today. They probably won't return to the house until close to suppertime."

"Well in that case, we may as well walk down to the parsonage." They walked down to the parsonage and introduced Reverend Jonas to the Longs who invited them in for coffee. Everyone sat and talked for a while then Reverend Jonas said, "I had better get my bag and see my niece. I am certain that I will need to supervise her packing."

Reverend Jonas got his bag from Roy's office, walked over to the teacher's house and knocked on the door. Miss Smith opened it and said, "Hello Uncle Michael. It is good to see you. I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in Prudence? We have much to talk about."

"Of course Uncle. Please come in."

Reverend Jonas walked into the house, looked around and said, "I moved to Oklahoma in June. I told you before I left. Why haven't you started packing? I sent you a telegram telling you that I would be here today to take you back with me."

"But I can't go with you. I am the teacher and school starts in a week."

"No child. You are no longer the teacher. You did some very bad things and need to come and live with me and Aunt Judith. She is looking forward to seeing you again."

"But those children were stupid and needed to be punished. So I made them soil themselves and stay in their soiled clothes all day. Aren't I clever? They won't be so stupid this year."

Reverend Jonas sighed. "No Prudence. Those children are not stupid. They are young and needed to be taught. The way you treated them was very wrong. This was your last chance to show the family you could live by yourself and earn a living. You failed again, so now you have to come and live with me and Aunt Judith. We have a room all prepared for you. Now, you and I need to start packing your things because we are leaving for Oklahoma on Tuesday."

"I am not going with you. This is my house and I am staying here. I need to start preparing lessons for my special students."

"I am not going to argue with you. I am your guardian and as such, I am responsible for you. I have told you that you are coming to live with me in Oklahoma and that is the way things are going to be. You are twenty one years old now, but if you insist on acting like a child and defy me, I will punish you like a child. Now, we are going to get some crates and start packing your things so we can leave on Tuesday." Miss Smith pouted but accompanied her uncle to the freight office to buy some crates so they could pack her things.


	52. Chapter 52

The picnic guests began arriving shortly after Cat and her brothers returned from taking the cow back to the rest of her herd. Cat proudly showed Fury off to them and everyone, especially Joshua and Thaddeus were amazed at how much work she had done with him in less than two weeks. They were equally amazed when Cat picked her puppies up, put them on the colt's back and walked around the pasture with him walking right beside her. Charles Ingalls shook his head in amazement and said, "If that doesn't beat everything. I've raised many horses in my life but have never seen anything like that before."

"Neither have I Charles," replied Ben. "I didn't start raising horses until I began this ranch but I am totally amazed at the things that colt will do for that little girl. Do you know that she's planning on teaching him how to fly? Adam told her about Pegasus and she's determined to teach Fury how to fly. Nobody here has the heart to tell her that Pegasus was just a myth and Fury needs wings if he's going to fly. Alright Cat. You can stay here and play with your colt or we can go on our picnic. What is it going to be?"

"The picnic!" exclaimed Cat happily. She gave Fury a hug and kiss and climbed over the pasture gate and onto Ben's back.

"Girl, when are you going to put some weight on? Your brothers are right. We're going to have to fill your pockets and boots with rocks so a good strong wind doesn't carry you away. Charles, you have three daughters. Is it normal for a nine year old to weigh so little?"

Charles laughed. "Well, Half Pint doesn't weigh all that much. Has the doctor examined Cat?"

"Yes, and he says she's just fine."

"Well then, stop worrying. Cat is only nine and little girls don't weigh as much as little boys. Cat, climb over here onto my back and let me see just what your Pa is worried about."

Cat climbed from Ben's back to Charles' who proceeded to laugh at Ben. "Ben you are worrying about nothing. Cat weighs just about the same as Laura does. Both of them are healthy. If you want to worry about something, worry about when she gets old enough for courting. Now let's get this picnic going before you find something else to worry about that doesn't need to be worried about."

Ben laughed. "Alright Charles. I'll quit worrying about how much Cat weighs. Right now, I would prefer not to think about her becoming old enough to court."

They reached the barn and Adam, Hoss, and Joe began saddling horses for everyone. Mitch helped and hitched up the buggy for Caroline. "Charles, do you want to ride a horse or in the buggy with Caroline?" asked Adam.

"I'll ride in the buggy with Caroline. With three children, we don't get to spend much time alone together."

"I want to ride a horse," said Carrie.

"And so you will," replied Hoss. "You're going to ride up on a big horse with ol' Hoss here. We might even go for a short gallop."

Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Mitch started leading horses out of the barn. Ben looked at the horses and asked, "Who is Beauty for?"

"He's for Cat," replied Joe. With Laura riding Star and Mary riding Ginger, Cat needs a horse to ride. She's an excellent rider Pa. You know that. She has ridden both Sport and Cochise with no problems except needing a little help getting into the saddle."

Ben sighed. He wanted to say 'Let her ride the pony Dusty' but instead just said, "Ok".

Once all of the horses were out of the barn, Cat's brothers started carrying the fishing poles and worm cans out of the barn. "Please bring a fishing pole and worm can for me," said Caroline. "I plan to catch more fish than everyone else."

Mary and Laura were surprised at their mother's words. "You fish Ma?" asked Mary.

"Yes she does," replied Charles. "That's one of the things that attracted me to her. Not only can she fish, she can also bait her own hook, take the fish off, clean and cook it."

"My father taught me when I was a child," said Caroline. "He said that as long as I know how to fish and am near water, I will never go hungry. That's why I have encouraged you girls to learn how to fish. I know you don't like it Mary, but there may come a time when you need it to survive."

"Alright Ma," replied Mary. "I'll fish but I won't like it."

Charles and Caroline laughed. "You don't have to like it Sweetheart," said Charles. "We just want you to be able to take care of yourself if you ever have to. Now, which horse are you riding?" He helped her to mount Ginger, helped Laura to mount Star and adjusted the stirrups for both girls.

Joe had adjusted Beauty's stirrups too short so Cat was having a hard time mounting him. Since she wanted to prove to Ben that she wasn't a baby, she didn't ask for help. She led the horse over to the chopping block, stood on it and mounted the horse that way. Then she tried to adjust the stirrup length while she was in the saddle and almost fell out. "I would have helped you," said Ben, catching her.

"Only babies need help and I'm not a baby. I can do it myself."

"Everyone needs help once in a while. You can't adjust the stirrups while you're in the saddle. Nobody can. Ask your brothers, Mitch, Thaddeus, Joshua, and Charles and see if I'm right. Now, sit up straight and hang your legs down so I can put the stirrups to the right length for you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Kitten. I don't ever want you to be afraid to ask for help just because you think I'll think you're a baby. You are my daughter and it's my job to help you just like it's my job to help your brothers even though they are a lot older than you are. Now, where are your saddle bags?"

"I left them on the hitching rail. I'll get them. Oh, I forgot my ball again."

"I've got them for you," said Joe. He handed her the saddle bags and put a puppy in each side of the saddle bags. "Who gets to hold the ball today?"

"Lassie does. Silver Chief got to hold it last time."

"Alright. Here you go Lassie. You get to hold the ball this time. Don't lose it now. The girls and Mike are going to want to play with it at the lake."

Cat giggled at her brother's comments. "You're silly Joe. Lassie isn't going to take the ball out of my saddle bags and throw it on the ground."

"No, she probably won't do that, but she and Silver Chief might decide to play catch while you're riding."

"They don't have hands and can't throw the ball."

"Well, they're pretty smart puppies so they might figure out how to do it."

"Joe, Pa says that nobody can adjust their stirrups when they're in the saddle. Is that right or he just treating me like a baby again?"

"Yes, Pa is right. You have to adjust your stirrups before you get in the saddle or have someone do it for you."

"Oh. Well, how do you know how long to make them before you get in the saddle? Everybody always does it for me and I want to know how to do it myself."

"We'll talk about it later. Everybody's waiting to go to Lake Tahoe for the picnic." He walked of and mounted his horse. Hoss put Carrie in his saddle, swung up behind her and everyone rode off toward Lake Tahoe.

"Go fast Hoss," said Carrie.

Hoss laughed. "Alright little one. We'll run in just a few minutes. There's too many trees right here, so we need to wait until we get to a spot where there aren't any."

They came to a clearing and everybody laughed as Carrie said, "Go faster Hoss. I want to go really fast."

Hoss laughed and said, "Alright Carrie. Hold on tight ta the saddle horn and we'll go fast." Carrie held on to the saddle horn as tight as she could and Hoss urged Chub into a gallop.

They galloped for a while and when Hoss slowed Chub down to a walk, Carrie protested. "Don't stop Hoss. I want to go really fast. It's fun."

"We'll gallop again later. After all, we wouldn't want poor ol' Chubby here to get tired out, now would we?"

"No, I guess not. But I like to go really fast. Can we really do it again later?"

"Yes little one. We'll do it again later. Right now, we need to wait for everyone else ta catch up with us."

The party reached the lake and the girls started to go behind some bushes to change into their swimming clothes when Caroline called them. "Girls, come and help take everything out of the buggy. You can change clothes once it is empty. The lake will still be there. I promise, it won't go anywhere."

The girls giggled at the thought of Lake Tahoe walking off and helped to empty the buggy. While the girls were changing clothes, Ben took his guests to the lake to show them where the children were allowed to swim. "They are not allowed to swim out past the end of that tree unless there is an adult out with them and gives them permission. Catherine, Laura, and Mary know the rules. If one of them goes out past the tree without adult permission, they will have to sit under a tree for an hour. If it happens again, they will not be allowed to swim again today." No sooner had he finished speaking when the girls ran toward the lake only to be stopped by Ben. "Girls, what are the swimming rules?"

"Stay between the two trees and don't go out past the long one without an adult," the three older girls said together.

"Very good. I'm glad you remembered. Why don't you stay in the shallow water with Carrie for a few minutes until everyone else has changed? You're not strong enough to take her out deep and could get tired out easily."

Laura, Mary, and Cat looked at each other for a minute and then Mary said, "Ok, we'll stay with Carrie until Ma or Pa or someone can take her out deep."

"Yeah," said Laura. "It wouldn't be fair to leave her here alone while we swam out where she couldn't."

"We're good swimmers," said Cat. "But I don't think it would be easy for us to keep Carrie and us from going under the water."

"That's my girls," Ben said hugging them. "You are being very thoughtful and I am very proud of you."

Cat ran and got her ball and the four girls stayed in the very shallow water playing catch until everyone else had changed. Before long everyone had changed clothes and was in the lake. Hoss picked Carrie up, put her on his shoulders and said, "Come on little one. Let's show the big girls how far you can swim out. You just hang on tight to ol' Hoss and we're going to go out past where the big girls have to stop." Carrie giggled as Hoss tickled her feet while he started walking out into the lake.

The other girls and Mike Devlin swam out to the end of the big tree and started splashing each other. Cat decided to see how far she could go without being punished so she put both feet out past the end of the tree. Joe saw what she was doing, quietly swam up behind her, put a hand on her head and dunked her under the water. Cat came up sputtering and fighting mad. " **What in tarnation did you do that for? I wasn't doin' anythin' wrong. I'm still on this side of the tree.** "

"You were playing with fire little girl and I had to put the fire out before it spread to your bottom. I guarantee that if you go out past that tree without permission, your bottom will end up on fire. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yeah."

"That's good." Joe dunked Cat one more time and swam off. Cat got angry, swam after him and tried to dunk him but Joe was stronger and dunked her again.

Ben and Adam were standing in knee deep water and watched Cat stick her foot out past the end of the tree. "Aren't you going to stop her?" asked Adam.

"No, Joe is. Watch what he does." They stood and laughed as Joe dunked his sister and she tried to dunk him in return. "I don't need to step in every time. You and Hoss helped keep Joe out of trouble and there's no reason why the three of you can't work together to do the same for your sister."

Mike, Mary, and Laura saw Cat struggling to dunk Joe and decided to help their friend. He was no match for the four children and called Adam to help him. "What's wrong baby brother? Can't you handle four little kids? You're nineteen now and it's time you stopped needing help from your older brothers," teased Adam. He grabbed Mike by the waist and gently tossed him aside before doing the same thing with Cat. The two children decided to get even and tried to dunk Adam, who tossed them aside again. While Adam was fending off his sister and Mike, Joe was still dealing with Laura and Mary. Cat caught Laura's eye, brought one of her knees out of the water, pointed to it and then to her brothers. Laura smiled and nodded. Both girls dove under the water and Cat grabbed Adam around his knees while Laura did the same with Joe. It only took a minute for the brothers to lose their footing, end up under the water and come up sputtering. "Why you little monster," teased Adam as he chased Cat. "When I catch you, I'm going to use you for bait and then I'll catch the biggest fish in the lake."

"No Adam," called Joe. "I'm going to use my prize for bait and catch the biggest fish in the lake just as soon as I catch her."

Joe and Adam tried to catch Laura and Cat but their efforts were hampered by Mary and Mike who were holding onto their legs.

Carrie was still sitting on Hoss' shoulders and laughed at her sisters, Cat, and Mike trying to get the best of Adam and Joe. "Hoss, help the big girls and Mike."

He looked and laughed at his sister and her friends getting the best of his brothers. "No little one. I don' think the big girls an' Mike need our help. They're doin' jus' fine without us."

Everybody played and swam until Caroline called everyone to come and eat dinner. While they were eating, Ben took the opportunity to talk to Joshua and Thaddeus. They told him about their family and early life and that their father had a small farm in Wyoming which they sold when their mother died. "I'm convinced that if our father hadn't tried so hard to curb Bill's wildness, he wouldn't have turned outlaw," said Joshua. "The three of us were close until Bill started getting older and rebelling against everything our father tried to teach him. I'd give anything to get him to change his ways, but I'm afraid it's too late for that now."

"The only time it's too late is when someone is dead and buried. Until then, there is always room for hope. How old are the pair of you anyway? I didn't even think to ask when I hired you. It's not important but I am curious."

"I'm seventeen," replied Thaddeus. "I'll be eighteen on Thanksgiving Day."

"I turned twenty in May," said Joshua.

"You're younger than I thought you were but that doesn't matter. I've gotten very good reports on both of you from Pete and the other hands. You're both hard workers and that's what I expect. So, what do you think of the little girl you rescued now?"

"She's cute," answered Joshua.

"I agree," said Thaddeus. "She is cute. But, judging from what I saw earlier, you're going to have your hands full. Something tells me that she's not done testing her boundaries."

"I'm afraid you're right. She is very independent and doesn't think she'll ever be hurt by her actions. She still doesn't understand why her uncle Matt was angry with her and her friends for climbing the water tower in Dodge when they were six."

Joshua and Thaddeus laughed. "It sure is going to be fun watching her grow up," laughed Thaddeus. "I hope we won't need to pull her out of too many scrapes."

After dinner, Caroline called Cat over to her and had her sit down. Then she called Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Ben. "You have been doing a good job braiding Cat's hair except for one small detail. You're not getting the sides even and girls hate it when their hair isn't right." She showed them how one braid was farther forward than the other one and said all they had to do was gather the hair a little farther back.

Ben chuckled and Joe asked, "What's so funny Pa?"

"I was remembering your mothers. They used to fuss about their hair a lot. Even on the journey westward, Inger made sure to fix her hair every morning and whenever we stopped to eat. I guess little girls aren't any different from grown women when it comes to their hair."

Once the leftover food had been put away, everyone played and swam for a while and then decided to do some fishing. Carrie took turns sitting in everyone's lap, helping them fish while Lassie and Silver Chief chased small fish near the shore. When everyone was done fishing, the four older children whispered to each other and Mike got an empty stringer. Each of them put two fish on the stringer for Carrie. The others saw what the children were doing and added two fish each to Carrie's stringer. Then they counted all of the fish and Caroline had done what she said she would and caught the most fish. All of the children were very impressed. "Wow Ma," said Laura. "You really are good at fishing. I didn't think you'd really catch more than everyone else."

Everyone dumped their worm cans back into the holes they had dug them out of and covered them up again. Then they put their fishing poles in the back seat of the buggy and got their stringers of fish. Charles called Carrie over to him and handed her stringer of fish to her. "These are the fish you caught, so you have to carry them just like everyone else is doing."

Carrie took her stringer of fish and proudly showed them to everyone who admired her catch. "You really done a good job catchin' fish little one," said Hoss. "You can come fishin' with ol' Hoss anytime. When ya get a little bit bigger, I'll teach ya how to bait your own hook. Now, let's tie them on Chub's saddle horn and get you mounted up so's we can head back to the house. We got a lot of fish to clean before Hop Sing can cook them and we gotta get goin'."

When the party reached the house, Hoss helped Carrie down from his saddle, handed her the stringer of fish and told her to go and show Hop Sing. Carrie walked into the kitchen carrying her stringer of fish and said, "Look Hop Sing. I caught all of these fish."

Hop Sing hugged her and said, "Little girl do leally good job and catch lots of fish. Make Hop Sing vely happy. Now take fish outside to clean." Hop Sing picked up several large bowls and a bucket and carried them outside. "Little girls and little boy pick vegetables and set table. Evelybody else clean fish."

"I'll help the children pick vegetables," said Caroline. "We'll need a lot of vegetables since there are so many people to feed."

"Thank you Mrs. Caroline. You light. Need many vegetables for many people." Caroline, the girls, and Mike picked the vegetables. Caroline and Mike shucked the corn, Carrie and Cat cut out the biscuits while Mary cut up tomatoes and Laura snapped the beans. Once they were done helping Hop Sing, they set the table.

After all of the fish had been cleaned and given to Hop Sing, all of the men walked into the great room and sat down. Since there was still about an hour until supper would be ready, the children decided they wanted to play on Cat's swing. "Who's going to push us?" asked Cat.

Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Mike whispered together for a minute then Mary said, "Little Joe and Thaddeus."

Adam laughed. "I'm glad you girls decided to pick on somebody besides me for a change. Thaddeus, have fun on little girl duty and be glad they decided to have Joe help you. The last time I pushed them, my shoulder muscles were sore for more than a day. I'd better warn you about those girls. I don't know about Mike, but the girls expect to be pushed high enough to touch the top of the tree. They don't believe me when I tell them it's not possible."

Joe and Thaddeus laughed. "Come on kids," said Thaddeus. "I can't guarantee that I can push you as high as the tree tops, but I'll do the best I can." They all walked outside, followed by Mitch who couldn't wait to watch his best friend push four little girls on a swing.

"Ok," said Joe. "Whose turn is it to go first?"

"Mike's," answered Cat. "Because he's never been here before."

"Who do you want to push you Mike? Me or Thaddeus?"

Mike was about to say he didn't need anyone to push him but decided to pick on his brother's friend instead. "You Joe." Mitch leaned back against a tree and laughed while his best friend pushed his little brother in the swing.

Joe looked at Mitch, scowled and said, "One thing you're going to learn is that for the most part, what little sister wants, little sister gets. The last time Mary and Laura were here, Adam had little girl duty. Tonight it's my and Thaddeus' turn. Next time it might be Hoss, Pa, or you." Then he said, "Ok girl, what order are you going in today and who is pushing you?"

Mary answered, "Carrie is next because this is her first time on the swing. Then it's Cat's turn because it was her turn to go first. Then it's my turn and after me comes Laura because she went first last time."

"I like the way you girls are taking turns going first," said Thaddeus. "Carrie, who is going to push you?"

"Little Joe," replied Carrie.

"Who's going to push you Mary?" asked Joe.

"You are."

"Laura, Cat, who is going to push the two of you?" asked Thaddeus.

"You are," replied both girls together. "And we want to go high enough to touch the tops of the trees."

"I don't think I can push you that high. I don't even think that Hoss can push you that high, but I'll do my best."

Joe and Thaddeus pushed Mike and the girls on the swing until Ben opened the front door and called, "Joe, Thaddeus, Mitch, Mike, girls, supper is almost ready it's time to come in and wash up. Half of you use the bath house and the rest of you use the wash room upstairs."

Mitch, Mike, Mary and Carrie went into the bath house while everyone else went upstairs. Cat was the last one to wash up. After she finished, she started to run for the stairs when she heard a soft voice behind her. "That's not a very good idea little sister," said Joe. "Do you want to stand in the corner when we have company? You know that's what will happen."

"Yuck no," replied Cat. "Thanks big brother. I didn't even think about that."

"No problem Cat. That's part of my job as your brother. Now let's go downstairs and get some supper. I'm hungry and if we don't hurry, Hop Sing will be angry with us and Hoss may eat our share of the food."

They walked downstairs and Ben asked, "What took you two so long to wash up?"

"Little sister missed a few spots when she washed up. I had to make her stand closer to the soap and water."

Adam and Hoss laughed. "That shore does sound a lot like you when you were Cat's age," teased Hoss. "I lost count of how many times Pa made you wash up again because you didn't stand close enough to the soap and water."

"Alright, that's enough," said Ben. "All three of you were the same way when you were boys. Now, sit down so we can eat supper. Cat, go and help Hop Sing bring the food to the table."

Cat sighed but didn't say anything. She didn't think it was right that she had to help bring the food to the table while her brothers just sat there. There were fourteen people at the table, so it would take time to bring all of the food out. She started walking toward the kitchen when Laura and Mary got up and said, "We'll help too. That way we can eat sooner. We're hungry."

"That's an excellent idea," said Caroline. There are fourteen of us, so there is a lot of food to be brought out of the kitchen. I'll help the girls and Hop Sing."

"So will I," said Mike to the amazement of his brother.

With five extra pairs of hands to help, it took no time at all for all of the food to be brought to the table. Before he walked back into the kitchen, Hop Sing whispered something to Cat, causing her to smile.

When supper was over, Ben was about to tell Cat to help Hop Sing clear the table when he said, "Big boys help clear table. Little girls, little boy and Mrs. Caroline pick vegetables, shuck corn, snap beans, cut out biscuits, set table and cally food to table. Big boys only clean fish."

"Well, I guess that means you and Mitch, Little Joe," said Adam. "Hoss and I haven't been boys in years."

"Number one and Number two sons help clear table or Hop Sing use spoon. Filst night Missy Cat home, Mr. Cartlight say when company have suppel, whole family help clear table, not just Missy Cat."

"You're absolutely right Hop Sing," said Ben. "I did say that. Adam, Hoss, help your brother and Mitch clear the table and, since the girls, Caroline, and Mike did so much to help get ready for supper, the four of you can clear the table after dessert also."

"Mr. Cartlight head of family. He help too. Chop Chop or Hop Sing use spoon."

"Alright Hop Sing. You don't need your spoon. I'll help too." Ben turned to his guests and said, "As you can see, although I own the Ponderosa, Hop Sing runs the house and even I have to listen to him. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to help clear the table so we can have dessert."

With Hop Sing supervising, the four Cartwright men and Mitch had the table cleared in no time at all and Hop Sing brought a large chocolate cake to the table and gave everyone a piece. Once dessert had been eaten and the table cleared, everyone took their coffee and milk into the great room. No sooner had Adam sat down in his chair when Cat said, "Adam…?"

"Yes Cat, go and get it," laughed Adam. She walked upstairs and returned with his guitar. He played while everyone sang and the children danced.

After more than an hour of singing and dancing, Charles said, "One more song girls then we have to go. We still have to take our Saturday night baths and get ready for church in the morning."

"But Pa," said Laura. "We don't need to take baths tonight. We've been swimming in Lake Tahoe all day so we're already clean."

"Laura's right," the rest of the children chimed in. "We're already clean so we don't have to take baths tonight."

The adults laughed. "Nice try," said Charles, "However, you still need to take baths and wash your hair. You children need to pick one more song for Adam to play before we leave."

The girls and Mike whispered together and decided to let Carrie pick the last song. "Alright Carrie, what song do you want me to play?" asked Adam.

"'Buffalo Gals'."

After the song ended, Charles told the girls it was time to leave. They said goodbye to the Cartwrights and started to leave. Mitch said it was time for him and Mike to leave also, while Joshua and Thaddeus said they had to get back to the bunkhouse. Joe walked outside to say goodnight to Mitch who asked, "I'm curious Joe. Why did your father invite those two hands to join us today? I've never known him to include hands in family events before."

"You can probably expect to see them joining the family for more events in the future. I'll tell you more about it after church, but if it wasn't for Joshua and Thaddeus, Cat wouldn't be here now. The whole family owes them a large debt of gratitude."

Once all of the guests left, Ben said, "Go and get your night clothes Cat. It's time for your bath."

"Laura's right. We were swimming all day and shouldn't need a bath. I'm already clean. Lake Tahoe doesn't have dirty water in it."

"Sorry Kitten," replied Ben. "You still have to take a bath and wash your hair tonight. Hop Sing has your bath water ready. Now, go unbraid your hair, get your night clothes and take your bath. The rest of us still need to bathe tonight also." Cat did as she was told, grumbling the whole time about grownups not making any sense and maybe the world would be better off if it was run by kids. Her father and brothers just laughed at her.

When Cat had finished her bath, Hop Sing told her that he had put a snack on the table for her. She walked into the dining room and found a piece of chocolate cake and glass of milk waiting for her. Ben said, "Don't take too long eating your snack Cat. I want you to get a good night's sleep so you're not tired in church tomorrow."

"I'm not going to church."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm not. I'm going to stay here and eat chocolate cake all morning. There's a lot left and I don't want it to spoil, so I have to stay here and eat it."

The rest of the family laughed. Ben walked over to her and kissed her on top of her head. "Now you're sounding like Hoss. That's something he would say when he was a boy."

"That does sound like a real good idea," said Hoss. "How 'bout it little sister, can I share that cake with ya?"

"Sure Hoss. You just can't eat it all."

"Wait a minute," complained Joe. "Adam and I like Hop Sing's chocolate cake too."

"Yeah, but not as much as me and Hoss do."

"That's Hoss and I," said Ben. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but nobody is staying home from church tomorrow just to eat chocolate cake. Now finish your snack so you have time to read with Joe before bed."

Cat finished her snack, took her plate and glass into the kitchen, and started to go to the outhouse when she remembered that her moccasins were in her bedroom. She walked back into the great room and started to go upstairs when Adam made a low bow and said, "I have anticipated thy need my lady and have fetched thy glass slippers for thee. Please allow thy humble servant to assist thee in putting them on thy feet. When we have finished with that, if thou wouldst climb upon my back, it would be my pleasure to act as thy gallant steed for the night."

Cat giggled and sat down in Adam's chair. He got down on the floor and put her moccasins on her, picked her up and stood her in his chair so she could climb up on his back. When they got out in the yard, Adam started to run and Cat said, "Faster, faster. I want to go really fast."

"Thy wish is my command my lady." Adam ran around the yard as fast as he could two times and stopped in front of the outhouse. "We have reached thy destination my lady. Please allow me to assist thee to dismount."

When Cat had finished in the outhouse, Adam helped her to climb up on his back again. "I wish to see mine colt before going back into the castle."

"I must apologize my lady; however, thy colt has retired for the evening. Perhaps thou canst see him on the morrow. Now, I must needs return thee to yon castle as the hour grows late and thou must needs arise early in the morning." Cat giggled as Adam ran around the yard twice and then walked into the house. "My lady must needs say goodnight to thy chef, father and middle brother so I may escort thee to thy chambers. Then thy youngest brother wilt come and read with thee." Cat said goodnight to Hop Sing, Hoss, and Ben and Adam carried her upstairs on his back. Adam set her down on her bed, pulled the covers back and said, "If my lady wilt allow me, her humble servant wilt assist her in removing her glass slippers." He took her moccasins off, helped her into bed, pulled the covers up, and hugged and kissed her goodnight.

"You're being silly Adam."

"Yes, but it's fun to be silly once in a while."

He went back downstairs and Joe went upstairs to read with Cat. After they read a chapter, he hugged and kissed her goodnight, pulled the covers up to her chin, blew out the lamp and walked back downstairs.


	53. Chapter 53

A/N: To Kathy Seffron: Thank you for your kind review. You forgot to sign in so it came up as a guest review. I wish I had their luck fishing too. The fish in Lake Tahoe must have really been biting that day.

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Cat woke up in the middle of the night needing to use the outhouse, so she quietly crept downstairs followed by her puppies, unlocked the door and went outside. When she looked at the outhouse roof, much to her delight, the raccoon kits were up there again. When she finished in the outhouse, she tried catching the kits, following them all over the yard as they ran from tree to tree. She was so busy trying to catch them that she didn't notice Hoss behind her until he gave her a hard swat and said, "What in tarnation do you think you're doin'? Do ya know how much trouble you'd be in ifn Pa caught ya out here chasing them critters? Your bottom would still be sore at breakfast. Now get yourself back in bed and don' ever pull a stunt like that again. 'Cause if ya do, I'll take ya to Pa myself." He put his hands on her shoulders, turned her toward the house and sent her on her way with another swat. "That girl is gonna end up in a whole heap of trouble ifn she don't quit chasing them critters," he said to himself.

The next morning, Cat came downstairs dressed for church but wearing her moccasins instead of her shoes. "Where are your shoes?" asked Ben.

"They hurt my feet so I left them upstairs."

"Remember Pa, Cat's been wearin' moccasins since she was four," said Hoss. "She ain't used to wearin' shoes."

"Alright Kitten. It does take time to get used to new shoes. I'll tell you what, we'll do your shoes the same way you did your hat last Sunday. You can wear your moccasins until we get to town but you have to wear your shoes in church. Now, who's going to braid your hair this morning?"

"Adam is."

Adam sighed and said, "Alright Squirt. We may as well do this in your bedroom. You can bring your shoes down with you when we're finished so you won't have to go back upstairs again before we leave for church. You need a sunbonnet also, so you can get one while we're upstairs." They walked up to Cat's bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Alright, let's see if I can do a better job than Joe has been doing." He took his time and braided Cat's hair. When he finished he said, "Take a look in the mirror and see if I did a good enough job for you."

Cat looked in the mirror and said, "You got the sides even. Now you need to teach Joe, Hoss, and Pa how to do it. I hate it when my braids aren't even."

"You really shouldn't say that you hate something, especially something as simple as your braids not being even. You could say that you really don't like it when your braids aren't even, but you shouldn't say that you hate it. Now, get your shoes and sunbonnet. I'm sure that breakfast is ready and we need to eat before leaving for church."

When breakfast was finished and the table cleared, Ben said, "Catherine, you have fifteen minutes to spend with Fury. Be careful not to get your dress dirty because you won't have time to change before we need to leave." Cat left her sunbonnet hanging on the back of her chair, grabbed her hat, and started out the door when Ben said, "Catherine, you are wearing a dress. Girls wear sunbonnets when they're wearing dresses, so put yours on." Cat sighed, grabbed her sunbonnet, hung it around her neck, put her hat on her head, and ran out the door before Ben could tell her to put the sunbonnet on her head. He watched his daughter disappear out the door and emitted a loud sigh. "Is that child ever going to start acting like a girl instead of a boy?" he wondered out loud.

His sons laughed at his question. "Probably not," laughed Hoss. "She ain't acted like a girl since Kate took her to live with Matt, so she probably ain't gonna start doin' it now. There's a reason I named her Wild Cat."

"Í doubt it," said Joe. "I can picture her still wearing buckskins and riding like the wind with a couple of children on the horse with her." Ben rolled his eyes at the thought of Joe's picture of Cat in the future.

"She might once she's grown and married," added Adam.

"I certainly hope she starts acting like a girl long before she gets married," replied Ben. "Joseph, will you please go and tell your sister it's time for us to leave for church?"

Joe walked out to the pasture where he found Cat happily playing with her puppies and Fury. "Come on Cat. It's time to leave for church."

"I don't want to go to church. It's just as boring as school is. Uncle Matt didn't make me go to church so I shouldn't have to go here. I want to stay here and play with Fury."

"Sorry Squirt. I don't want to go either. Neither do Adam and Hoss, but Pa says we have to. The only way you can get out of going to church is if you're sick or hurt. Say goodbye to Fury and let's go. Pa will warm your bottom if we're late because you don't want to go. You really don't want to have to sit on that hard wooden church pew with a sore bottom because if you wiggle too much trying to get comfortable, you'll get another spanking when we get home. Now let's go before Pa gets angry."

Cat reluctantly left Fury and went with Joe. When they reached the buggy, Ben asked, "What took so long to get your sister?"

"She was on the far side of the pasture," lied Joe. "You told her not to get her dress dirty, so she couldn't run and risk falling and getting dirty."

"I told her she had fifteen minutes and that was almost thirty minutes ago."

"Pa," said Hoss. "How good was we at knowin' how long we'd been somewhere when we was nine? I seem to remember you was always fussing at me and Joe when we was nine because we took longer than you said."

"You're right son. It's been so long since any of you were nine, I had forgotten that nine year olds don't have a good sense of time. We need to leave now. Catherine, where are your shoes?"

"I dunno. Somewhere in the house I guess."

"You should have put them in the buggy before going out to play with your colt. Go and get them and hurry up. I don't want to be late."

"I couldn't. The buggy wasn't out yet."

"Don't worry about that now. Just go and get your shoes." Cat started slowly walking toward the house. "Catherine, I told you to hurry so stop taking your time."

Cat was getting tired of being fussed at so she said, "I don't want to go to church, so I'm gonna change into my buckskins, play with Fury and then go to Uncle Rip. He'll help me get back to Uncle Matt. He only said I had to go to church on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, so I shouldn't have to go more than that here."

Ben was losing his temper and was about to put his daughter over his knees and warm her bottom when Hoss got out of the buggy and walked up to Cat. "Come on Cat. You won't win that argument. None of us likes goin' to church but Pa says we have to, so we do. Now let's get your shoes before Pa warms your bottom for you." Cat walked into the house with Hoss and pretended to look for her shoes. Hoss gave her a swat and said, "Girl, if you don' quit wastin' time, I'm gonna warm your bottom and then give you to Pa who'll warm it more. Get your shoes and go back outside to the buggy." Cat reluctantly did as she was told but instead of sitting in the front seat with Ben and Adam, she sat in the back with Joe and Hoss.

"You're grumpy this morning," said Joe. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go to church. I want to stay home and play with Fury, Lassie, and Silver Chief. Uncle Matt said the only time I had to go to church was on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. So I don't know why I have to go now."

"We have to go to church because Pa says we do. Adam, Hoss, and I don't want to go either but Pa says that as long as we live in his house, we have to follow his rules and his rules include going to church on Sundays."

"I'm tired of dumb rules that don't make any sense and I'm tired of being treated like a baby and not being allowed to go anywhere by myself. I want to go back to Uncle Matt and if you won't take me, I'll go to Uncle Rip and he'll take me to Uncle Matt."

Joe hugged his sister. "Cat, you have only been home for two weeks. That isn't nearly enough time to learn your way around the ranch. Adam, Hoss, and I are starting to show you how to get around, but it takes time. I was born on the Ponderosa and still didn't know how to get around the whole ranch when I was nine. There are also places on the ranch I wasn't allowed to go to alone even when I was thirteen. You have got to be patient. There is only so much we can do at once."

When they reached the church, Ben took Cat out of the buggy and, thinking he was out of earshot of Paul, Roy, and Reverend Long, said, "You are in big trouble young lady. Your behavior this morning was inexcusable. When we get home, you and I are going to have a discussion in the barn and then you will spend the rest of the day in your room copying verses out of the Bible. Because of the way you behaved this morning, you will not be sitting with your friends. You will be sitting next to me and you _will_ sit still. If you wiggle, move around or swing your legs, the discussion will be with my belt and you will spend all day tomorrow in your room also. Attending church on Sundays is not up for discussion. Now go, stand by Adam and wait for me."

Just as Ben finished speaking, Reverend Long walked up, picked Cat up, hugged her and said, "You look so cute in that dress, I think I'm going to steal you and your puppies. Let's go and say hi to Mrs. Long. I know she wants to see you too." He started walking toward his wife with Cat still in his arms. Once they were away from the buggy and Ben had moved it, he asked, "Why is your Pa angry at you?"

"Because I didn't want to come to church this morning. I wanted to stay home and play with Fury and my puppies. And I said I was going to go to Uncle Rip so he could take me back to Uncle Matt. He said I only had to go to church on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas."

"Let me see if I understand. You are going to get a spanking and have to spend the day copying Bible verses because you didn't want to come here this morning."

"Yes sir."

"Don't worry. That is not going to happen. I am very angry at a lot of parents in this church, including your Pa. You will be sitting with your friends this morning too. Your Pa won't get angry at you if I put you with them. In fact, before church starts, I'm going to give you to Mrs. Long and ask her to sit with your friends. I don't think your Pa is going to make a scene and force you to sit with him if you're with my wife."

Cat hugged him and said, "Thank you."

"That's quite alright. Look, Dr. Martin and Sheriff Coffee are with my wife. I know they are going to want to say hi to you also." They walked up to the others and Cat got hugs from them. Reverend Long told his wife, Paul and Roy about Ben planning to punish Cat because she didn't want to go to church. "The parents in this congregation are going to get an earful from me this morning about the way they treat their children, especially in church."

Ben walked up to the group and said good morning to everyone. Then he said, "Catherine, I distinctly remember telling you to go, stand by Adam and wait for me. I've had enough of your disobedience this morning and I intend to do something about it right now."

"Don't blame Catherine for not obeying your instructions. I heard you tell her to go and stand by Adam but I decided to pick her up and carry her around and I fully intend to hang onto her until I'm ready to start the service. Then it will be my wife's turn to spend time with her and her friends. If we feel like it, we may give her back to you after the service. And then again, we may decide to keep her."

Ben was upset that his instructions were not being followed but there was nothing he could do about it so he just sighed and walked off to greet more of his friends.

With Cat still in his arms, Reverend Long walked around greeting the church members as they arrived. When they reached Mrs. Warren, she looked at Cat and her puppies and said, "You should not be carrying that child around. It belongs with its family and I certainly hope that those awful creatures are not going to be allowed in the church again today. They have no business being here."

"Good morning Mrs. Warren. Catherine is right where I want her and yes, her puppies will be in church again this morning. In fact, they will be in church every Sunday morning. They are God's children too."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. I will talk to the church elders and get them to put a stop to it. Those foul things should have been drowned when they were born and that brat has no business being in your arms. I am certain the elders will agree with me that it belongs with its family if it even has one. If it doesn't have a family, send it to an orphanage."

"Mrs. Warren, Catherine is not an 'it'. Nor is she a brat. She is a very well behaved little girl who happens to be Ben Cartwright's daughter. She is in my arms because I enjoy carrying her around. God created her puppies and as long as I am the minister of this congregation and I want them here on Sunday mornings, they will be here. Now if you will excuse me, I need to greet more people and begin the service."

"Reverend Long, this is only your second week here. Everyone knows that Ben Cartwright does not have a daughter. He has three grown sons. If that child does not have a family, it should be in an orphanage, not here at our church with decent people."

"Mrs. Warren, children are people, not objects. I must ask you to please refrain from referring to Catherine or any other child as an 'it'. He could feel Cat starting to shake in his arms as she fought to remain silent and said, "You need to go into the church Mrs. Warren. I am going to begin the service in a few minutes." He walked away and Cat snuggled into his shoulder and started crying. "She's not a very nice person, is she?"

"No."

"But guess what?"

"What?"

"God still loves her."

"How can God love someone like that?"

"'Wanna know a secret?"

"What's that?"

"I don't know. I just know that God loves everybody, no matter what kind of person they are. You know what else?"

"No, what?"

"God wants us to do the same thing."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, I am serious. God wants us to love everybody, even if they're not nice people."

"But I can't love Mrs. Warren. She's mean."

"I understand, but God wants you to love her."

"That's dumb."

Reverend Long laughed. "I felt the same way when I was your age. We'll talk about it later. Right now, I've got to get the church service started." He walked up to Ben and said, "I've got someone here who needs a hug."

"There is nothing I would rather do than hug that little scamp." Ben reached over and hugged Cat tightly. "There is something else she needs."

"What's that?"

"Her face washed. It's quite dirty." Ben reached into his pocket, took out his handkerchief, handed it to Cat and said, "Go, run over to the pump Sweetheart and wash your face. Then you need to use the outhouse before church starts." Cat ran off and Ben asked, "What happened? Why was Cat crying?"

"Mrs. Warren said some very nasty things about her and her puppies. I'll tell you more after the service, but you should be very proud of that little girl. Mrs. Warren was very nasty but Cat didn't say a word. I could tell she wanted to and I wouldn't have blamed her if she did, but all she did was hold onto me tighter."

Cat walked back up to Ben and Reverend Long and gave the handkerchief back to Ben who looked at her face. "Try standing closer to the wet cloth next time Cat. You missed most of your face." He gave her the handkerchief again and said, "Here. Wash your face again. You're nine years old now and I shouldn't need to do it for you." Cat took the handkerchief, made a funny face, causing Ben and Reverend Long to laugh, and washed her face again. Ben looked at her, kissed her on top of her head and said, "That's much better. Now I can see my little girl, not a lot of dirt. You need to go with Reverend Long. He said that Mrs. Long wanted you to sit with her today. Before you go, I need another hug." He picked Cat up, hugged her and gave her back to Reverend Long who walked off to give Cat to his wife.

Ben walked over and joined his sons who were waiting for him at the church steps. "Where's Cat?" asked Adam. "I heard you tell her she had to sit with us today."

"She's very upset and is going to sit with Joanne Long and her friends. I don't know what was said, but Reverend Long said that Mrs. Warren said some very nasty things about your sister and her puppies. However, I still intend to have that discussion in the barn with her when we get home and she will spend the rest of the day in her room copying verses out of the Bible. Her behavior this morning was unacceptable." His sons just looked at each other, wishing there was something they could do for their sister.

Reverend Long rang the bell and everyone went into the church. Before beginning the service, he welcomed Reverend Jonas to the service and then said, "I have been asked to announce that there will be a meeting of the school board at seven o'clock tomorrow night. All members are expected to attend and all parents are welcome. After the opening hymn, he said, "Our text this morning comes from the ninth chapter of Luke, verses forty six through forty eight and the tenth chapter of Mark, verses thirteen through sixteen.

The Gospel of Luke, _Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great._

The Gospel of Mark, _And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them._

I had planned on a different text for this morning; however when I witnessed the way parents and other adults treated the children of this congregation last week and this morning, I felt compelled to choose different texts, just as I did not long after I became the minister at the church in Cairo, Illinois. I was appalled to see children being pinched, poked, prodded, and slapped because they could not sit still. After the service, I witnessed one child being drug out of the church by his ear. This morning, one parent informed his child that when they reached their home after the service, that child was going to receive a whipping and spend the day copying Bible verses alone in their room because that child did not want to come to church this morning. Another adult spoke about children in very disparaging terms.

That is not the way our Lord wants children to be treated. He rebuked his disciples for not allowing parents to bring their children to Him. He blessed the children and said that children were very important to God and adults needed to become as little children to receive the kingdom of God. If He were here now, he would be very upset at the way the children are being treated. Children are not miniature adults. They are bundles of energy and cannot sit still for long periods of time. When they are in school, they are allowed to play before school begins, they are given a recess period in which to play and they are allowed to play during their dinner break. Teachers do not expect them to sit perfectly still. However, they do expect them to sit quietly and pay attention to the lessons. I have seen adults who can't sit still for more than fifteen minutes, so why do you expect young children to sit perfectly still for several hours?

When our Lord was on Earth, children were not expected to sit still for that long. Except for the few occasions when he taught in the temple, Jesus taught outside. People came and went during his teaching sessions. Everyone sat on the hard ground and often shifted positions to get comfortable. Temples did not have benches to sit on so everyone stood or sat on the hard floor and they had to shift positions to remain comfortable. When He said, _Suffer the little children to come unto me_ , He was not saying to make the children suffer because they couldn't sit still. He was saying to let the children come to Him so He could bless them."

Reverend Long continued talking and telling parents how God wanted them to treat their children. He said that punishing a child by making them copy verses out of the Bible could cause them to turn away from God as they grew up. He also told them if their child said they didn't want to go to church, they should try and find out why because it was possible that someone in the congregation was being mean to them. He also addressed the way Mrs. Warren talked to and about children, telling the congregation that children deserved to be treated with respect just as adults do. When he finished speaking, Reverend Long called all of the children up to the front of the church where he hugged them and blessed them before sending them back to their seats. Then he said, "Children, I am not telling you that you can get up and run around, stand up in the pews, or talk to your friends or siblings during the service. Quite the opposite. You still need to stay quietly seated and pay attention to the lessons and sermon. However, starting with today, I want you to tell me if you are punished by your parents for not sitting completely still in church or not wanting to come to church. You need to tell your parents why you don't want to come to church and it needs to be a good reason, not just that church is boring. I have been in your shoes and know that church can be boring. I will do my best to make my sermons interesting, but I may not always be successful. Even if my sermon is not interesting, I still expect you to sit quietly and pay attention to what I am saying. If you don't understand something I say, remember what it is and ask me after the service. I will gladly explain it to you. Do not be afraid to ask me to explain something you don't understand. You will not be punished for asking. God wants everyone to understand His word and that includes children."

After the church service was over, Reverend Long walked up to Ben and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I need to borrow Cat for a few minutes. We began a conversation before church began and I'd like to finish it before you go home. Don't worry, she's not in any trouble. I was trying to explain to her what God meant when He said we need to love everybody, even people who are mean or do bad things. Something like that is difficult for a young child to understand. I know it was for me when I was Cat's age. I may have to do a sermon on that topic so that all of the children can try to understand what God meant."

"Good luck with that," replied Ben. "The family is still trying to convince her that she is not responsible for her mother's death. I believe that Adam had an errand to do while we were in town today, so we'll take care of that and come back for Catherine."

"That's fine. Come on Cat. Let's go and sit on the church steps and finish our conversation from earlier." They walked over and sat on the church steps. "Now, when I said that God wants us to love everybody, even people who are mean, I don't mean that you have to let them move into your house and act like they're your family. What I mean is that you have to be nice to everyone and pray for them, especially if someone is mean to you. That person might have something going on in their life nobody else knows about and that is causing them to be mean. When you see someone who has been mean to you, be polite and say hello. If they start saying mean things, do just like you did today and don't say anything back. Just say good day, walk away and tell an adult."

"I still think it's dumb that I have to love someone who's mean and be nice to them."

Reverend Long laughed. "I totally understand. I felt that way myself when I was your age. But that's what God wants us to do so you need to do your best. You never know. If you pray for someone who's mean, they may eventually stop being mean."

While Cat and Reverend Long were talking, Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked over to the lumber yard to get four pieces of wood while Ben went over to talk to the Winters. Adam and his brothers walked into the lumber yard office and found Mike Thomas sitting at his desk, working on his books. He looked up when the door opened, stood up and greeted his visitors. "Adam, Hoss, Joe, what can I do for you today?"

"Hello Mike," said Adam. "We need to get four pieces of wood. They don't have to be too large, but I would like them to be different thicknesses. Scrap lumber will work just fine."

"I'm sure I've got some scraps like you're looking for lying around. Let's go out in the yard and have a look. If you don't mind my asking, what do you need the wood for?"

"We need to prove a point to our little sister."

"Oh that's right. You have a little sister now. May I ask what point you are trying to prove? Even though my Michael is just a baby, I may be able to make some suggestions."

"Catherine will not stop running in the house. Last week, she ran into Pa when he had a hot cup of coffee in his hand. She doesn't seem to realize the danger of having loaded weapons in the house and what could happen if she ran into one of us when we are carrying one. We plan on shooting into each piece of wood from different distances to show her what could happen if she runs into someone carrying a loaded gun and it goes off."

"WOW! That is not good at all. I don't have any suggestions right now, but take however much wood you need. I will pray that what you are going to show her works to keep her from running in the house and I will ask Karen if she has any suggestions."

"Thank you. Pa is at his wits end about her running in the house. We did come up with a plan that Cat absolutely hates and we hope will stop her from running in the house. Whenever she gets caught running in the house, Cat will have to stand in the corner for an hour and will not be allowed to ride any horse by herself for a day. She'll have to ride double with one of us or Pa. Each time she gets caught, thirty minutes will be added onto the time Cat has to stand in the corner and one day will be added onto the time she has to ride double with one of us. She's also going to get a bare bottom spanking if she is caught running up or down the stairs, in the kitchen, or runs into somebody. If the person she runs into is holding a gun, Pa is going to use the big belt he keeps hanging in the barn on her bare bottom. We're hoping to change her behavior before that happens."

"Those are some pretty serious consequences. I really hope that she thinks about what she's doing before she runs in the house. She's a cute little kid and I'd hate to see her or anyone else get hurt. Let's see if we can find that wood you're looking for." They walked out into the lumber yard and started trying to find the wood Adam wanted.

While Cat was talking to Reverend Long and her brothers were at the lumber yard, Ben walked over to the Winter's house. He knocked on the door and John opened it and invited him inside. "What brings you over here today Ben? I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow night."

"Since I need to let your sister know about Cat's background, I thought we could meet for supper tomorrow before the school board meeting. If we meet at five thirty that will give us plenty of time to eat and talk before the meeting begins."

"That's fine with me. Let me check with Virginia and Susan to see what they want to do." He walked into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later. "Supper at five thirty is fine with the women. I'll ask James McLeod to stay with the boys until their mother returns. Will Adam be with you?"

"Yes he will. I believe he wants to put some finishing touches on his report but it will be ready long before the meeting starts. I've got to get back over to the church before Reverend Long decides to keep my daughter. He hinted as much before church began this morning."

John laughed. "I don't blame him. She's a sweet little girl. I wouldn't mind stealing her from you myself."

Ben pretended to growl. "Don't even think about it. I'm going to have to hire extra hands just to keep people from trying to steal her. Roy and Paul have been trying ever since she was born. I'll see you, Virginia and Susan tomorrow at five thirty."

Ben walked back to the church where Cat and Reverend Long were just finishing up their conversation. He hugged Cat and said, "Would you mind waiting for me in the buggy Sweetheart? Reverend Long and I need to talk about some grownup things for a few minutes. We shouldn't be long. Your brothers had an errand to do and should be back shortly. Then we can all go home and have dinner."

Cat sighed. "Ok. I'll wait in the buggy but please don't take too long. I'm hungry and if I have to wait too long, I might just drive the buggy home myself and make you, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe walk home."

Ben and Reverend Long laughed. "I promise Kitten. We won't be too long."

Cat walked over and sat in the front seat of the buggy to wait for her father and brothers. While Cat was waiting for Ben and her brothers, Mrs. Warren drove by in her buggy. When she saw Cat sitting in the Cartwright's buggy, she stopped hers, got out, carrying the buggy whip, walked over to Cat and said, "What are you doing in that buggy? That's the Cartwright's buggy and you don't belong in it."

"I was told to wait here for Pa and my brothers."

"Ben Cartwright does not have a daughter. Get out of that buggy right now!" She grabbed Cat by her braids and proceeded to pull her out of the buggy and started hitting her with the whip. Lassie and Silver Chief jumped out of the buggy and bit Mrs. Warren, who kicked them.

" **OWWWWW YOU'RE HURTING ME! PA, ADAM, HOSS, JOE, HELP ME! SHE'S HURTING ME!** "

Adam, Hoss, and Joe had just come around the corner and saw what Mrs. Warren was doing. They reached the buggy just ahead of Ben and Reverend Long. Joe picked his sister up off the ground and hugged her. Hoss picked the puppies up, while Adam grabbed the whip and broke it in half. Then he looked at Mrs. Warren and said, "Mrs. Warren, if you **_ever_** do anything to hurt my sister or her puppies again, I will forget that I am supposed to be a gentleman."

"I second what my son said," said Ben as he took Cat from Joe and hugged her tightly. "If you even look at my daughter like you are going to hurt her, I will also forget that I am supposed to be a gentleman."

"Did you pay attention to even one word I said this morning about how God wants us to treat children?" asked Reverend Long.

"You don't have a daughter Benjamin," said Mrs. Warren. "I don't know what that child in your buggy is but it does not belong there, so I removed it."

"Are you the only person in Virginia City who does not know that I adopted my niece after her mother died? Or has your hatred of children and animals blinded you to the truth? Now I expect you to apologize to Catherine for the way you just treated her."

"I will never apologize to that thing. It is a foundling and belongs in an orphanage, not in our city and certainly not in our church."

"Since you refuse to apologize for hurting my daughter and her puppies, you are no longer welcome on the Ponderosa. I also intend to speak with Sheriff Coffee and Judge Taylor to see what can be done about you. Now, I need to take my daughter and her puppies to the doctor to find out how badly you have injured them."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe got into the buggy. Ben handed Cat to Adam who handed her back after his father got into the buggy. Then Adam took the reins and drove to Paul Martin's office.

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 **a/n** I had hoped to have this chapter finished before Christmas, but it was not to be. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year.

Bible verses were obtained from: .org


	54. Chapter 54

**a/n** : To my guest reviewer: Don't worry. Cat will act like a boy except on very special days, such as her wedding. After all, even tomboys act like girls on very special days. I know I did. She'll wear a dress to dances but there will be moccasins on her feet & she'll keep wearing her hat over her sunbonnet on Sunday mornings.

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Reverend Long continued scolding Mrs. Warren as the Cartwrights drove to Paul Martin's office. Ben carried Cat inside & Hoss carried her puppies. Paul was surprised to see them and asked, "What's wrong with Cat and her puppies? They were fine in church this morning."

"Mrs. Warren let her hatred of children and animals get the best of her." Ben went on to describe the attack.

"That is terrible. One of you should go and get Roy while I examine Cat. Put her down on the bed and let me have a look at her. Alright Cat, tell me where it hurts." Cat pointed to all of the places where she was hurting, including her head. "Alright Cat, I'm going to need you to take off your dress so I can see if the whip cut you anywhere."

"My puppies. She hurt my puppies. Are they ok?" Cat got off the bed and started to run to Hoss who was holding the puppies.

"I'll look at your puppies in a minute," said Paul. "Right now, I need to look at you."

Cat was worried about her puppies and became agitated. " **No! Look at my puppies first! I won't take my dress off if you don't!** "

Paul looked at Ben and shrugged his shoulders. "Alright Cat. Don't get upset. I'll take a quick look at your puppies and when I'm done, that dress needs to come off so I can examine you. Hoss, please bring the puppies over here and put one of them on the table." Hoss put Lassie on the table and Paul felt her all over and then listened to her heart and lungs. Then he did the same thing with Silver Chief. Both puppies wiggled and gave him kisses. "Your puppies seem to be just fine Cat. Their hearts and lungs sound just the way they should. I can't feel any cracked or broken ribs and their wiggles and tongues work just fine. Now, please take your dress off so I can examine you." Cat looked at her father and brothers who were anxiously waiting to see how badly she was hurt and Paul realized that she wasn't used to getting undressed in front of others. "Alright you four, go out in the other room and let me examine Cat. It will be much easier to do without the four of you hovering like vultures." When they made no attempt to leave, he opened the door between the two rooms and started to shoo them out. Just then the door opened and Reverend Long walked in followed by Roy Coffee. Paul looked at the pair and said, "I want you to keep these four out of my treatment room until after I have had a chance to examine Cat. Ben, boys, I understand that you are anxious about her, but it will be much easier for me to do my job if you are not in the room with her."

Once Cat's father and brothers had left the room Paul said, "Alright Cat. It's just you and me now. I need to look at you to see how badly you're hurt so I need you to take your dress off. Depending on how badly you're hurt, you are going to at least let Hop Sing see you with only your under things or night clothes on so your cuts can be doctored. I don't want to risk having them get infected. If they do, you'll be a very sick little girl." Cat took her dress off and then sat back down on the bed in Paul's office. "This is very important. I know that you have lived with the Apaches and they are teaching you how to deal with pain, but right now, I need you to pretend that you don't want to be an Apache warrior when you grow up and tell me if you feel any pain when I push down on parts of your body, especially your ribs. If a cracked or broken rib heals improperly, it will affect your health for the rest of your life." He did a thorough exam of Cat's cuts, then felt and pressed down gently on her ribs.

"That hurts," she said after Paul pushed on one of her ribs.

"Thank you for telling me. Now, I need to push down on the rest of your ribs. Then I'm going to check the sore one more thoroughly." Paul finished his exam and said, "You've got some nasty cuts but your sore rib isn't cracked or broken. I'm going to put some ointment on your cuts to help them heal and keep them from getting infected. It's something Hop Sing makes for me, so he'll have some to use on you also. Then I'm going to wrap up your ribs to give them some support until the bruised one heals. I know that children don't like taking baths, but soaking that rib in hot water will help it heal. I want you to take it easy for the next few days to give that bruised rib time to heal. You can still ride a horse, but no trotting or galloping. In fact, I would prefer it if you didn't go faster than a walk until I see you again on Wednesday." He laughed at the face Cat made when he told her that she had to ride slow for three days. "I've seen you ride and know you like to go fast but your rib will heal sooner if you take it easy for a few days. Hop Sing probably has something to put on that rib to help it heal faster so it will only be sore for a few days."

While Paul was taking care of Cat, Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe were talking to Roy and Reverend Long. "Ben, I need to know what happened between Cat and Mrs. Warren. Why did she attack the child?" asked Roy.

"I don't know Roy," replied Ben. "Reverend Long and I were sitting on the church steps. He was telling me what Mrs. Warren had said about Cat and her puppies to upset her before church. Then all of a sudden we heard Cat yell for help. We rushed over to the buggy to find Cat lying on the ground and Mrs. Warren hitting her with the whip. Have you talked to Mrs. Warren yet to see what she has to say?"

"No Ben. Not yet. I wanted to talk to you, the boys, and Cat first. How is Cat?"

"I don't know. As you saw, Paul threw us out of the treatment room and won't let us back in until he's finished with her."

Roy laughed. "Now, that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you and the boys were probably in his way & hovering like a bunch of vultures waiting for a meal, would it? I've known you a long time and know what you were like when Joe got hurt and I'm positive that you're going to be much worse with Cat."

"What else do you expect me to do Roy? Joe is my baby boy and Cat is my baby girl. Of course I'm going to hover."

"I'm nineteen now and hardly a baby," protested Joe.

"Don't let Cat hear you calling her a baby," added Hoss. "She's already mad because she thinks she's being treated like one because she's not allowed to go anywhere on the ranch without an adult with her."

Just then Paul walked out of the treatment room. Ben was on his feet in an instant. "How is she? Was she hurt badly? Can I take her home with me?"

"Relax Ben. Cat has some nasty cuts from the whip and a bruised rib. Other than those things, she's fine. She's angry at me because I told her she has to take it easy for several days. No trotting or galloping on horseback and I would prefer that she not go faster than a walk. I've wrapped her ribs up to support the bruised one and used Hop Sing's ointment on the cuts. I want those cuts cleaned and treated at least twice a day. Soaking in hot water will help the rib heal faster. Yes, you can take her home with you. I'll be out to check on her on Wednesday. Roy, what are you planning on doing about Mrs. Warren? Cat is just a young child and didn't deserve to be attacked like that."

"I need to talk to Cat and find out what happened before I talk to Mrs. Warren," replied Roy. "Once I talk to Cat and Mrs. Warren, I'll know what I'm going to do. I do agree with you though. There is nothing any child could do to deserve that kind of treatment. I am going to ask around to see if anybody knows if Mrs. Warren has any family and where they are. I don't have the facilities to keep a woman in jail."

Cat walked out of the treatment room and Ben picked her up and hugged her tightly. "Owww Pa. Not so tight. That hurts."

"Ben," scolded Paul. "I just finished telling you that Cat has a bruised rib. I know that you're worried about her but hugging her that tightly is just going to hurt her. Now let Roy talk to her then take her home and feed her some of Hop Sing's good cooking. And as for you young lady, remember what I said. Take it easy until after I see you on Wednesday and tell you differently. No running and no trotting or galloping your horse. I want that bruised rib to heal and it won't if you're not nice to it. Now give me a hug and talk to Sheriff Roy."

Cat hugged Paul then sat in Ben's lap. "Cat, I need you to tell me exactly what happened after church and why Mrs. Warren hit you with her whip," said Roy.

"Ok. Mrs. Warren said some really mean things about me and my puppies before church when Reverend Long was carrying me around and she made me cry. Reverend Long said that even though she was mean to me, God still wanted me to love her. He didn't have time to finish telling me what he was talking about before church, so we talked after church. Then Pa came up and said he and Reverend Long needed to talk about grown up stuff and asked me to wait in the buggy for him and my brothers. While I was waiting in the buggy, Mrs. Warren drove up in her buggy and wanted to know what I was doing in Pa's buggy. I told her Pa told me to wait there and I was. Then she said I wasn't a Cartwright and Pa wasn't my Pa and to get out of the buggy. She grabbed my braids and pulled me out of the buggy and started hitting me with her whip. Lassie and Silver Chief bit her but she kicked them. Then Adam, Hoss, Joe, Pa, and Reverend Long ran up and made her stop hitting me and Adam broke her whip."

"Thank you Cat." Roy wrote down everything Cat said and handed the paper to Ben to sign. "Now I have to talk to Mrs. Warren and see what she says."

"Why? Don't you believe me? I'm not lying."

"I know you're not Cat but the law says I have to talk to Mrs. Warren also. Then I'm going to go and talk to Judge Taylor to see what he says about what happened. Now give me a hug, I can't get enough of them and then take your family home and make your Pa tell Hop Sing what happened so you'll get lots of extra dessert. Remember, you need to do what Dr. Paul told you to do so that bruised rib will heal soon."

Roy got up to leave and Reverend Long said, "I'm going with you. Maybe I can convince Mrs. Warren to show some remorse for her actions. I also want to tell Judge Taylor what I saw."

"It's time we started for home also," said Ben. "Hop Sing is probably fit to be tied because we're late for dinner."

"Can I drive?" asked Cat hopefully.

Ben looked at Paul who said, "If I say no, you'll have no peace on the road home because somebody will be grumpy. Cat, you may drive half way home and no further than that. If your sore rib starts hurting you, give the reins to someone else. I am serious little girl. If you keep driving the team while your rib is hurting, it will take longer for it to heal."

"Ok. I promise if my rib starts hurting I'll let somebody else drive."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise. If your Pa tells me you acted like your rib was hurting and kept driving, I am going to give you a spanking."

"So will I," added Ben. "And I'll let each of your brothers give you two swats. We want your rib to heal quickly and as Dr. Paul said, if you drive the buggy when the rib is hurting it will take longer to heal." Cat's eyes grew big. She couldn't believe that she would get two spankings and six swats if her rib was hurting and she kept driving the buggy. "Alright, let's go home."

As they were walking out of the doctor's office, Paul asked, "Adam, may I please see you for a minute?"

"Sure Paul. I'll be out in a minute Pa." Once the rest of the family was outside, Adam asked, "What's wrong Paul? Why did you want to see me?"

"I almost forgot. You and your brothers were planning on taking Cat out to her parents' gravesites today, weren't you?"

"Yes we were. Both you and Reverend Long said we should."

"I think you should wait until after I see her again on Wednesday. She's been through enough trauma today and needs time to recover. I know that David will agree with me."

"Alright Paul. I think you're right. Cat has been through more than enough today so we'll wait to take her out to her parents' graves until you say we should. However, I think we should still go through with the demonstration we had planned."

"What were you planning to do?" Adam told him of their plans with the wood and Paul said, "Yes, definitely do that. Hopefully she'll learn from what you're showing her. I'll see you on Wednesday."

Cat sat between Ben and Adam in the front seat of the buggy. Ben drove half way back to the Ponderosa and handed the reins to Cat. She drove another quarter of the way and handed the reins to Adam saying, "My rib hurts. Will you please drive the rest of the way?"

Adam hugged his sister. "Sure Squirt. I'll drive. I'm glad you decided not to drive when your rib is hurting. You made a good choice and your rib will heal faster because of it."

"Why didn't you ask me to drive?" teased Joe. "I thought I was your favorite brother."

"'Cause you're in the back seat and I don't know if you can drive from back there."

"I could have climbed into the front seat."

"Where would you sit?"

"I would sit in your lap of course. That would be the only place I could sit."

"My lap isn't big enough."

"It looks big enough to me. What do you think Hoss?"

"I agree little brother. Why I do believe that little sister's lap is big enough for me to sit in."

Cat laughed. "You would break my lap if you sat in it Hoss. So would Little Joe."

"I'm not that big," complained Hoss. "By the way Short Shanks, what makes you so all fired up shore that you're little sister's favorite brother?"

"Yes, I was wondering that myself," said Adam. "How about it baby brother? What makes you so sure that you're Cat's favorite brother?"

"That's easy. She was born on my birthday and her mother gave her to me as a birthday present, so I have to be her favorite brother. Short Shanks, baby brother…I'm nineteen now and too old to be called Short Shanks and I haven't been a baby in a lot of years," complained Joe. Ben laughed to himself, knowing that his sons' teasing was designed to keep Cat's mind off of what had happened in town.

Adam drove the buggy into the yard and Hop Sing came out of the house and started scolding the family. "Why you so late? Hop Sing leady to throw dinnel in trash and go back to China." Then he saw the cuts on Cat's face and demanded, "What happend to Missy Cat? Why you let somebody hult her? You no take good cale of Missy Cat. Hop Sing go back to China and take Missy Cat with him!"

"Catherine is not badly hurt. Let's eat dinner so she can change clothes and I will tell you what happened. She has some cuts you will need to use your ointment on. Dr. Martin did ask me to ask you to make more for him when you have time. She also has a bruised rib that the doctor wants to keep wrapped up for a few days to give it time to heal. He seems to think that soaking it in hot water will help the healing process and that you might have something to help it heal. Right now though, Catherine needs to eat."

"Hop Sing keep dinner walm. Evelybody go sit at table." For dessert Hop Sing served cherry pie with ice cream and gave Cat a large piece. "Chocolate cake for suppel desselt," he said in response to the question Cat was about to ask. "Hop Sing save vely large piece for Missy Cat."

"You make the best cherry pie Hop Sing. It's almost as good as your chocolate cake."

"Almost as good?" asked Ben.

"Nothing is as good as Hop Sing's chocolate cake," replied Cat, causing her family to laugh.

Once everybody had finished eating, they went upstairs to change out of their church clothes. Ben walked back downstairs and into the kitchen where he told Hop Sing what had happened to Cat. "Mrs. Wallen vely bad woman. Hurt Missy Cat. Hop Sing get Tong to kill her."

"No Hop Sing. We all feel the way you do but we have to let the law take care of Mrs. Warren. Killing her won't solve anything. All it will do is get people into a lot of trouble with the law. Sheriff Coffee is going to take my complaint to the judge. Judge Taylor is a good man. He will do what is right. Now, we're going to try and teach Catherine how dangerous it is to run in the house with loaded weapons in it. Don't be alarmed if you hear gunfire. Adam got four pieces of wood from the lumber yard today. Each piece of wood is a different thickness and each one of us is going to fire a bullet into each piece of wood from different distances. I'm hoping she pays attention and stops running in the house. I don't want to punish her but I will if I have to. It is much too dangerous for her to run in the house and I have got to find a way to stop her. Oh yes, Dr. Martin said that Cat is not to run at all until he tells her differently. If you see her running, feel free to use your wooden spoon on her bottom and put her in the corner. She has got to give that rib time to heal."

"Hop Sing take good cale of Missy Cat if she run anywhere."

Cat walked into the kitchen and said, "I'm going to go out and play with Fury for a while. Then I want to go for a ride. Will you please saddle Beauty for me since I'm not supposed to do anything to hurt my rib?"

"We'll all go for a ride in a little while. First, your brothers and I have something we need to show you. They should be ready for us." They walked out into the great room just as Adam walked into the door. "Is everything ready son?"

"Yes it is. I was just coming to get you and Cat."

"Alright then. Let's go and see if our little plan works." Adam and Ben took their guns off the armoire as they started for the door.

"Why are you taking your guns?" asked Cat.

"You'll see in just a few minutes," answered Adam.

They walked through the woods away from the house until they came to a clearing. Once they reached the other side of the clearing, Cat noticed four pieces of wood, three of which had been nailed to trees. The fourth piece was too thick to nail to a tree, so it sat on a large upended log against a tree. "What are those pieces of wood for?" asked Cat. "They're too small to make anything with."

"We think that one reason you won't stop running in the house is because you don't realize how dangerous loaded weapons are," answered Joe. "The rifles are up on the wall but our pistols are always on the armoire, on our bodies, or in our hands. We're going to use these pieces of wood to show you how dangerous a loaded pistol is."

"Each of us is gonna to fire one bullet into each piece of wood from different distances away from it," added Hoss. "When we're done, we want ya to look at the wood and imagine if you was standing there instead of a piece of wood."

Adam took a bullet out of his gun belt and handed it to Cat. "This is a forty-five caliber bullet. Feel how heavy it is. Press the tip of it into the palm of your hand as hard as you can. Close your eyes while you're doing it and imagine that bullet tearing into you at a high rate of speed. All of us have been shot at least once and it hurts worse than anything you could imagine. It hurts so bad, it would make what Mrs. Warren did to you today feel like she had used a piece of string instead of a buggy whip. I'm going to show you where to stand. It is very important that you do not come any closer until all of us have fired one shot into all four pieces of wood. The last thing in the world we want to do is hurt you. Once we're finished, we'll take the wood off the trees and you will be able to see what the bullets did to it." He took Cat to the far side of the clearing and told her to stay there and walked back to join his father and brothers.

Joe stood about five yards away from the first piece of wood and fired into it. Adam stood about twenty five yards away and fired. Hoss stood about fifty yards away and Ben stood about one hundred yards away and fired. Even though she was quite a distance from where her father and brothers were standing, the noise from the weapons bothered Cat, so she covered both ears with her hands. When they were finished, Hoss walked over to where Cat was waiting, squatted down, and said, "Climb up on my shoulders and I'll give you a ride back to everyone else." Cat was more than happy to ride on her older brother's shoulders so she climbed up and he took her back to the rest of the family. When they reached the family, Joe and Adam had finished taking the wood down from the trees and Ben helped Cat down from Hoss' shoulders.

Adam handed Cat the thinnest piece of wood and Ben said, "Take a good look at that piece of wood." He pointed to each of the holes and told her which one of them had made it. "Little Joe was so close, the bullet may have gone all the way through the tree. Let's walk over and look." The tree was not very big around and Joe's bullet had gone through the tree and lodged in the tree behind it. Cat couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ben did the same thing with the other three pieces of wood. When he handed her the thickest one he said, "Look at how thick this piece of wood is. Here is the hole from my bullet. What do you notice about it?"

"It goes all the way through."

"Yes it does and I was standing farthest away from it. In fact, I was standing about as far away as you can and still be accurate with your shot. Now, even though that piece of wood isn't as thick as a human being, it is solid. People are not solid. Feel how soft your arms are. A bullet would have an easier time going through you than it did those pieces of wood. If it hit an artery, you could bleed to death before anyone could get you to a doctor. If it went into your heart, you would die right away. If it went into one of your lungs, only a miracle could keep you alive. I truly hope and pray that what we have done here today will keep you from running in the house. I love you and so do your brothers. We don't want anything to happen to you because you were running in the house. That is why your punishment for running in the house will be so severe. It's not because I'm being mean. It's because I love you and want to keep you safe. We're going to keep those pieces of wood so you can look at them from time to time and think about what could happen to you if you were running in the house, one of us was carrying a loaded gun, and you accidentally got shot. Now, let's go back to the house and see if Hop Sing has a snack for us. Then we'll all go for a ride."

They walked back to the house and found that Hop Sing had fresh cookies waiting for them. Once everyone had finished their snack Ben said, "We're all going to go for a ride. Boys, would one of you please saddle Beauty for your sister? I don't want to risk causing further injury to her rib. Cat, please go and tell Hop Sing that we may be late for supper." Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked out to the barn and saddled the horses. Joe walked back into the house and told his father that the horses were saddled. Then he walked upstairs and got Cat's saddle bags. "Thank you son. Let's go Cat."

"Can I bring my bow and arrows?"

"Yes you may. However, when I tell you that you can use them, if it hurts your rib to pull the bowstring, I do not want you to use them." They walked outside and Cat started to mount Beauty when she felt herself being picked up. She recognized Hoss' big hands around her waist and giggled as he put her in the saddle. Joe had already put her saddle bags on Beauty and once Cat was in the saddle, he and Adam put a puppy in each side. They started walking their horses and Ben said, "Catherine, I want you to pay attention to how to get to where we are going. You are going to tell us how to get back home." Cat was surprised to hear her father's words but watched very carefully as they rode toward their destination.

Adam rode up next to his father and asked, "Where are we going?"

"To Silver Hawk's village," came the reply. "I thought spending some time there would take Cat's mind off what happened for a little while. Also, I want to ask him when he is planning on adopting her."

After the Cartwrights left town, Paul, Roy, and Reverend Long walked over to Mrs. Warren's house to talk with her. They tried reasoning with her and to get her to apologize to Cat, but she kept insisting that she had done nothing wrong, that Cat was not a Cartwright and should be in an orphanage or better yet, a work house. Finally Roy said, "Ben Cartwright has filed a complaint against you for the way you treated his daughter. I had hoped to resolve this without involving Judge Taylor, but you give me no choice. I hate to disturb him on a Sunday but I need to know what he wants to do about this problem. I have a feeling that he's going to want to hold a trial. If he does, you are going to be in a lot of trouble and all of your money won't buy you out of it." The three men said goodbye to Mrs. Warren and walked over to the judge's house. The judge's wife answered their knock. "Good afternoon Sally. Is your husband in? I hate to disturb him on a Sunday, but this is extremely important."

"Good afternoon Roy, Paul, Reverend Long. Yes, Richard is in. Whatever you want to speak with him about must be very important if all three of you are here. Please come in and I'll tell him that you're here." She returned a few minutes later and escorted her husband's visitors into the sitting room.

Judge Taylor welcomed his guests and asked, "What brings the three of you over here on a Sunday afternoon? Sally said it was very important."

"Yes it is," said Roy and proceeded to tell the Taylors what Mrs. Warren had done to Cat. "The three of us just came from her house and tried to reason with her and get her to apologize to Cat but she keeps insisting that Cat is not a Cartwright and belongs in an orphanage or workhouse. She also keeps referring to Cat as 'it' rather than 'she' or 'her' and says that Cat's puppies should have been drowned when they were born."

"I knew that Millicent didn't like children and animals," said Mrs. Taylor, "But I never expected her to do something like that. How is the child? I hope she wasn't hurt badly."

"No she wasn't," replied Paul. "Ben, David, and the Cartwright boys were able to stop Mrs. Warren before she was able to hurt Cat too badly."

"Did Ben sign a complaint?" asked the judge.

"Yes he did," replied Roy. "I have it right here." He handed the paper to the judge who read it over and handed it back to Roy.

"Thank you Roy. Please take this over to the prosecutor's office tomorrow morning and tell him I want to hold a trial before the end of the week. I want to try and stop that woman before she seriously injures the Cartwright girl or another child. You may also want to stop back at Mrs. Warren's house and tell her that she is going to need to hire a lawyer. You're also going to need to find a jury but don't tell them what the case is all about. I don't want their minds made up before the trial even begins. Paul, just how badly injured was Catherine?"

"It could have been a lot worse Judge. She has some cuts, a bruised rib and her head hurts from where Mrs. Warren pulled her out of the buggy by her hair."

"I'm very glad that she wasn't hurt badly. She's a cute little girl. I'll bet she's giving Ben a run for his money."

"Well, as you know, Hoss calls her 'Wild Cat', so that should tell you what she's like. But Ben and the boys adore her and Hop Sing acts as though she's his daughter and spoils her whenever he can. Right now, Ben is at his wits end trying to get her to stop running in the house. She doesn't seem to understand how dangerous it is."

"Yes, that is a dangerous thing for a young child to do. I sure hope Ben can get her to stop before she gets seriously hurt."

"I'm sure he will. Cat may have a sore bottom for a while but Ben will eventually get her to stop running in the house. Well, we've taken up enough of your time on a Sunday afternoon. I'll talk to the prosecutor tomorrow morning and get a jury together as soon as I know when the trial is going to be."

The three men left the Taylor's home and started to go their separate ways when Reverend Long asked, "Why don't the two of you come to dinner? I know you haven't eaten since breakfast and Joanne always makes more than enough food in case we have company."

"I don't know about Paul," said Roy, "But I gladly accept. 'Bout the only time I get a home cooked meal is when I invite myself to supper at the Ponderosa."

"I accept also," said Paul. "Like Roy, I don't get too many good home cooked meals. My cooking efforts leave a lot to be desired."

Reverend Long laughed. "It's settled then. Let's go and tell Joanne that we'll be having company for dinner." The three men walked over to the parsonage where Paul and Roy enjoyed an excellent home cooked meal.

After they finished dinner, Roy said, "Joanne, thank you for that wonderful meal. I haven't eaten that well since the last time I was at the Ponderosa. Well, I'd better be going. I still have to stop by Mrs. Warren's house and tell her that she has to get a lawyer."

"I'll go with you," said Paul.

"So will I," said Reverend Long. "It will be better if the three of us tell her. Judging from her attitude earlier, she will be indignant at the fact that Ben filed a complaint and the judge wants to hold a trial. I will need to tell her that she went against the laws of God and man by abusing that child and she needs to be held accountable for her actions."

The three men walked over to Mrs. Warren's house and told her what the judge had said. As predicted, she was indignant about the fact that Ben had filed a complaint and the judge wanted to hold a trial. She said, "I did nothing wrong. It's all that brat's fault. If it hadn't been sitting in the Cartwright's buggy, I wouldn't have had to discipline it. Benjamin had no business filing a complaint and Judge Taylor has no business holding a trial."

"No Mrs. Warren," said Reverend Long. "You were in the wrong. Catherine was doing exactly as she had been instructed to do. You had no business pulling her out of the buggy by her hair and using that whip on her. No child deserves to be treated that way. Did you even bother to listen to my sermon this morning? You have gone against the laws of God and man and need to be held accountable for your actions."

"That brat is not Benjamin Cartwright's daughter and had no business being in his buggy."

Paul spoke up. "Mrs. Warren, everybody in Virginia City knows that Ben Cartwright adopted his niece after her mother was murdered. You are very fortunate that Catherine wasn't seriously hurt. Ben and the boys love that little girl very much and there is no telling what they would have done had you seriously injured her."

Mrs. Warren kept insisting that she had done nothing wrong and the whole incident was Cat's fault. The men gave up trying to talk to her and Roy said, "You need to get a lawyer. The trial will be later this week. Believe me, if I had the facilities to keep a woman in jail, that is where you would be until the trial. Let me know when you hire a lawyer and whom it is so I can let him know when the trial will be scheduled for. Do not leave town before the trial. Good day Mrs. Warren." The three men left Mrs. Warren's house and went their separate ways wishing they would have had better luck getting her to admit what she had done was wrong and to apologize to Cat.

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 **a/n:** I found information on the maximum effective distance of a .45 caliber bullet at testing-practical-45-colt-accuracy-100-yards/


	55. Chapter 55

Since they were riding slowly because of Cat's injured rib, it took the Cartwrights longer than normal to reach Silver Hawk's village. Cat was delighted when they reached the village and wanted to run and play with the children. Before she could run off, Ben said, "You haven't said hello to Silver Hawk and his family yet."

Cat sighed and said hello to everyone. Silver Hawk and Standing Bear looked at the cuts on her face and Silver Hawk asked, "What happened to Wild Cat? Why does she have those cuts on her face?" Ben told him what happened and explained Cat's injuries, adding that she is not supposed to run anywhere. "I see. I am glad that she was not badly hurt."

"So are we. However, being a typical child, she is not happy with the restrictions the doctor put on her. Dr. Martin told her that along with not running, she is not to trot or gallop her horse and he would prefer that she walk. I had to stop her from galloping several times on the way here."

Silver Hawk laughed. "Yes, I can imagine you did." While they were talking, Running Wolf and several of the other children ran up and invited Cat to play with them. She started to run off with them when Silver Hawk scolded, "Wild Cat, I just heard your father say you were not allowed to run because of the injury to your rib. Children, Wild Cat was injured today and is not allowed to run. You may play, fish, practice your tracking skills, or using your bows and arrows. However, you must not run while Wild Cat is here with us."

"Catherine," said Ben. "You may play with the other children while we are here, however you are not to run until after Dr. Martin sees you again on Wednesday. I know you are unhappy with the restriction but it is important so your rib will heal. If you are caught running, you will be in trouble. You will not be allowed to ride any horse by yourself. You will have to ride double with one of us until Dr. Martin says your rib is healed. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said Cat dejectedly.

Ben hugged her and said, "You will be able to run again just as soon as Dr. Martin says you can. We just can't take a chance on your injury getting worse. The rib is already bruised. If you trip and fall while you're running, you could crack the rib and then it will be a long time before you are able to do much of anything."

Cat grumbled as she walked off with the children causing the adults to laugh. After Cat and the other children walked off, her father and brothers joined Silver Hawk inside his teepee. Standing Bear and Morning Star joined them a few minutes later. "When do you plan to adopt Catherine?" asked Ben.

"I had planned on doing it two days from now, but I want to wait until her rib is completely healed. Once I have adopted her, more of the children will want to run and play with her, so I want to wait until she is able to run again."

While everyone was talking in Silver Hawk's teepee, Cat was answering the children's questions about how she got hurt. "Weren't you scared?" asked Running Wolf.

"Yes I was."

"Then you're not brave," said a boy about two years older than Cat. "You're a coward. Only cowards get scared."

"You are wrong son," came a voice from behind them. "I have ridden in battle many times and I am afraid everytime. So are the other warriors."

"You're not a coward father," said the boy. "You're a brave warrior."

The brave sat down on a fallen tree and called the children over to him. He picked Cat up, sat her on his lap and introduced himself as Deep Water Running and his son as Swift Rabbit. Then he looked at the children and said, "Being brave does not mean that you're not afraid. Only a very foolish person is unafraid when they are faced with danger. Nobody wants to get hurt or worse. The difference between a brave person and a coward is their actions when faced with danger. Wild Cat, could you have run away from the person who hurt you?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Could you have stopped her from hurting you?"

Cat thought for a minute and said, "Maybe I could have gotten up, run at her and grabbed her around her knees."

"What would have happened to her if you had done that?"

"She would have fallen over, but she would have stopped hitting me with her whip."

"Could she have been injured if you had done that?"

"Yes. She is old. She could have fallen against one of the buggies and hit her head or one of the horses could have stepped on her."

"What did you do?"

"I called for my white father and brothers."

"That was exactly what you should have done. The woman's actions were wrong but you did the right thing. It takes courage to not injure someone to keep yourself from getting hurt. The woman is old. If she had fallen and hit her head or if one of the horses had stepped on her, she could have been seriously hurt or killed. You see children, being brave doesn't mean that you are not afraid. Being brave means that you don't run away when you are afraid. Now, I want to see how well Wild Cat can track. Swift Rabbit, go and hide somewhere. We will follow in ten minutes."

The boy ran off and the others followed ten minutes later. Cat tried tracking the boy as best she could. She followed his footprints and looked for signs of where he had gone. When she lost the footprints, she had trouble finding any signs of Swift Rabbit. She looked at Deep Water Running for help. "Go back and look for small signs," he said. "Look for things that look different than they should." Cat and the other children walked back to where they last saw the boy's footprints. Cat noticed the tip of a low tree branch was broken and some of the other children noticed where someone had recently walked on the nearby grass. It took another fifteen minutes of searching but they eventually found Swift Rabbit hiding in the branches of a small tree. When he came down, all of the children had a good laugh. Then Deep Water Running said, "When you are tracking an animal or a person, do not forget to look for small signs. You will not always see footprints, but if you look for things that are not as they should be, you will be successful. Now I want Wild Cat to hide and the rest of you to find her. Because she is not allowed to run, we will give her twenty minutes to find a place to hide."

Cat walked off and her puppies followed. After a few minutes, she stopped and picked her puppies up, wincing because the action hurt her injured rib. After walking around some trees several times and walking backwards over her footprints, she stopped, put her puppies under a large bush and climbed in after them. The other children walked by about five minutes later. They were confused by the fact that the indentations in the grass went around the trees and stopped. They looked for broken branches and other clues that showed which way Cat had gone but couldn't find any. Deep Water Running chuckled to himself as he knew exactly where Cat and her puppies were. The children searched for another fifteen minutes when Deep Water Running said, "Wild Cat, your white family will want to go home soon. You need to come out from under the bush." Cat and her puppies crawled out from under the bush and the other children were amazed. They asked what she had done and she told them. "The Apaches taught you well," praised the brave. "We will teach you more when you spend time here. Now, I believe that your white family wants to return home so you need to go with them."

The group walked to Silver Hawk's teepee where Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe were saying goodbye. Ben looked at Cat and asked, "Catherine, did you do any running while you were with the other children?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

Ben's eyebrows went up. "Why not?"

"Because if I say yes, you'll be mad at me and if I say no, the other children will think I'm not brave."

Ben was about to scold her when Deep Water Running caught his eye and shook his head no. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to tickle you to get you to tell me the truth." Ben started tickling his daughter who finally admitted that she had not been running.

"Children, do you think Wild Cat is a coward now?" asked Deep Water Running.

"No," replied one of the older boys. "Nobody could resist torture like that. I do not even think that the greatest chiefs that ever lived could resist torture like that." Everyone laughed at the boy's pronouncement.

"It's time for us to go home," said Ben. "Say goodbye to everybody and get your horse. We'll come back later in the week." Cat reluctantly did as she was told. After they left the village, Ben said, "Ok Cat, let's see what you remember from the ride up here. Tell us how to get home. Everytime Cat said to make a turn, Ben would ask, "Why do you think we need to turn here?" When Cat pointed out a particularly large tree, Ben said, "That's very good, but how will you know you need to turn here if we have a very bad storm and it blows the tree down?" Then he pointed out a rock formation she could use as a landmark instead. Once they reached the house, Ben said, "You did a very good job remembering how to get back home and I am very proud of you. You only forgot two turns. Remember to use things for landmarks that won't change, such as rock formations. You can also use bodies of water like Lake Tahoe or rivers and streams. Although rivers and streams may occasionally dry up or change course, as long as you can see where they used to be, you will be fine. Now let's get these horses put up and go eat supper."

The family walked their horses into the barn and Adam said, "Cat, I'll unsaddle Beauty and Sport. You can take their bridles off, put them away, and give the horses their grain. I'll brush both horses and give them their hay. If it doesn't hurt your rib, you can clean Beauty's feet. If it hurts your rib, tell us & one of us will finish doing it for you."

After Adam unsaddled the two horses, Cat took their bridles off and put them away. Then she gave each horse his grain and tried to clean Beauty's feet. Her rib was hurting but she was determined to finish the job when Joe noticed her struggling and said, "Come out of there, give me that hoof pick and go wash up for supper." He gave her a swat as she walked by and said, "You were supposed to tell us when your rib was hurting. Doing things that make it hurt will keep it from healing."

Cat went into the bath house and washed up. Then she walked into the house and Ben said, "Are all of the horses bedded down for the night?"

"No. Joe got mad at me because I was cleaning Beauty's feet and my dumb rib was hurting so he swatted me and told me to wash up and come in the house."

"Haven't you been paying attention to what we have been telling you ever since we left Dr. Martin's office? If you do things to make your rib hurt, it will take longer to heal. Now go, stand in the corner until supper and think about what we have been telling you." He turned her around and gave her a hard swat before sending her over to the corner by the fireplace.

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen, looked at Cat standing in the corner, guessed what had happened and said, "Supper leady in fifteen minutes. After supper Hop Sing fix hot bath for Missy Cat rib and put ointment on cuts."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I appreciate you taking care of Catherine like that."

"No problem. Hop Sing doctor sons when they get hurt and doctor Missy Cat too. What she do? Something to hult rib?"

"Yes. She insisted on cleaning her horse's feet even though it was hurting her rib. Joe had to make her stop and he swatted her before sending her into the house. I gave her a hard swat too before sending her to the corner."

Hop Sing began scolding Cat. "Missy Cat you no do things to make rib hult. You do, Hop Sing use wooden spoon and make you bottom hult!"

Cat sighed. She was tired of being scolded just because almost everything she tried to do made her rib hurt. Since there was nothing she could do to keep her family from scolding her, she started trying to figure out how to get even with Mrs. Warren for hurting her. She couldn't use her bow and arrows because Pa would know it was her and she would be in a whole lot of trouble. Cat decided that she needed some help from Mike Devlin. She wasn't allowed to go to town by herself but he was. Cat figured if she could get over to the Devlin's and talk to Mike, once he knew what happened, maybe he and some of his friends could get revenge for her.

Hop Sing started bringing the food to the table a little while later. Joe walked up to Cat, gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "Come on Squirt. Supper's ready."

Cat looked at him and said, "I'm mad at you. You got me in trouble."

Her brothers and father laughed at her. "You got yourself into trouble sis," said Adam. "Ever since we left Paul's office, we've been telling you that if you're doing something that makes your rib hurt, you need to stop doing it. So you've got nobody but yourself to blame for getting into trouble."

"It's still Joe's fault. If he didn't tell me to go in the house, Pa wouldn't have asked if the horses were bedded down and I wouldn't have had to tell him that Joe was mad at me because my rib was hurting."

Her family laughed at her and Ben said, "Alright. You need to eat. When supper is over, Hop Sing is going to fix a hot bath so you can soak that rib for a little while. He's also going to doctor your cuts."

"I'm mad at Mrs. Warren for hurting me. I'm going to get even with her as soon as I can."

"No Catherine. That is not the right way to handle the problem."

"I don't care. She hurt me and tried to hurt my puppies so I'm going to get even with her."

"What are you going to do?" asked Joe.

"I'm going to write to Pete and Mike. They'll help me figure out what to do. Maybe they'll even come here and help me."

Cat's brothers and Hop Sing could not contain their laughter. "I'll tell you what," said Hoss. "Ifn Pete and Mike do come here by theirselves, I'll help you plan your revenge."

"Hoss," scolded Ben. "You're not helping matters."

"I'm sorry Pa, but ifn their parents let two nine year old boys travel from Dodge ta Virginia City alone, Cat will deserve her revenge."

"If your friends are allowed to come here from Dodge by themselves, I'll help also," said Joe.

"So will I," said Adam to everyone's surprise.

"Hop Sing will help too."

Ben sighed. "The four of you are impossible and you're not setting a very good example for Catherine."

"I hope Mamma and Mr. Tanner will let Pete and Mike come here. It would be lots of fun. Maybe I'll write to them too and tell them to let my friends come here. John or Robert could bring them."

"Right now, you need to finish eating," Ben said sternly. "You need to soak that rib and Hop Sing needs to doctor your cuts before bed. Now, enough talk about getting even, finish your supper, and let Hop Sing take care of your rib and cuts. If you continue with this nonsense instead of eating your food, you will spend tomorrow in the house." Cat said nothing but she glared at Ben. She didn't think her talk of revenge against Mrs. Warren was nonsense and his comments made her even more determined to exact her revenge, even if others had to do it for her. When she finished eating, Ben said, "Help Hop Sing clear the table, get your night clothes, soak that rib and go to bed."

Hop Sing interrupted him. "Missy Cat stay there. Hop Sing clear table and bring dessert."

"Catherine isn't getting any dessert tonight. I am very upset about this talk of revenge. She needs to learn that we do not talk about taking revenge on others who have harmed us."

"Missy Cat do nothing wrong! If you no let her have dessert, Hop Sing go back to China and take Missy Cat with him!"

Ben just sighed. He knew that Hop Sing would make good on his threat to leave and he didn't want to lose his daughter and the best cook in the territory. "Alright, she can have dessert but I do not want to hear any more of this foolish talk about revenge. The law will take care of Mrs. Warren." Once Cat had finished her dessert and gone upstairs to get her night clothes, Ben looked at his sons and said, "I am very disappointed in the three of you encouraging your sister's talk of taking revenge on Mrs. Warren. Joseph, it hasn't been that many years since you and I had a necessary discussion about that same subject."

"Pa," said Adam. "You know as well as the three of us do that the odds of John and Elizabeth allowing their nine year old sons to travel across the country by themselves for any reason, especially to help Cat take revenge on Mrs. Warren, are absolutely zero. They need John Jr. to help on the farm and Robert is only fifteen. From what I know of the Tanners, the only way the twins will be coming out here is if they are accompanied by their parents. Since school in Dodge will be starting soon, I don't anticipate seeing any of the Tanners until Cat goes to Dodge next summer."

"The difference between me and Cat," said Joe "Is that I did get my revenge. I was fourteen and didn't talk about taking revenge, I just did it. And I would do it again despite the consequences."

Cat came downstairs, ignored her father and went out to the bath house with Hop Sing. After she soaked her injured rib for fifteen minutes, Hop Sing told her to get out of the tub, put her night clothes on, and go upstairs so he could doctor her cuts. She walked through the great room, ignored Ben, hugged Adam and Hoss goodnight and walked upstairs to her bedroom. Hop Sing followed her, examined her cuts and put his ointment on them and said "Hop Sing put more ointment on cuts and wrap rib in molning before bleakfast. Go downstails now and tell Little Joe to come up." He hugged her goodnight and walked downstairs.

Joe walked into Cat's room a few minutes later and they read a chapter in King Arthur. When they finished, Joe hugged his sister goodnight and started to walk out of her room. "Joe, please blow out the lamp before you go."

"Don't you want to say goodnight to Pa?"

"No. I'm mad at him."

Joe laughed. "He's not going to be happy about that. I'll blow out your lamp, but expect him to come up and say goodnight anyway."

"I don't care. He can come up but I'm not talking to him."

Joe laughed again. "You sound like me when I was nine and angry at Pa. I didn't win then and you won't either. Good luck sis. You'll need it in this battle because Pa doesn't like to lose." He blew out her lamp, closed her door and went back downstairs. He didn't say anything to Ben when he started up the stairs to say goodnight to Cat. Joe looked at his brothers and said, "This should be interesting. Little sister is angry at Pa and has no intentions of saying goodnight to him."

Hoss and Adam laughed. "Yeah," said Hoss. "I remember how well that went over when you were nine."

" _Oh_?" asked Adam. "What happened?"

"You were still away at school. Pa scolded Joe 'cause he thought he'd done something he hadn't. Joe got all mad at Pa and wouldn't speak to him, even at supper and wouldn't say goodnight to him when he came upstairs to say goodnight to us. Well, ya know that Pa don't like to lose a battle with any of us, so he tickled Joe until Joe talked to him."

"I wish I had been here for that," laughed Adam.

"Well, you're here for it now. I'm shore it's gonna be the same with Cat as it was with Joe."

Ben walked upstairs and saw Cat's closed bedroom door. He had a feeling he knew what was happening and his suspicions were confirmed when he opened the door and saw that the lamp was out. Cat was snuggled down under her blankets and pretended to be asleep when Ben opened the door. "I've come to say goodnight Sweetheart," he said. Cat ignored him. He lit the lamp, sat down on the bed, and said, "You are allowed to be angry at me, but you are not allowed to ignore me." Cat said nothing and kept her eyes closed. "I've been through this before and you aren't going to win. Ask Joseph. He tried the same thing when he was your age and I won the contest. Now tell me why you are angry at me." Cat ignored him. Ben moved Silver Chief over next to Lassie and started pulling the covers off of Cat who still ignored him. "You need to talk to me Catherine. Why are you angry at me?" Cat still kept her eyes closed and didn't say anything. Ben rolled her over, sat her up and pulled her into his lap. "Come on Cat. You need to talk to me. I won't let you go to sleep until you do. Cat got down from Ben's lap and tried to get under the bed. Ben sighed, picked her up, put her back in his lap and began to tickle her. "Now are you going to tell me why you are angry at me?"

He kept tickling her until she yelled, " **STOP IT! I'M** **MAD** **AT YOU! GO AWAY** **AND** **LEAVE ME ALONE!** "

Her brothers were listening at the bottom of the stairs and started laughing. "I gotta hand it to her. She lasted three minutes longer than you did little brother," laughed Hoss.

"Now will you tell me why you are angry with me?" asked Ben.

"No!"

"Well then, I'm just going to have to tickle you some more."

Ben tickled Cat until she said. "Alright, I'll tell you. Then go away and leave me alone. I'm still mad at you."

Ben laughed. "Why are you angry at me?"

"Because you said I was dumb to want to get even with Mrs. Warren."

"I'm sorry you feel that way but you misunderstood what I said. I would never, ever say you were dumb. I said that talking about getting revenge on someone who hurt you was foolish. Taking revenge on someone who hurt you can get you into a lot of trouble. Ask Joe. Someone did something to hurt him when he was fourteen. He got his revenge on that person and hurt them so I used the big strap in the barn on his bare bottom."

"If that person hurt Joe first, he was right to hurt them and you shouldn't have punished him."

"Hurting someone else is never right, even if that person hurt you first."

"That's dumb. When Mark Nelson pushed me down the stairs at school, I pounded the stuffing out of him even though he was bigger and weighed more than me. Miss Jackson didn't punish me and neither did Uncle Matt. Miss Jackson used the rod on him and his uncle gave him a whipping. He never tried to hurt me again."

Ben sighed. "You should not have hit Mark. You should have let Miss Jackson and his uncle deal with him. I do not want you fighting or taking revenge on someone who has hurt you. If someone tries to hurt you, you can stop them but I do not want you getting into fights and I especially do not want you starting fights. We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Right now, you had better put your moccasins on, use the outhouse, and go back to bed."

Cat put her moccasins on and walked downstairs with her puppies. "Where ya goin' Punkin;?" asked Hoss.

"I'm going to the outhouse. Pa cheats!"

Her brothers laughed. "I told you that Pa would win," said Joe. "He doesn't like losing that particular battle. If it makes you feel better, Hoss said you lasted three minutes more than I did when I was nine."

Adam picked Cat up, stood her on his chair and said, "Climb on my back & I'll give you a ride. I can't run with you tonight because of your rib so you'll have to settle for walking."

"Can't everyone just forget about my dumb ol' rib?"

"Sorry Kitten," came Ben's voice from the stairs. "We can't forget about your rib because we want it to heal, so no running until the doctor says otherwise."

Cat sighed. "It's not fair. I don't want to walk everywhere. I want to run and gallop my horse."

"Give it time Sweetheart. It was just injured today. Dr. Martin will be out here on Wednesday to look at it. If you do what you're supposed to, that rib will be healed in no time at all and you'll be able to run and gallop your horse. You just need to be patient. Now, you had better let Adam take you to the outhouse so you can go back to bed."

After Adam got Cat back in bed, he walked downstairs and sat down in his chair. "I thought the three of you were going to take your sister out to her parents' graves today," said Ben.

"We had planned on it but after what happened to her, Paul said to wait for a while because she had been through enough trauma for one day," replied Adam.

"I see. So when are you planning to take her there?"

"I don't know for certain. Paul wants her injuries completely healed first."

"Poor kid," said Hoss. "I'd shore love to give that Mrs. Warren a large piece of my mind. She had no call to do that to Cat."

"Yeah," said Joe. "You're not the only one Hoss. I'd like to tell her a thing or two myself. Maybe we'll get lucky and the judge will send her to prison for a while. That'll teach her to abuse little kids like that."

"Mrs. Warren is older than I am," said Ben. "She wouldn't survive in prison very long, so I seriously doubt that the judge will send her there. We'll just have to wait and see what the outcome of the trial is."

The four of them talked for a while then Adam, Hoss, and Joe went upstairs while Ben went over to his desk and started writing in his journal. Cat's brothers no sooner reached the top of the stairs when they heard Cat cry out in the beginning of a nightmare. Joe yelled for Ben as the three of them raced to Cat's room. They sat with her until the nightmare passed. Adam pulled her into his lap and all three of her brothers hugged her. "Put her pillow and blanket on my bed and put her in it when you bring her back from the outhouse," said Ben.

"No! I want to go in Adam's bed."

"I think little sister's still mad at ya," laughed Hoss.

Ben sighed. "Yes, it does seem that way, doesn't it. Go ahead and put her in your bed Adam. There's no sense in upsetting her even more."

While Adam took Cat to the outhouse, Hoss and Joe put her pillow and favorite blanket on Adam's bed. He brought her back upstairs and put her and her puppies in his bed. Then he got his night clothes and said, "I'm going to go and change in your room. I'll be back in just a few minutes then I'll blow out the lamp and we can get some sleep." Once Adam was in bed, he hugged Cat who snuggled up next to him and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, Adam got dressed in Cat's room and then decided to wake his sister up. "Come on Squirt. You've got to get up so Hop Sing can take care of your cuts and rib before breakfast."

"Go 'way. I want to sleep more."

Adam tickled her. "Sorry Squirt but Hop Sing needs to make breakfast but he has to take care of your cuts and rib first. The rest of us don't want to wait half the day for you to get out of bed so we can have breakfast. Now, if you don't get up, I am going to keep tickling you until you will get out of bed in a big hurry."

"That's not fair. You cheat just like Pa does."

"Who do you think I learned it from? Now, are you going to get up or do I have to keep tickling you?"

"I'm going back to sleep. I'll get up later." Cat pulled the covers up and rolled over. Adam laughed, pulled the covers down and tickled her until she said, "Alright, you win. I'm getting up. I have to use the outhouse in a hurry."

"Sorry Squirt. It was your decision. I know you're in a hurry, but remember, you're not allowed to run."

"I don't care. I'm in a hurry and I'm going to run."

"Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way? I swear, you are too much like Joe." He picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder, carried her downstairs and outside to the outhouse. Hoss, Joe, and Ben looked at the pair coming down the stairs and laughed at the sight.

"Why are you carrying your sister like that?" asked Ben.

"She didn't want to get out of bed and I had to tickle her to get her up. Now she needs to use the outhouse in a hurry and said she was going to run there even though she's not supposed to run."

Adam carried Cat outside where they saw Pete on his way back to the bunkhouse. "'Morning Adam. What are you planning to do with that wild thing you caught?"

"I'm taking her to the outhouse and then I might just throw her in the trough to wake her up. Sleepyhead didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

"I don't blame her. I'd like to be able to sleep in too. What happened to her? How did she get all of those cuts?"

"Let me get her to the outhouse and then I'll tell you. You can tell the others so I don't have to answer the same question a dozen or more times."

Adam told Pete what Mrs. Warren had done to Cat and he was outraged. "I'd like to be on that jury and I'm sure that almost every hand on this ranch would be too."

"So would my brothers and I, however, Sheriff Coffee isn't likely to ask any of us to be on it."

"It's a shame, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, but Mrs. Warren wouldn't get a fair trial." Just then Cat left the outhouse and started to run past her brother who picked her up, put her back across his shoulder and gave her a swat. "Oh, by the way, this one isn't supposed to be running until after the doctor checks her on Wednesday. If you or any of the hands see her running, please bring her to one of us and we'll deal with the problem."

"Sure Adam, we can do that."

"Thanks Pete. Well, I'd better get this one back into the house so Hop Sing can doctor her cuts and wrap her rib. I know that Pa's going to want to know about her running when she's not supposed to." Adam took Cat back into the house where Hop Sing was waiting for her. Once he doctored her cuts and wrapped her rib he told her to come and help make the flapjacks for breakfast and he would teach her how to cook bacon.

Cat got dressed, went downstairs and walked past Ben who said, "Adam tells me you were running when you left the outhouse. Is that true?"

"Yes. It's dumb having to walk everywhere so I'm not going to."

Ben sighed. "You are too much like your youngest brother. Go, help Hop Sing and we are going to have a little talk this morning. Cat made the flapjacks and watched Hop Sing make the bacon.

During breakfast, Cat asked, "Can I go and play with Mike Devlin?"

"You may go over to the Devlin ranch, however since I cannot trust you not to gallop your horse, someone needs to go with you."

Cat sighed. "Will you go with me Joe?"

"No," said Ben. "Joseph is still restricted to the ranch for another two weeks."

"Will you go with me Hoss?"

"Sorry Punkin'. I've got a lot of work to do."

Cat got angry. "That'd not fair! Joe can't go, Hoss is busy and Adam doesn't like Mitch, so he won't take me. I'm not going to stay here by myself all day because you won't let me do anything because it might hurt my rib. I don't care if I hurt my rib. It's boring here by myself. I'm going to play with Mike and then I'm going back to Dodge so I can play and have fun with kids my age!"

Ben sighed. He knew Cat would saddle her horse, ride to the Devlin's by herself, and was determined enough to try and reach Dodge on her own despite the dangers of being on the trail alone. "Alright, Joe can go with you but he's got to get some work done first and you and I need to have a talk about you running when you're not supposed to until Dr. Martin says you can. Now finish your breakfast or you won't be going anywhere today."


	56. Chapter 56

After breakfast, Adam rode out to check on a lumber camp while Hoss and Joe went to mend some fences. Ben refilled his coffee cup, sat down in his chair, and called Cat over to him. "I am going out to play with Fury," she said, grabbing her hat.

"You can do that later. Right now, we need to have a talk about your attitude and behavior." Cat started toward the door. " **Catherine Michael**! I guarantee that you will be in a lot of trouble if you go out that door." She reluctantly put her hat down, walked over and stood in front of him. "Your attitude and behavior are starting to get out of control and if you don't do something about them, I will. You have got to stop threatening to go back to Dodge everytime you don't get your own way. Life isn't fair and people don't always get everything they want. If I tell you not to do something, it's usually for your own good and you need to stop arguing with me about it and saying you're going to do it anyway. Last night I told you that threatening to get even with someone was not the right way to do things but you ignored what I said and kept talking about getting revenge on Mrs. Warren. I know you are angry at her, but trying to get even will just make things worse and you will be in a lot of trouble.

We also need to address your behavior from yesterday and today. First you argued with me about going to church. In this house, church and school are not optional. You have to go to church every Sunday unless you are sick or too badly hurt to attend. The next time you argue with me about going to church without a good reason, you will have a very sore bottom and will not be allowed to sit with your friends. Wanting to stay home and play with your colt and puppies is not a good reason.

Dr. Martin told you not to trot or gallop your horse and not to run until he tells you differently. However, your brothers and I had to stop you from galloping twice on the way to Silver Hawk's village. Then when we got there, you didn't even say hello to Silver Hawk and his family before trying to go off with the other children and you started to run even though you knew you were not supposed to. When we got home, you were told to stop cleaning your horse's feet if doing so was hurting your rib. Instead, you insisted on continuing to clean them despite the fact it was hurting your rib and only stopped because Joe made you. Then you blamed Joe because I punished you. Blaming others for your missteps is wrong and I will not tolerate it. I also will not tolerate you not talking to me when you are angry with me. I did not accept that kind of behavior from your brothers and I will not accept it from you. It's ok to be angry with me but you still need to talk to me.

I just told you that we needed to talk about your attitude and behavior. Instead of coming over here as I told you to do, you started to go outside to play with your colt. I know that your brothers have told you that I do not tolerate deliberate disobedience. I also know that Matt did not tolerate it either. The next time I tell you to do something and you decide to do something different, you and I will be having a discussion in the barn.

Now we need to address your running again. Adam had to stop you from running twice already this morning even though you know that you are not supposed to. I know that you do not like the restrictions put on you by the doctor but they are for your own good. Be glad that your rib is only bruised and not cracked or broken. If you do what the doctor tells you to, the rib will probably be healed by the end of the week. If you persist in doing what you have been told not to do, it will take a lot longer to heal.

Beginning right now, you will face consequences for the things we have talked about. You are going to spend an hour standing in the corner. Thirty minutes of that is for doing things you have been told not to do, including running and galloping your horse. Everytime you are caught doing something that could injure your rib even more, fifteen minutes will be added onto the time you have to stand in the corner. The other thirty minutes are for the other things we talked about." Cat started to say something when Ben interrupted her. "I am warning you now, if you say that your punishment is not fair, I will add an additional hour onto your time and you will not be allowed to go over to the Devlins today. Also, if your attitude does not improve, you will face more severe consequences than just standing in the corner. If you try and get even with Mrs. Warren or ask any of your friends to do it for you, I will use my belt on your bare bottom." Before sending Cat to the corner by the fireplace, Ben pulled her over his knees and delivered three hard smacks to her bottom. "That's just a small example of what will happen if your attitude and behavior don't improve in a hurry. I don't want to punish you but I will if I have to. There are lessons you need to learn and it is my job to ensure that you learn them. Now go stand in the corner. You have one hour. No turning around or talking to yourself, your puppies or anyone else."

Cat slowly walked over to the fireplace and stood in the corner. The scolding and punishment made her even more determined to get back at Mrs. Warren for hurting her. She just had to figure out how to do it without getting in trouble. She didn't think it was right for someone to be able to hurt her and not be allowed to do anything about it. Cat decided to write to Pete and Mike, hoping they would have some ideas about what she could do. She also decided to talk to Mike Devlin and, if Joe would stop at the Ingalls', she would talk to Laura and get ideas from her. She reasoned that since she was only nine and Mrs. Warren was an old lady, the judge wouldn't do anything so it was up to her to do something. After standing in the corner for a while, she needed to use the outhouse and started shifting her weight from foot to foot.

Ben looked up from his book, saw Cat shifting and moving around and said, "Catherine, you are being punished. Stand still and face the corner."

"I can't. I have to use the outhouse. I'm going to wet my pants."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because you said…"

Ben interrupted her. "Go and do what you need to do. We'll talk about it when you come back. Remember, no running." When Cat came back into the house, Ben pulled her into his lap, hugged her and said, "When I told you no turning around or talking, I didn't mean you couldn't tell me that you needed to use the outhouse or something was wrong. I will never scold or punish you for taking care of your needs or for telling me something is wrong with you. I love you and it is my job to keep you safe and healthy, including making sure you eat well-balanced meals and that your needs are taken care off. Is your rib hurting you? I heard you gasp when I hugged you."

"I think Hop Sing wrapped it too tight."

"Take your shirt of and let me see." Cat took her shirt off and Ben felt under the top and bottom edges of the bandage. "Yes, it is too tight. Let me fix it for you." He unwrapped the bandage and Cat exhaled loudly. "You should have told me, your brothers or Hop Sing the bandage was too tight. Your rib won't heal if the bandage is too tight. I'm going to rewrap your rib. Hold your arms straight out from your sides so I can do it. When I'm finished, I need you to tell me if it's still too tight. If it hurts to breathe, it's too tight." Ben rewrapped Cat's ribs and asked, "Is that better or is it still too tight?"

"It's better. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now head back to the corner. You still have thirty minutes left." He gave her a light swat as she was walking away. At her confused look he said, "That's for not telling me that you had to use the outhouse and that your rib was wrapped too tight." Thirty minutes later he said, "Alright Cat. You can go and play with Fury. Remember, no running. If you do, you will end up right back in the corner and will not be allowed to go to the Devlins today."

"It's not fair," Cat said to her puppies as they started toward the door. "I didn't do anything to that nasty old lady. She hurt us but I'm the one in trouble and nothing's going to happen to her. The next time she tries to hurt us, I'm going to stop her and I don't care if she gets hurt. I hope she does. Then maybe she'll leave us alone."

Ben sighed and shook his head as he listened to his daughter talk to her puppies. He couldn't blame her for being upset. If his sons hadn't been close by, Mrs. Warren could have injured Cat very seriously. Hop Sing walked into the great room with a hot pot of coffee. "What you worry about now? Missy Cat do something wrong again?"

"No. Not really. She just spent an hour standing in the corner because of her attitude and behavior these past two days and all she wants to do is hurt Mrs. Warren."

"Hop Sing no blame her. He want to hurt nasty lady too. Nasty lady hult Missy Cat but you yell at Missy Cat because she want to get even. That not light. Why you not yell at nasty lady? I take buckboald. Go to town. Need supplies. Almost out of coffee, flour and chocolate. Spend time visiting cousins."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'll get one of the boys to harness a team for you. Say hello to your cousins for me. Oh before I forget, Adam and I won't be here for supper. We are meeting the Winters for supper before the school board meeting. I need to tell Susan what to expect when Catherine starts school. She needs to know Cat's history and why she's not wearing dresses."

"You let Missy Cat defend against nasty lady. Hop Sing get vely angly if she hult Missy Cat again!"

"The law will take care of Mrs. Warren."

"I take cale of her too if she hult Missy Cat again."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Ben walked outside with Hop Sing. Since none of his sons were around, he harnessed a team to the buckboard for Hop Sing. "Get whatever you need and tell Gerald that I'll pay him the next time I come to town. Once Hop Sing drove off, Ben decided to walk out to the pasture where the mares and foals were to check and make sure Cat was not running. He hoped she was not because he did not want to have to punish her again so soon. As he walked up to the pasture, he noticed Pete standing at the gate laughing. "Hi Pete, what's so funny?"

"Cat and that colt. She's been trying to teach him to sit down like a dog but he doesn't want to. It's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time." Ben stood there alongside Pete and before long, he was laughing too.

"You're right Pete. That is the funniest thing I've seen in ages. I wonder if all little girls are like that or if Cat is the only one."

"I can't answer that one boss. Cat is the only little girl I am familiar with, but it sure is going to be fun watching her grow up. In fact, it's a shame she has to grow up. She's too cute the way she is right now."

"Even though she's very close to going over my knees because of her attitude and behavior these past few days, I do agree with you. I wouldn't mind her staying nine for a few more years. Let's go and take a look at that colt and find out why Cat is trying to teach him to sit down like a dog."

Before they went into the pasture Pete said, "Ben, I've known you for many years and you have two major problems with your children. You tend to see things with them in black and white and you don't listen to them. I can recall several times when you were certain that Little Joe had done something wrong. One of those times was when a pasture gate was left open and it took hours to round up the cattle that had strayed. You were positive that Little Joe had left the gate open because he had done it before and even though he swore to you he had not been anywhere near the pasture, you punished him. If you remember, it turns out that a hand you fired for being drunk and almost starting the barn on fire was responsible when he was spotted opening another pasture gate. How do you think Joe felt when he realized that you didn't believe him, but you would have believed his brothers if they had been accused of leaving that gate open? Yesterday, Cat didn't want to go to church. You keep forgetting that she was raised differently than your boys were and even though she has spent school holidays here, she is trying to adjust to a whole new way of life. Did it ever occur to you that she may have felt that something bad was going to happen if she went to church?"

"If that's true, why didn't she tell me?"

"She may not have been able to put into words what was bothering her and you may not have listened to what she was saying. She's only nine and little kids aren't always too good at putting things into words. Your sons weren't. I'm bringing this up now because, even though today is only Monday, I have a feeling you may have a problem with her next Sunday. No matter what the outcome of the trial is, Cat may be afraid that Mrs. Warren is going to hurt her again, especially because I'm sure she's going to have to testify. Cat may also be afraid to testify because Mrs. Warren will be there. If you do have a problem with Cat not wanting to go to church next Sunday, be patient with her and try to get her to put her feelings into words. Reassure her that she will be well protected and nobody will hurt her."

"Pete, the problem with you is that you know me too well. You're right. I can't even begin to tell you how bad I felt when I learned that I had wrongly punished Little Joe. I have a feeling that you're right about the trial and next Sunday. I promise that I will try to be patient and encourage Cat to put her feelings into words. Now, let's go find out why she's trying to teach that colt to sit like a dog." They walked into the pasture and over to where Cat was working with Fury. "Hi Kitten, what are you trying to teach Fury?"

"I'm trying to teach him to sit down the way Lassie and Silver Chief do."

"He's a horse, not a dog. Why are you trying to teach him that?"

"So he can eat at the table with us. He's got real good manners. Watch." She took a carrot out of her back pocket, broke it in half and said, "Say please." The colt whinnied softly causing Ben and Pete to burst out laughing."

Ben picked Cat up, hugged her and said, "I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. You have got to be the silliest little girl I have ever met. I think that Pete will agree with me about that. You have done an excellent job training Fury in the two weeks you have been home and I am very proud of you. But he cannot eat at the table with us. He would have a very hard time sitting in a chair and when he grows up, the amount of hay he will eat would cover the entire table. Besides that, he doesn't have any hands so he wouldn't be able to pass our food around the table. And before you ask, no you cannot eat in the barn with him." He handed Cat to Pete and said, "Here, hold this wild thing. I want to take that colt for a ride and see how smooth his gaits are."

"You can't ride Fury. He's too little. You'll break him."

"No I won't. Just ask Pete."

Ben pretended like he was going to ride Fury and Cat stared getting upset. Pete didn't want Cat to struggle & possibly hurt her rib even more, so he whispered in her ear. "Relax and watch what I do." Then he said, "I don't know Ben. He looks awfully wild. I don't even know if Joe could stay on him and you know how good he is at breaking horses. Remember, the older we get, the longer it takes for broken bones to heal. Besides that, think of how much your sons will enjoy laughing at you if you try and ride that wild bronc' and get thrown." Listening to Pete talk to Ben, Cat realized her father was teasing her and had no intentions of trying to ride her two month old colt.

Ben let out an exaggerated sigh. "I guess you're right. The last thing I need is for my sons to laugh at me because I tried riding a wild bronco bareback. And we both know that Paul Martin would delight in telling everyone in Virginia City. I wouldn't dare show my face there for at least a year because everybody would be laughing at me. I guess I'll pass on riding him until he's been broken. Now, who do you think would be best suited for that job?"

"I know just the person. It's a new hand. Kinda short, only been here two weeks and dresses funny, but real good with horses. Why I'll bet that this hand would have that wild one eating at your table before a week is out."

"I think I know the hand you're referring to. About this high," Ben held his arm out to indicate how tall Cat was, "and wears buckskins and braids?"

"Yes, that's the hand I had in mind."

"But would this hand be willing to take on such a dangerous job?"

"I believe they would for the right incentive. Now I happen to know that this hand's favorite food is chocolate. I'll bet that if you gave this person enough of Hop Sing's chocolate cake, they would be more than happy to do the job." Cat whispered something in Pete's ear. "In fact, I know for certain that if this hand was to be given chocolate cake three times a day, they would be willing to start on the job right away."

"Three times a day…That's kind of excessive. I think we're going to have to negotiate the incentive for doing this job. Now, I do need to look that colt over and see what he'll let me do."

While the Cartwrights were having breakfast, Paul and Roy were also having breakfast together. Then they walked over to the prosecutor's office. "Paul, Roy, what brings you here so early on a Monday morning?"

"Business Richard," said Roy, handing him the complaint.

Mr. Parker read the complaint and let out a low whistle. "I knew she didn't like children, but I never thought she'd go this far. Where is she now?"

"At home I presume."

"Why isn't she in jail?"

"Two reasons. First, right now, I'm not set up to keep a woman in jail. I'll have to make some modifications to one of the cells. Second, Judge Taylor doesn't want anyone knowing about this just yet. He doesn't want the jury members to have their minds made up before the trial. You know as well as I do, the minute I arrest her, all of the town gossips will have their tongues wagging and I'll never be able to get a jury."

"You may have a point there. In fact, it might be best if I was able to get a jury from another town, say Galena. That way her lawyer won't be able to say that she didn't get a fair trial because everyone here is either friends with Ben Cartwright or depends on the Ponderosa for beef, timber or a job. The sheriff there is an old friend and I'm sure he could find twelve men who would be willing to spend a few hours on a jury here. Let's go and talk to the judge and see when he wants to have the trial. Then we'll have to find out who Millicent's lawyer is and let him know when the trial is going to be."

The three men walked over to the courthouse and knocked on the judge's office door. His secretary opened the door, invited them in and told the judge they were there. They talked for a while and Judge Taylor approved of Mr. Parker's plan to get jury members from another town. "When do you want to hold the trial?" asked Mr. Parker.

"I was thinking of holding it on Wednesday but since Richard needs to try and get a jury from Galena, I think I'll have it on Thursday."

"I told Ben that I would recheck Cat's injuries on Wednesday. Since I don't think she's ever been in a courtroom before, it would be a good idea for Millicent's lawyer and Richard to take her into the courtroom and explain everything to her. That way she won't be overwhelmed and confused at the trial."

"That's an excellent idea," said the judge. "Do you know who Millicent's lawyer is going to be?"

"It's probably going to be Tom Michaels," said Mr. Parker. "Andrew Wills is Ben Cartwright's lawyer and I can't see him defending someone who's accused of injuring Ben's daughter. I'll go and talk to Tom when we're finished here."

"Roy," said Paul, "Will you please ride out to the Ponderosa and ask Ben to bring Cat to town on Wednesday morning, instead of my riding out there, so I can check her injuries? I think you should also tell him that Richard and Tom are going to take Cat into the courtroom and explain how a trial works."

"Sure. I'll be happy to ride out to the Ponderosa. Might just go out there around dinner time and invite myself to stay and eat. I never pass up a chance to eat Hop Sing's cooking." Everyone had a good laugh at Roy's last statement because they all felt the same way.

They left the Judge's office and went their separate ways. Mr. Parker walked over to Mr. Michael's office to see if he was going to be Mrs. Warren's lawyer. He said he was and that Mrs. Warren would not get a fair trial because everyone knew Ben Cartwright. "That's one thing I wanted to talk to you about Tom. "I'm going to ride over to Galena in a little while and see if the sheriff there can get twelve men to serve on a jury here. I'm simply going to tell him that a Virginia City resident has been accused of attacking and injuring a child. Judge Taylor wants to have the trial on Thursday morning. Paul Martin is going to recheck Catherine Cartwright's injuries on Wednesday and then you and I are going to take her into the courtroom and explain how a trial works. She's only nine and has never been in a courtroom before."

"That's fine. Thank you for telling me. Would you mind if I rode to Galena with you? I'd welcome the chance to get away from Millicent's rantings about children in general and Catherine Cartwright in particular. A change of scenery would do me good."

Mr. Parker laughed. "Sure Tom. You're more than welcome to ride along with me. I would welcome the company. Then you'll be able to tell Millicent that she'll have a jury who doesn't live in Virginia City so they won't already have their minds made up. Why don't we leave around ten? The sheriff there is a childhood friend and his wife is an excellent cook. If we play our cards right, we might just be treated to some good cooking."

"That sounds good to me. I get tired of my own cooking after a while. I'll see you at ten."

Ben checked Fury over thoroughly and was pleased with what he found. The colt allowed him to pick all four of his feet up and touch the bottoms. "You've done a very good job with him. I know he follows you around like your puppies do, so I don't have to ask you to lead him around. Give him the rest of that carrot and let's go up to the house and see if Hoss and Joe are back yet." They walked back to the house and found Cochise and Beauty saddled and tied to the hitching rail. Cat's saddle bags were on Beauty's saddle as well.

Joe walked out of the house as Ben was helping Cat to mount Beauty. Once her puppies were in the saddle bags, Ben said, "If Mrs. Devlin invites you to dinner go ahead and stay. I'll tell Hop Sing. Adam and I have to attend the school board meeting tonight and we're meeting the Winters for supper first so I want you back here no later than three o'clock."

"Alright Pa," said Joe. "We'll be back by three."

After they rode out of the yard, Cat asked, "Joe, what happened that made you get even with someone and why was Pa so mad at you for doing it?"

"Someone almost killed me and the law let him get away with it."

"I don't understand. How could the law let someone get away with almost killing you?"

"There was a man who owned a small ranch on the other side of town. He was not a nice man and drank a lot. He was mean when he was sober and even worse when he was drunk. He used to beat his wife and kids even when he was sober. His wife finally had enough. She divorced him, took the kids and moved to a different state. After his family left, he got meaner and drank even more. He started fights just because he could. One afternoon, I was walking in front of the saloon. He walked out and bumped into me. He was very drunk, swore at me, picked me up and threw me into the street right in front of the incoming stage. If it hadn't been for Adam and Hoss, I would have been killed. As is, one of the horses managed to clip my head with a hoof and stepped on my arm, breaking it. I also had a couple of broken ribs but my head was real bad. I had a very serious injury, was unconscious, and Dr. Martin wasn't sure if I was going to live.

Besides Adam and Hoss, at least six other people saw what happened and Roy arrested him. Judge Taylor was out of town and even though I was not able to testify because of my head injury, the visiting judge held the trial two days after the man tried to kill me. Pa said that everybody who saw what happened testified against him but the jury found him not guilty. We found out later that the visiting judge was related to the man and hired some men to threaten the jury members to make them vote not guilty. It took more than a month for my injuries to completely heal. In the mean time, the man was still in town, drinking and bragging that he had gotten away with almost killing me. He even went so far as to say he would kill me the next time.

While I was laid up, I made my plans to get revenge. It took a few weeks, but I finally got my chance. I was on my way home from school one afternoon when I saw him riding down the road. He was drunk as usual and didn't even seem to know he was heading away from home. There was nobody else around, so I took advantage of the opportunity to get revenge on the man who had tried to kill me. One of the boys at school brought a bunch of firecrackers with him that day and gave some to all of the older boys. I lit two of them and threw them behind the man's horse, spooking it. The horse took off and he was too drunk to control it, but I wasn't satisfied. I managed to get close enough to the horse to throw another firecracker. It reared and threw the man who hit his head on a rock. I rode off and left him in the road. I didn't care if he was alive or dead. As far as I was concerned, he got what he deserved. When I got home, I acted like I always did, complained about Miss Jones being too hard on me and said that I was almost a man and shouldn't have to go to school any more. Pa was used to my complaints about school so he just told me to get my chores and homework done before supper.

Someone found the man and took him to Dr. Martin. He kept mumbling something about the kid did it and he wished he would have killed him. Paul and Roy knew he was talking about me, so Roy rode out here to talk to Pa and me. I didn't deny what I did and said I wasn't sorry because he had it coming for trying to kill me and it was too bad he didn't die. You can imagine what Pa's reaction was. I thought he was going to kill me and he might have if Roy, Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing hadn't stopped him. Roy convinced him to go for a ride and cool down while Adam and Hoss said they'd take care of me. They yelled at me and said they didn't blame me for wanting to get even but I was wrong to cause the man to be thrown and for leaving him in the road. When Pa got home, he used the big strap in the barn on my bare bottom. When he finished, it took almost a week before I could sit comfortably. Hop Sing put a cushion in my chair but it didn't help much. Except for school and church I was restricted to the ranch for a month with a lot of extra chores to do. I also had to ride double with one of them on school days. When my friends found out what happened, Mitch and Dave gave me their saddle bags to sit on. Some of the boys also used the man for target practice with their slingshots. They didn't tell me what they were going to do so I wouldn't get another whipping. The man finally got tired of being harassed by a bunch of kids, sold his ranch and left Virginia City.

I know that you want to get even with Mrs. Warren and I don't blame you, but you cannot do anything. If you do and she gets hurt, Pa will use the strap on you and I don't want that to happen. Mrs. Warren will be taken care of and that's all I'm going to say. When we get to Mitch's place, I'm going to tell the family what happened to you. If Mike starts telling you he's going to do something about it, tell him not to tell you anything. If you don't know what is happening or who is doing it, you won't get in trouble and neither will anyone else unless they get caught. Listen to me Cat. I am serious. I want you to promise me that you won't try and do anything to Mrs. Warren. If you do, Adam, Hoss, and I won't be able to protect you, especially if she gets hurt."

"Alright Joe. I promise I won't do anything to Mrs. Warren but if she tries to hurt me again, I'm going to stop her and I don't care if she gets hurt."

"You won't get in trouble for defending yourself but try not to hurt her. Remember, she's older than Pa and could get badly hurt and possibly die."

"I don't care. She needs to be hurt because she hurt me and tried to hurt my puppies."

"No Cat, you don't want to hurt her if you can help it and you'll be in a whole lot of trouble if you hurt her on purpose. I was wrong to cause that man's horse to throw him and to leave him in the road. I wouldn't have been in so much trouble if I hadn't done that."

"Pa shouldn't have punished you for hurting that man. He hurt you and you were right to hurt him. If Mrs. Warren hurts me again, I'm going to hurt her just like when Mark Nelson pushed me down the school steps. I pounded the stuffing out of him and he never tried to hurt me again."

Joe sighed. Pa was right. His sister was a lot like him. "No Cat. It's never right to hurt someone on purpose even if you think they deserve it. I know you don't believe me, so when we get to the Devlins, we can ask Mitch and his parents what they think. When we get home, ask Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing what they think. You can even ask Pete, Joshua, Thaddeus, and some of the other hands. If they all tell you the same thing I did, will you promise me that you won't try to hurt Mrs. Warren even if she tries to hurt you again?"

"Ok. If they all tell me the same thing you did, I promise I won't try to hurt Mrs. Warren on purpose even if she hurts me again."

"Thank you for making that promise. Mrs. Warren will be taken care of. I promise. Now remember, don't let Mike tell you that he's going to do something to her. I know that you don't want to get in trouble and I know that you don't want to get Mike in trouble, so it's best if you don't know anything about what's going to happen or who's going to do it."


	57. Chapter 57

Cat and Joe rode into the Devlin's yard about twenty minutes after leaving the Ponderosa. Mitch and his father were in the yard cutting and stacking wood. They stopped working and greeted their visitors. Mr. Devlin helped Cat down from her horse, saw her injuries and asked, "Cat, what happened to you? Joe, who hurt your sister?"

"I'll tell everyone all at once. I don't want to have to tell the story four times."

"That's fine. Let's go in the house. Mitch, please find your brother, tell him we have company and bring him into the house."

Mitch went to look for his brother while Joe and Cat followed Mr. Devlin into the house. Mrs. Devlin looked at Cat's injuries and asked Joe who had hurt his sister. Once Mitch and Mike came into the house, Joe told them about Mrs. Warren's attack on Cat. All four Devlins were shocked that she could do such a terrible thing to a child. They all told Cat that they were sorry she had been hurt and hoped her injuries healed soon. Mrs. Devlin asked if they could stay for dinner and Joe said they could but they had to be back home by three. Cat and Mike went outside to play while Joe and Mitch walked off to find a quiet place where they could talk without being overheard. "Something has to be done about Mrs. Warren," said Joe. "The law probably isn't going to do much because she's old. We can't let her get away with hurting Cat the way she did. If Adam, Hoss, and I hadn't been so close, there's no telling how badly Cat would have been hurt."

"I agree, but we've got to be careful. We can't have her hurt too bad or we'll be in just as much trouble as you were when you were fourteen and got revenge."

"I know. Cat can't know anything either. If she does and Pa finds out, it will be several days before she can sit down. I don't want that happening to her."

"You can't know anything either. That way you won't have to lie to your Pa and risk serious punishment. Leave it to me. I'll make sure that Mrs. Warren gets taken care of. I'll see if I can find an excuse for Mike and I to go to town after you leave."

"Don't do anything to her today. Because Roy will come to the house and want to know if Cat or I had anything to do with it. Pa will tell him that we were over here today and then you and Mike will be in trouble."

"Joe, have you forgotten who you're talking to? I am the master of getting revenge. Who do you think organized the attacks on Mr. Black five years ago? Don't worry. Everything will be done in secret. Mrs. Warren won't be seriously injured and nobody will know who was responsible for the attacks. Now tell me, how did you manage to escape your father today? I know that you're still restricted to the ranch for at least another two weeks."

"Cat wanted to come over and play with Mike. Pa said she had to have someone with her to keep her from galloping her horse but I couldn't come because I was still restricted to the ranch. She asked Hoss and he said he had too much work to do and Cat got upset because she knew Adam wouldn't bring her over here. She's a Cartwright alright. When she gets her fur up, look out. She told Pa that she didn't care if she hurt her rib, she was coming over here by herself and then she was going to go back to Dodge by herself so he said I could come with her."

Mitch let out a whistle. "She sure is a whole lot like you, isn't she? I'm surprised she's here and able to sit down."

"She didn't totally get away with it. Before Hoss and I went out to mend fences, I went into the kitchen to see if Hop Sing would make some sandwiches for Hoss. When I looked in the great room, Pa was scolding her something fierce. He gave her three hard smacks and made her stand in the corner. She hates being made to stay still worse than getting a spanking. I hope the new teacher isn't going to be as hard on her as Miss Jones was on us. If she is, Cat will be spending as much or more time standing in the corner than we did and will get a lot more notes sent home and you know how my Pa feels about notes sent home from school."

"Yeah, I do. Your Pa feels the same way about notes sent home from school as mine does. You know, I think that Miss Jones enjoyed seeing us get in trouble, especially when Adam had to bring you to school or pick you up."

"She sure was sweet on him. I'll have to remember to tease him about that when the time is right. We'd better go and check on Cat and make sure she's not doing anything to hurt that rib. Pa'll skin both of us alive if she does."

They walked back to the yard and found Mike and Cat taking turns using the swing. After they had each taken several turns, Mike asked, "Hey, wanna play marbles?"

"Sure, I'd love to but I haven't got mine with me."

"I'll ask Mitch if you can use his. I wonder what he and Joe are doing. They kinda snuck off in a hurry."

Just as Mike and Cat started looking for their brothers, they walked into the yard. "What have you two been up to?" asked Mitch.

"We've been playing on the swing," answered Mike. "We want to play marbles but Cat doesn't have any with her. Can she use yours?"

"Sure. You know where they're at. Go ahead and get them for Cat."

Mike and Cat played marbles until Mrs. Devlin called everyone to dinner. After dinner, Cat said, "That was real good Mrs. Devlin. It's almost as good as Hop Sing's food."

"Well, thank you Cat. That is very kind of you to say that." Mrs. Devlin looked at her husband and said, "Daniel, this is the first time Catherine has spent any time on our ranch. Why don't all of us go for a ride and show it to her. It's not as large as the Ponderosa but it's almost as pretty."

They spent several hours riding around the ranch. When they returned to the house, Mrs. Devlin fixed a snack for everyone. She noticed she was almost out of coffee and said, "Mitch, when Joe and Cat go home, will you please go to town and buy some coffee? I'm almost out and your father won't be happy if he doesn't have his coffee in the morning with breakfast." Mitch said he would go to town for his mother. Mike asked if he could go also and was given permission.

Then Cat and Mike went back outside to play with Cat's puppies while Joe stayed in the house talking to the Devlins. At two o'clock, Joe said it was time for him and Cat to leave because they were due home by three. Cat didn't want to leave but Joe said, "Cat, if we're late getting back and don't have a good reason, Pa will have both our hides. You'll get a spanking and have to stand in the corner for not listening to me and I'll get a whipping for not making you leave. You'll probably have to spend tomorrow in your room and I'll have at least one more week added to my restriction. Is that what you want? I know that I don't. Come on. Let's go. I don't want to make you leave but I will if I have to. If Pa asks if you gave me any problems about leaving, I won't lie to him and you will be in even more trouble. You can come back and play with Mike another time and he can always come to the Ponderosa and play with you."

Mr. Devlin settled things, picked Cat up and put her on Beauty. "Joe's right. You can always come back here another day and Mike can go to the Ponderosa. I know you were having fun and it's always hard to leave when you're having fun, but if you're late getting back, your Pa may not let you come over here for a long time. I would sure hate to see that happen. Joe, tell Ben I'll see him at the school board meeting tonight."

Mitch and Mike mounted their horses and rode out to the road with their friends. When they reached the road, Joe and Cat turned toward the Ponderosa while Mitch and Mike rode toward town. On the way to town, Mitch said, "Mike, we need to do something about Mrs. Warren. Listen to what I'm going to tell you. This is what my friends and I did five years ago when Mr. Black tried to kill Joe."

Mitch told his brother what had been done and Mike said, "That's great. My friends and I can do the same thing tomorrow. Let's stop and talk to Mitch Harris on the way home."

"No Mikey, it's too soon. Joe and Cat just left our house. If things start happening to Mrs. Warren tomorrow, Sheriff Coffee will go to the Ponderosa and talk to Mr. Cartwright. He'll tell the sheriff that Joe and Cat were here and then all four of us will be in a lot of trouble. We can't do anything until after the trial. You can start talking to your friends after church on Sunday. The trial will have been held by then and we'll know what the law is going to do to Mrs. Warren."

"Alright Mitch. We won't do anything until after the trial. But can we still stop and see Mitch Harris on the way home?"

"Yes, we can stop for a few minutes but that's all. Ma will skin us alive if we're late for supper."

While Joe and Cat were on their way to the Devlin ranch, Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels were on their way to Galena to try and get a jury for Mrs. Warren's trial. They went to the sheriff's office and Mr. Parker greeted his friend and introduced Mr. Michaels to him. "Dan, I've got a problem. I need a jury for Thursday morning in Virginia City. A resident has been accused of attacking and injuring a child. If I use a jury of Virginia City residents, the accused person won't get a fair trial. That person is not very well liked while almost everyone likes the child's father, so you can see my predicament."

"Yes I do Richard. At first I was surprised that you had the defense attorney with you but now I understand why. Let's go for a walk and see if I can find twelve men who will ride to Virginia City on Thursday to be on a jury. I hope the two of you will stay for dinner. Marge will be thrilled to see you again."

"We'll be happy to Dan. I'd be thrilled to see Marge again. I've been bragging to Tom here what a good cook she is and I think that's his real reason for coming with me today."

The sheriff laughed. "When are you going to get married Richard?"

"I can't. You stole my best girl."

"That was when we were in the eighth grade. Marge hasn't been your best girl in a lot of years."

Mr. Parker laughed. "Please allow me to keep my illusions."

It took about an hour but they found twelve men who rarely went to Virginia City and agreed to serve on the jury. After finding men for the jury, Mr. Peters, Mr. Michaels joined the sheriff at his house for dinner. They enjoyed a good meal and Mr. Peters enjoyed seeing his old flame. Everyone promised to get together again soon. On the ride back to Virginia City, Mr. Michaels said, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret you probably already know. I would rather defend Blackbeard than Millicent Warren. I know in my heart that she is guilty, but unfortunately, the only other lawyer in town is Ben Cartwright's lawyer. I'll do my best to defend her but my heart won't be in it."

"I understand Tom. I don't envy you in the least. But I know that you are an excellent lawyer and will do the best you can to defend Millicent. Don't forget, on Wednesday, we have to explain how a trial works to a nine year old. From what I know of this particular child, you can fully expect her to say that it's dumb for Millicent to have a lawyer to defend her."

Mr. Michaels laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised. I'm going to have to think of a creative way to explain my job to her so she understands exactly what defense lawyers do."

"I'll help. She has an older cousin who's a lawyer. His name is Jarrod Barkley. We can use him as an example."

"That's great. I appreciate the help." Once they returned to Virginia City, the two men went to tell the judge that they had put a jury together. Then they went back to their own offices.

Roy rode out to the Ponderosa in time to eat dinner there. Ben welcomed his friend and invited him to dine with him. "Where is my favorite Cartwright?" asked Roy.

"She and Joe went over to the Devlin ranch. Cat knows how to get there by herself, but I couldn't depend on her to not gallop her horse so I had to send Joe with her. What brings you out here today?"

"Several things. The judge has set Millicent's trial for Thursday morning at nine. He wants Richard Peters and Tom Michaels to explain what happens in a trial to Cat. They plan to do it on Wednesday, so rather than riding out here, Paul wants you to bring Cat into his office that morning."

"Thanks. Cat is not going to be happy to hear that Millicent will be in the courthouse. We're going to have to do everything we can to make Cat understand that woman will not be able to hurt her. I'm already predicting trouble getting her to go to church on Sunday because of Millicent. If the judge doesn't sentence her to jail time or lets her out on Sundays, I may let Cat stay home for one week. I'll have to give it some thought depending on what the outcome of the trial is."

"Richard and Tom rode over to Galena this morning to see about getting an impartial jury. That way Millicent can't say the jury was prejudiced in your favor."

"That's fine. I'm sure that once Cat testifies, the jury will rule against Millicent. The problem is going to be convincing Cat that she'll be safe in the courthouse."

"I have an idea. I'll talk to Richard about it and see what he says. If he agrees, I'll tell you about it on Wednesday. Well, I've got to get back to town. Thank you for dinner. Hop Sing it was excellent as usual. Ben, I'll see you on Wednesday. Give my favorite Cartwright a hug for me."

Joe and Cat rode into the yard shortly before three o'clock. When they went into the house, Ben looked at Cat and asked, "What did you do at the Devlins?"

"Mike and I played on his swing, we played marbles, and we went for a ride around his ranch."

"Did you play for keeps?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you played marbles for keeps."

"Kinda I guess."

" **What do you mean 'kind of I guess'? Either you did or you didn't. Now which is it? Did you or did you not play marbles for keeps?** "

Cat just looked at Ben in shock. She couldn't believe he was yelling at her for telling the truth. Before she could answer him, Joe broke in. "You know the answer to that as well as I do."

" **And just exactly what do you mean by that comment young man?** "

"Simple. Cat was with you before we left and you helped her into her saddle. Did she have her marbles with her when you were out in the pasture?"

"No she didn't."

"Did she go up to her bedroom and get them before she mounted Beauty?"

"No she didn't."

"Then she didn't take her marbles with her. She used Mitch's and when the game was over, she gave them back to him. Would you have accused her of playing for keeps if she had been with Adam or Hoss instead of me? Cat's not me and you need to stop treating her like she is."

"Hear, hear little brother," said Hoss.

"Joe's right," said Adam. "You knew the answer to that question before you asked it and you wouldn't have asked it if Hoss or I had been with Cat. There are two reasons you asked that question and neither of them are legitimate. You asked that question because Cat is a lot like Joe and because she was with Joe. Cat, have you ever played marbles for keeps?"

"I dunno. Kinda I guess. I'm not even sure what that is."

"Playing for keeps means that you keep the marbles you win."

"I never had my own marbles before. The kids at school always let me use theirs. When we were playing, we always kept the marbles we won so we could tell who won the game. When we were done playing, I gave the marbles back to the kid who let me use them. I do have 1 marble I got to keep but I didn't win it. Billy gave it to me because I beat Ritchie & he was the best marble player in the whole school."

"Well Pa," said Hoss. "Does that answer your question about what little sister means when she says 'kinda I guess'?"

"Yes it does." Ben took Cat in his arms, hugged her and said, "I owe you an apology. Your brothers are right. Because you are so much like Joe and you were with Joe, I assumed that you acted like he used to when he was a boy. I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me. I can't promise that I'll never do it again, but I promise that I'll do my absolute best not to. It was very nice of Billy to give you that marble because you beat Ritchie. Where is it now?"

"I put it in the bag with the marbles Adam bought me. I forgive you but it hurt me when you yelled at me for telling the truth."

"I know it did and I am very sorry. I never want to hurt you. You are my little girl and I love you. Now, Adam and I have to leave here very soon. We're meeting the Winters for supper before the school board meeting. If you think you can keep Hoss and Joe out of trouble while we're gone, I'll ask Hop Sing to give you a special snack before bed. You still need to go to bed when your brothers or Hop Sing tell you to."

"I'll keep them out of trouble. They're always good for me."

Ben hugged her again. "That's my girl. I knew I could depend on you. I'll go talk to Hop Sing and then Adam and I need to leave. It's still several hours until supper, so you can play outside for a while if you want to. One of your brothers or Hop Sing will let you know when it's time to wash up. Just remember, no running until the doctor says you can. Hoss, Joe, if you see your sister running, make her stand in the corner for forty five minutes. Then she can stay inside for the rest of the night."

"Don't worry Pa. She ain't gonna run," said Hoss. "I'm fixin' to go out to the barn and put hobbles on her."

"Good luck with that," laughed Adam. "Matt said he thought of that a long time ago and decided she'd still find a way to run."

Ben went into the kitchen and talked to Hop Sing. Then he went back into the great room and hugged Cat goodbye. "Why does Adam have to go to the school board meeting?" she asked.

"Because he needs to tell the school board what he, Hoss, Joe, and Mitch found when they inspected the school."

"Is it going to fall apart? I hope it is so I won't have to go to school."

Her father and brothers laughed at her. "Not hardly little one," laughed Adam. "The school needs some repairs but it is not going to fall down. Besides that, even if it did, you would still have school. I told you before that if there was no school, I would be teaching you right here."

Cat scrunched up her face and said, "I'm leaving. I'm going somewhere else."

Her family laughed at her. "Where are you planning to go?" asked Ben.

"Someplace where I don't have to go to school."

"It doesn't matter where you live, you will still have to go to school."

"I'll go live with the Apaches. The kids there don't have to go to school."

Ben laughed and hugged her. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, Adam and I need to leave. Take care of your brothers and remember not to run."

After Ben and Adam left, Hoss and Joe decided to play checkers so Cat went out to play with Fury. Her puppies followed her out the door and as soon as she closed it, thinking nobody was watching, started to run toward the pasture. She ran about ten steps when she heard Thaddeus start to scold her. "Cat, are you supposed to be running yet?"

"No."

"Then why are you? Don't you want that rib to heal?"

"I'm tired of having to walk everywhere. I don't care about my dumb ol' rib."

Thaddeus sighed. He was beginning to learn what Cat's Godfathers meant when they told him why she was called Wild Cat. "Come here." Cat walked over to him. "What would your Pa do to you if he caught you running just now?"

"Make me stand in the corner and probably give me a spanking."

"What are Hoss and Joe supposed to do with you while your Pa and Adam are gone?"

"Make me stand in the corner for forty five minutes and keep me in the house."

"Do you enjoy being punished?"

"No."

"Then why do you do things you're not supposed to do? Let's go."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you to Pete to see what he thinks I should do with you."

They walked into the bunkhouse. Pete looked at Cat who hung her head and asked, "What's going on Thaddeus? Why did you bring Cat in here?"

"I just caught her running when everyone on the ranch knows she's not supposed to until the doctor says she can. What do you want me to do with her? Mr. Cartwright and Adam are gone."

Pete looked at the other four men in the bunkhouse and said, "Men, I know you're finished with your work for the day and want to relax. However, I need to have a talk with Cat. Would you mind going outside for a few minutes so I can talk with her and decided exactly what to do?" The men got up and went outside. "Thank you men. I appreciate you doing that for me. Cat, what am I going to do with you? Your Pa punished you for running earlier today and you're at it again. What will happen if Thaddeus takes you to Hoss and Joe?"

"I'll have to stand in the corner for forty five minutes, won't be allowed to come back outside, and they'll tell Pa."

"What will happen if they tell your father?"

"I'll have to stand in the corner even more and probably get a spanking."

"There is no probably about it girl. I've known your Pa for a long time and that's exactly what he'll do. Thaddeus and I are going to deal with you and we won't tell Ben this time. However, if anybody catches you running again before the doctor says you can, I am going to wear your bottom out before taking you to your Pa. I mean it Cat. If you are caught running again before the doctor says you can, you are going to be in very big trouble. Thaddeus, before you start to worry, I have had permission to deal with Cat since she first started spending school vacations here. Haven't I Cat?"

"Yes."

"You know how to talk to adults. Yes what?"

"Yes sir."

"How old were you when I taught you that 'Stay out of the pasture with the bull' meant that you were not to go in the pasture with the bull?"

"I was six. It was about a month after me, Pete, and Mike got in trouble for climbing the water tower in Dodge. Uncle Matt sure was mad at me that day. The bull and I were friends and we still are. He let me pet him through the gate. I just wanted to play with him."

Pete sighed. Thaddeus couldn't believe what he was hearing Cat say.

"How old were you when I taught you that 'Stay out of the corral with the wild horses' meant exactly that?"

"I think I was seven. I just wanted to help with the horses. I helped Mr. Quint all the time so I could have helped with those horses."

"Cat, I explained this to you then and I'm going to explain it to you again. Quint is a blacksmith and works with horses that are already broken and have been ridden a lot. Those were wild horses and you could have been badly injured. Thaddeus, now do you know why the family calls her Wild Cat?"

"Yes, I am beginning to see why."

"Now, we could stand here until suppertime and I still would not run out of stories about when I have caught her starting to do something potentially dangerous, but we need to deal with the current problem. Cat, since Thaddeus caught you and has a very serious interest in keeping you alive and healthy, I am going to let him handle your punishment." Pete pulled a chair out, motioned for Thaddeus to sit down, took of his belt, doubled it and handed it to Thaddeus. "Cat, bend over Thaddeus' knees." Cat did as she was told and Thaddeus looked at Pete who held up three fingers.

Thaddeus used the belt on Cat's bottom three times and handed it back to Pete. "Alright Cat, we're finished. You can stand up now. Remember what Pete said. It will be a lot worse for you the next time you get caught."

Cat looked at Pete with tears in her eyes. He hugged her and said, "You know I love you just as though you were my own daughter. Believe me when I tell you that you got off easy today. The sting from that belt will go away before supper. I can guarantee you that if I had taken you to your brothers and they told Ben, your bottom would hurt for more than just a few hours and you might have had to spend all day tomorrow in your room. I know you're only nine, but you've got to start thinking of the consequences before doing things you're not supposed to do. Now go play with that colt of yours and no more running."

Cat walked out of the bunkhouse followed by Pete and Thaddeus. She stuck her tongue out at Pete and acted like she was going to start running again. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and headed for the trough. Joe walked out of the house, saw Pete with Cat and asked, "What's going on Pete? Why have you got little sister over your shoulder?"

"She was getting a little sassy and acting like she was about to start running. I thought a cold bath would cure those problems."

"Oh ok. Have fun. Just be careful of her rib and don't roll her in the dirt like you use to do to me when I was a boy. Pa's not home and Hoss and I don't want to have to listen to Hop Sing yell because Cat won't have time for a bath before supper."

Pete laughed. "What do you mean when you _were_ a boy? As far as I'm concerned you are still a boy and I _will_ put you over my knees before taking you to your Pa anytime I need to. Now, are you going to come and get this wild thing or do I need to put it in the trough before feeding it to that black colt?"

"Nah, you can keep it. If I take it, I'll either have to push it on the swing or let it beat me at checkers. Just make sure it's dry before supper or I'll let Hop Sing come out and yell at you."

"I'm not afraid of Hop Sing."

"You sure acted like you were the last time you put me in the trough and rolled me in the dirt just before supper. Adam, Hoss, and I had a good laugh at you running away from Hop Sing when he was chasing you with his spoon. I also seem to remember Pa making you heat the water for my bath and wash my clothes."

Thaddeus and the other hands who had been in the bunkhouse could barely contain their laughter at the thought of Pete running away from Hop Sing and his spoon. Cat didn't even try. Pete pretended to growl. "Just remember whose arms you're in brat. You can always go in the trough head first."

"No you won't because I'll tell Hop Sing you were mean to me. Then he'll chase you with his spoon again."

"Joseph Francis Cartwright, you are a bad influence on your little sister. You should not be telling her stories about Hop Sing chasing me with his spoon. By doing that, you are putting ideas into her head that should not be there." All of the men standing around could no longer contain their laughter. Pete pretended to growl at the men and threatened to give them the worst possible jobs for the next month. Then he carried Cat out to the pasture, opened the gate and carried her inside. He set her down, gave her a swat and said, "That's just to remind you of what will happen the next time you're caught running before the doctor says you can." Then he looked at her puppies and said, "You two need to keep her out of trouble."

Pete walked back through the gate where Thaddeus was standing. "It sure is nice to see her healthy and active. When Joshua and I first found her, we weren't sure if she was going to live. Did she really try and go into a pasture to play with a bull?"

"Oh yes. Ben and Adam were in Sacramento and Hoss was busy keeping sixteen year old Joe from getting into trouble, so I dealt with her myself. It was the same with the wild horses. Cat knows that I will deal with her once without telling Ben but if she gets caught doing the same thing again, I will deal with her and then take her to Ben."

"Did she ever test you?"

"Yes, I caught Cat trying to go back into the bull's pasture several days later. I put her over my knees, warmed her bottom good and then took her to Ben. She was not a very happy little girl when he finished with her and he made her even more miserable by not letting her ride her pony for a week. I think that made more of an impression on her than the spankings did. I know that little girl has not yet begun testing her boundaries. Wait until she's allowed to ride around the ranch without someone with her. I predict that she'll be going off on her own without letting anyone know where she's going. One thing we're going to need to watch for is she likes jumping her horse over fences. Ben told me that her uncle punished her for it several times but she still does it."

"Great. I risked my life to save hers but she wants to risk breaking her neck by jumping a horse over fences."

"She's nine Thaddeus. She isn't afraid of anything, thinks she won't get hurt and doesn't believe anyone when they tell her she can."

"What should I do with her if I catch her doing something potentially dangerous?"

"I'll talk to Ben when I get the chance but until I do, bring Cat to me. You saved her life so you have at least earned the right to give her a good scolding and a swat. She's only been here two weeks and doesn't know her way around yet, so it will be a while before she gets into much mischief. She'll also be starting school soon and that will give her less time to get into mischief. I've known her all of her life and she's really a sweet kid but she's wilder than Little Joe ever was. From what I understand, she had a lot of freedom in Dodge and once she's been here a while, I can guarantee that she is going to rebel as hard as she can against the restrictions that will be placed on her. The problem is that Cat is so much like Joe, Ben forgets she hasn't lived her all of her life. He needs to explain the rules to her before he starts punishing her for breaking them. If he doesn't, we're going to see a lot of fireworks and Cat may try to make her way back to Dodge or her other uncle in Arizona."

"I sure hope she doesn't try doing that. The trail is dangerous enough for a grown man. It will be double or triple that for a nine year old child traveling alone."

"I know, that's why I plan to talk to Ben as much as possible and keep reminding him that Cat has grown up a lot differently than his sons and he's got to give her time to adjust to the way things are done here. Now, let's see what she's taught that colt to do. Cat, show us what you've taught Fury to do."

Cat showed them everything she had taught Fury to do and they were amazed at the progress she had made in only two weeks. Then, to their surprise, she picked her puppies up, put them on Fury's back and started to walk around the pasture. Pete and Thaddeus laughed as Fury put his chin on Cat's shoulder and walked around the pasture with the puppies on his back.

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a/n: I know you're surprised to see a new chapter so soon. I had written a large part of this chapter as part of the previous one but someone begged me to write about what happened to Little Joe that caused him to get revenge on someone who had hurt him and what he did. That person was kind enough to publish a new chapter in one of their stories early in return for my including Little Joe's story in the previous chapter.


	58. Chapter 58

Ben and Adam met the Winters at the hotel restaurant shortly before five thirty. Once they had placed their orders, Margaret decided it was time to talk to Ben about the way he was raising Cat. "Ben, we need to talk about the way you are raising your daughter. Catherine should not be dressing like a boy. She should be wearing dresses, not buckskins. It doesn't matter if she wants to or not. If she won't wear one all the time, put her over your knees and use your belt or a razor strop on her bare bottom until she does. Those puppies should not even be allowed in the house and they certainly should not be sleeping in her bed. I don't know what's wrong with you that you're not only allowing them in the house but you allow them in Catherine's bed. And she most certainly should not be playing with Indians and calling one of them her brother. I can't believe that you are allowing that child to associate and play with heathen Indians. You didn't allow your sons to run wild like that so why have you allowed Catherine to do that?"

Ben fought to control his temper. "Margaret, didn't you listen to a thing I said when you were at the Ponderosa for supper? Catherine is my younger sister's daughter and I **_will_** raise her the way I think is best. Her father was killed in the war and she has been raised by his oldest brother. The whole idea behind meeting for supper tonight was so I could tell Susan about Catherine and what to expect from her when school starts. Considering that your ten year old sons are some of the worst behaved children in Virginia City, you are one of the last people who should be trying to tell me how to raise my sister's daughter. When your sons can behave as well as Catherine does, then I **_might_** listen to your advice, unwanted as it is!"

Margaret fumed at Ben's comments while John could hardly keep from laughing. Ben was right. Margaret had not paid attention to what Ben had said about Catherine being his sister's daughter and only recently moving to the Ponderosa. His sons were very badly behaved because his wife only reluctantly allowed him to discipline them but he was not allowed to use physical punishment. The one time he did spank them, she had taken the boys and gone to her parent's in Sacramento for a month until they tired of the boys' misbehavior, but here she was telling Ben that he should whip his daughter until she started wearing dresses all the time.

Ben ignored Margaret and turned his attention to Susan. "After Catherine's father was killed, my sister took her and went to live with our father. About four months after she was widowed, my father forced her to marry a man she didn't love and go to Australia with him. How he forced her is unimportant but he told her to leave Catherine with him and he would raise her himself. If Cat got to be too much for him, he would send her to live with our older sister in California. My sister had no intentions of letting our father or sister raise her child, so she took Catherine to one of the two people she knew would not give her daughter to our father when he demanded she be returned to him. Kate took Cat to Dodge City and gave her to her father's eldest brother to raise.

Matt Dillon is a United States Marshal and considering his job and the fact that he had to be gone from Dodge quite a bit, did a very good job raising Cat. When she was four, he took her to Arizona to visit his other brother who is an Army officer. Someone left the side gate to the fort open and Cat wandered out into the countryside where she was found by two Apache chiefs who adopted her as their daughter and granddaughter. They have a legend that says a white child with an Indian name will help bring peace between the red man and the white man. They believe Catherine is that child. She stayed with them, learning their language and ways for almost a year before they took her back to her uncle. He agreed to let her spend two weeks with them every summer and that agreement has been and will continue to be kept.

Two weeks before Cat's ninth birthday, my sister and her husband showed up in Dodge to take Catherine back to Australia with them. My sister was only pretending to try and get her daughter to go with her. Instead she was filing for divorce because the man she was married to was abusive and she feared for her life. Several days after their arrival in Dodge, my sister and her husband were murdered. Catherine was standing next to her mother when she was killed and has been blaming herself for her mother's death because she refused to go to Australia. I adopted Cat and gave her the adoption papers on her birthday. Except for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, dances and other special occasions, Catherine has been wearing buckskins since she was four. I am **_not_** going to force her to wear a dress. She has a quick temper but knows that she is not to start a fight if someone teases her about wearing buckskins. If someone tries to hurt her, she is allowed to defend herself to keep from being hurt. She hates being cooped up and becomes bored easily. She and two friends skipped school three times when they were five because they were bored."

Susan laughed. "Cat and I are more alike than you know. John can tell you that I pulled some of the same stunts when I was a child."

"She sure did Ben. I can't remember how many times I kept her out of trouble by covering for her with the teacher and our father. She used to skip school, especially when she was quite young. She hated being cooped up and was bored. She also used to get into a lot of fights, some of which she started. Getting her to wear a dress was next to impossible. She preferred wearing pants and no matter what our father said or did, she would only wear a dress on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas."

"As you can see Ben, Cat and I are going to get along just fine. I know that she's going through a huge adjustment so I'll be as patient with her as I possibly can. I've looked at the school roster and from what I can tell, I'll only have two girls in the fourth grade, Cat and Laura Ingalls. Depending on what Laura's strengths and weaknesses are, I may allow them to work together. I have found that by pairing students who are weak in one subject with students who are strong in that subject, the weaker one's grades improve more than if I am the only one working with them."

"Cat, Laura, and her older sister, Mary are very good friends and I'm sure Cat and Laura will enjoy working together. I appreciate you being patient with her as she adjusts to a new way of life. There are a few things I forgot to tell you. First, Catherine will not lie. Matt said she lied each time she skipped school. I don't know what he did to get her to stop lying, but I do know that part of her punishment included not being allowed to ride her pony for two weeks. To Cat, not being allowed to ride her own horse is a fate worse than death. The other thing is that she has nightmares about her mother's death. I can't even begin to imagine how traumatized she was to be standing next to her mother when she was murdered. If she comes to school looking as though she hasn't slept and has a hard time concentrating, that will most likely be the reason. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I may allow her to sleep in the morning after a nightmare and send her to school late. If I do, I will most likely bring her myself or send somebody with her. It's a long way to town and I don't want her riding alone if she isn't fully rested. I will also be sending extra food with her. Although Catherine will eat breakfast before leaving for school, it is a long ride and she may be hungry when she arrives at the school."

"I remember how much she ate at supper the other night so I can imagine she would be hungry after the long ride to school in the morning. Don't worry about school the morning after a nightmare. If Cat is unable to attend, I'll mark it down as an excused absence. Laura can tell her what the assignments are and give her any papers I return to the students. You can just send a note with her the next day so she won't be embarrassed by having to tell me in front of the whole school why she wasn't there. I hope and pray that the nightmares end soon. I am curious, how did her uncle get her to stop skipping school?"

"Actually, it was my sons who did it. She spent her school vacations here and they told her that if she skipped school, she would have to spend her school vacations in Dodge instead of on the Ponderosa. She won't skip school now because Matt told her that she would not be allowed to spend her school vacations in Dodge."

Margaret sat there, not saying a word and frowning while Ben was talking to Susan. She was very angry about the way Ben had dismissed her ideas of how he should raise his daughter and that he said her sons were badly behaved. Both Susan and John laughed when Ben said how the family has managed to ensure that Cat will attend school.

"I can picture the look on her face when Adam, Hoss, and Joe told Cat that if she skipped school, she would not be allowed to spend school vacations on the Ponderosa," laughed John. "She must have been devastated when she realized that she could not skip school any more. I know Susan would have been."

They finished eating and John said he would walk the ladies home and see Ben and Adam at the school board meeting. Roy and Paul were in the restaurant so Ben and Adam joined them at their table. While John was walking his wife and sister home, Margaret said, "I can't believe that Ben just dismissed what I said about how he should raise Catherine. He is letting her get away with too much and needs to crack down on her now before she becomes uncontrollable. And how dare he say that our sons are badly behaved? There is nothing wrong with the way Seth and Jackson behave."

"No Marge," said Susan. "You were wrong. You didn't pay a bit of attention to what Ben said about Cat when we were at the Ponderosa for supper. Also, you attacked him about the way he is raising his sister's daughter without knowing any of the facts. He was right about Seth and Jackson. They are very badly behaved because you refuse to let John do his job as their father and discipline them. I guarantee you that if they misbehave in school and deserve it, I will use the rod on them. Catherine was very well behaved when we were there and did not argue at all when she was told her time on the swing was up, or to come in from the pasture. Nor did she argue when she was told to help Hop Sing bring the food from the kitchen and to help clear the table. Your sons would have had temper tantrums over the first two things and would have refused to help bring the food to the table and help clear it after supper. Even though Cat has never had her own bedroom before, it is very neat while Seth and Jackson's bedrooms are a total disaster. I'm not very good at quoting Bible verses, but somewhere in at least one of the Gospels, Jesus says something about not trying to remove the speck from your neighbor's eye before removing the log from your own. I suggest you locate that passage, read it and ask Reverend Long to explain it to you."

Margaret started to reply to her sister-in-law when her husband said, "Sue is right. You attacked Ben over the way Cat has been raised. However, she was very well behaved while our sons are not. When we were at the Ponderosa for supper, we were late getting there because our sons had a fight just before we were supposed to leave. They are ten years old and still having temper tantrums if they don't get their own way. You didn't listen to a thing Ben said about Cat only having been on the Ponderosa for about two weeks. All you heard is that she rarely wears dresses, her puppies sleep in her bed and she has an Apache brother. Those three things offended your sensibilities, so you decided to attack Ben about them. You're lucky he's a gentleman and we were in public. Otherwise, he probably would have had a lot more to say. Now I need to get back to the meeting house for the school board meeting"

While John was walking his wife and sister home, Ben and Adam joined Paul and Roy at their table. "What's new on the Ponderosa?" asked Paul. "Are you having any luck keeping that little Wild Cat of yours from running?"

"I'm having some luck," answered Ben. "Hoss threatened to put hobbles on her. As for what's new, all four of my children are angry at me right now."

Paul and Roy looked at each other and laughed. "What did you do, make Hop Sing angry so he's going back to China?"

"No, nothing that serious. I yelled at Cat for something I thought she did but she had no idea what I was talking about. That girl is so much like Joe, I forget that she isn't Joe and start acting as though she is." He told his friends what he did to make everyone angry at him.

"Ben, how long has Cat lived with you?" asked Paul.

"She's been on the Ponderosa about two and a half weeks."

"Then why do you keep forgetting that she has no idea what your rules are or what you expect from her? David told me that you were ready to punish her on Sunday because she didn't want to go to church. Did she attend church every Sunday when she lived in Dodge? Did she play marbles for keeps when she lived in Dodge? If she did, does she know you consider it to be gambling?"

"No, she didn't always go to church in Dodge and she didn't even have her own marbles when she lived in Dodge. She didn't even know what I meant when I asked if she was playing for keeps."

"Then stop comparing her to Joe and treating her like she has or is going to do the same things he did when he was a boy. They are two different people and should be treated like that. I guarantee that if you keep yelling at her and wanting to punish her for breaking rules she doesn't even know exist or for things that Joe did when he was a boy, you are going to lose her. She is very independent and I wouldn't put it past her to try and make her way to her uncle in Arizona."

"Don't forget," added Roy. "I still have the money she gave me to hold so she can send telegrams to her uncles. If you don't ease up on her, I will send those telegrams for her. You have got to remember that she has not lived with you her whole life and was raised a lot differently than you raised your boys. Yes, Cat is a lot like Joe but that doesn't mean she's going to do the same things he did. When was the last time she lived in a family situation?"

Adam sat back, grinning as his father was scolded by his friends. He knew his brothers would enjoy hearing about the confrontation.

"I don't know if I would exactly call her time living with my father a family situation, so I would have to say that the last time Cat lived in a family situation was before her father went off to war."

"Ok, and the last time she lived with one of her parents was about eight years ago before her mother took her to Dodge. But you are treating her as though she has always lived with you. How is that fair to her? If you don't change your attitude immediately, you are going to wake up one morning and find her gone. Remember, she doesn't think she needs people. The Apaches have taught her how to survive on her own and I wouldn't be surprised if she knows how to hide her horse's tracks. If she does, not even Hoss will be able to track her horse. Is that what you want? Are you willing to risk the life of a nine year old child on the trail alone because she's a lot like your youngest son? Don't answer that question. You need to spend some time alone and do a lot of soul searching. The school board meeting will be starting soon. We need to leave so we're not late. Reverend Jonas is going to address the school board tonight so I'm planning to sit in on the meeting tonight."

"What is your, Hoss, and Joe's take on all of this Adam?" asked Paul as they were walking to the meeting house.

"My brothers and I are in complete agreement. If Pa continues to scold and threaten to punish Cat for things that he thinks she might have done just because Joe did them when he was a boy, the three of us are going to take her back to Dodge. We love our little sister, but it's not fair for her to be accused of doing things just because she is a lot like Joe. She thought that playing marbles for keeps meant keeping the ones you've won until the end of the game so the players know who won. Pa knew that Cat didn't have her marbles with her when she and Joe went to the Devlins. He also knows that she didn't have any toys until I bought her some in Denver. When she played in Dodge, she used other children's marbles and toys and returned them when she was done playing."

"Well, there you have it Ben. If you don't stop treating Cat like she's Joe all over again, you're going to lose her. If that's what you want, just take her back to Matt after Millicent's trial. Otherwise, start treating her like she's a nine year old little girl who has been through Hell these past several months and has no idea what it's like to have a parent or be part of a family. I know that Matt told you how he raised her but you seem to want to do everything backwards and drive that poor child back to living in the Dodge City Marshal's office where at least she knew she was loved and what was expected of her! Scolding and threatening to punish her for breaking rules she didn't know existed is wrong in every sense of the word and it needs to stop now!"

Ben sighed. His friends and sons were right. He wasn't being fair to Cat by treating her like she was Joe all over again. This was at least the third time in less than three weeks he had yelled at her about something she hadn't done or because she didn't know a rule. He knew if it happened again, he would lose Cat forever and she probably would not even spend school holidays on the Ponderosa. When she became too old to share the little room with Matt, he would send her to Rip and she would spend her school holidays in Dodge.

The four men walked over to the meeting house. When Ben saw Reverend Long, he asked if they could talk for a little while after the meeting. Reverend Long agreed and they took their seats. Mr. Miller called the meeting to order and Reverend Long gave the blessing. Then Mr. Miller said, "The reason I called this meeting is to discuss the condition of the school building. Since he is an architect and engineer, I asked Adam Cartwright to inspect the school for us, which he did. Adam, will you please tell the board what you found when you inspected the school?"

"My brothers, Mitch Devlin and I inspected the school on Friday and it needs a lot of work. The entire roof needs to be replaced. It has a lot of holes in it and there are several weak spots. One post and two beams under the school also need to be replaced. The walls and stairs are sound but a dozen desks need to be replaced. They have been damaged beyond use due to the leaky roof. A large portion of the floor also needs to be replaced due to the leaky roof. Also that building needs a good coat of paint inside and out. I am recommending that the start of the new school term be delayed by at least a week to allow time to complete the repairs. I spoke with my father and the Ponderosa will supply the timber needed, however my brothers and I will not be able to do the repairs. We have a large ranch to run and do not have time to do the repairs on the school. I have all of the measurements written down and I am quite certain that there are enough able bodied men in Virginia City to do the work. If time and our work load permit, my brothers and I _may_ come and help with the repairs, but don't plan on us. We'll be starting the fall roundup in a few weeks and we need to start preparing for it. We have a lot of cattle that have to be moved to their winter pastures." Adam handed the list of necessary repairs and the measurements to Gerald Miller and left the meeting. Several parents who were attending the meeting and some of the school board members said that they would help do the repairs. The school board members discussed Adam's recommendation for a few minutes and voted to delay the start of the new school term by one week. After the vote, Mr. Miller asked if anyone else needed to address the school board. He was very surprised when Reverend Jonas stood up and said that he did.

Reverend Jonas said that with the exception of the members who had been elected after the last term ended, he was extremely upset with the school board. He scolded them for ignoring the complaints of the parents and allowing his niece to continue teaching the school. He asked how they could think they were being loyal to him by leaving her as the teacher when he would have removed her from the position himself if he had known what she was doing. He told them that as a man of God, he could and would never condone leaving anyone in a position of leadership if they were harming the people they were supposed to be leading, especially if those people were children. Then he apologized to the parents for his niece's actions and assured them she would never be in a position to harm children again. When a parent asked what was going to happen to Miss Smith, Reverend Jonas said he was taking his niece back to Oklahoma with him and when he could find a minister to cover his parish for a month, he was going to take her to a specialist in Boston to see if anything could be done about her problem.

After the meeting, Ben and Reverend Long walked over to the parsonage so they could talk. Ben told him how he kept scolding and threatening to punish Cat for things she hadn't done or rules she didn't know existed because she was so much like Joe. Reverend Long sighed. "Ben, you knew when you adopted Catherine that she was wild and now because she's wild, you're comparing her to your youngest son. How is that fair to her? Roy and Paul are correct. You need to do some soul searching and decide if you really want Cat to be part of your family. If you don't, take her back to Dodge after Mrs. Warren's trial. She'll miss the Ponderosa but not as much as she misses her friends in Dodge."

"Of course I want Catherine to be part of my family. Why wouldn't I? She's my little sister's little girl. She's family and belongs with me and my sons."

"If you honestly and truly do want her as part of your family, every time she does something that reminds you of what Joe did when he was a boy, this is what you need to do. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, count to ten and slowly let your breath out. Open your eyes and look at the child in front of you. Tell yourself that is Catherine, not Joseph and she doesn't know what is expected of her yet. When you ask her a question and she answers, don't assume that she's trying to get out of trouble and start yelling at her. Ask her to explain her answer and listen to what she says. Above all, do not yell at her unless she is doing something dangerous and stop yelling at her when she stops.

Do not scold or punish her because she says she says she wants to go back to Dodge. Catherine is not happy here and it's only natural for her to want to go back there. She had friends there and felt safe. Even more important, she knew and felt that she was loved. She had a lot of freedom there and you've taken that away from her. You tell her that you love her but as far as she's concerned, those are just words. You don't show her that you love her. Instead, you yell at her, scold her, and threaten to punish her because you assume she has done something wrong because your youngest son used to do those things. You have also told her that you don't trust her to do the right thing, so she always has to have someone with her. How do you think that makes her feel?

Adam told me that she had another nightmare last night but wouldn't let him put her in your bed because she was angry at you. When I asked him why, he said it was because you scolded her and weren't going to let her have dessert because she talked about getting revenge on Mrs. Warren. You could have let her express her feeling then talked to her and explained why exacting revenge is wrong. Instead you dismissed her feelings as nonsense, scolded her last night and said she couldn't have dessert. This morning, you scolded and punished her for running and having a bad attitude, including not wanting to come to church yesterday, wanting to get even with Mrs. Warren, and saying she was going to go back to Dodge. Just because Catherine is only nine years old doesn't mean her feelings are nonsense. Think about what you have done to that child in the last two and a half weeks and figure out how to change it. You're the only one who can change the way you are doing things. Do what I suggested and every time you look at Cat, remind yourself that she is not Joseph, has only been on the Ponderosa a very short time, and does not know what is expected of her. I can guarantee you that if you don't change your attitude toward Catherine, you are going to lose her forever and you'll have nobody but yourself to blame. Take time away from your ranch work, go someplace quiet where you can be alone and pray for help. God will help you, but you have to ask Him for the help you need."

The two men said goodnight and Ben rode toward the Ponderosa, thinking about everything that he had been told by his friends and the minister. It was after midnight when he walked into the house. Instead of going straight to bed, he lit the lamp on his desk, took out his journal and began writing in it. Just as he put the journal away and blew out the lamp, he saw a flash of lightning and heard the rumble of thunder. It was still raining the next morning so Hoss carried Cat to the outhouse so she wouldn't get her feet wet while Joe carried her puppies out and put them in the grass. During breakfast, Ben suggested that it would be a good day for his sons to go and check the mining operations since the weather was too bad for logging operations, fence mending and other ranch chores.

"Adam, can I go with you too?" asked Cat.

"Not this time Kitten," replied Ben. "There are two reasons for my saying no. First of all, mines are very dangerous places and miners can be a very rough bunch of men. The five of us will go there together one day soon, but not today. The second reason is because of the weather. I know that you are an excellent rider, but you are not used to riding in this kind of weather. If your horse gets startled, loses his footing, and falls on you, you could be very seriously hurt and nobody wants to see that happen. We'll all go to the lumber camp one day soon also, but you need to be patient for now."

Cat played with her dolls and read for a while but soon grew bored. She looked out of the dining room windows, walked to the door, opened it, looked outside and walked back to the dining room windows. Ben recognized the signs of a bored child and said, "I've got a job to do that nobody likes doing, so we save it for a rainy day. If you will help me do it, I will pay you for your help. Go and get your rain slicker and boots. Then we'll go out to the barn and I'll show you what we're going to do. When Cat came back downstairs, she found Ben ready wearing his rain slicker and ready to go outside. "Put your boots and rain slicker on, get one of your puppies, and come with me. I'll take the other puppy. We need to try and keep from tracking mud all over the house or Hop Sing will yell at me. He won't yell at you, but he will yell at me."

Cat and Ben walked out to the barn. "We're going to be working in here, so you can take your rain slicker off. I've got to go and get some buckets of hot water, so why don't you say good morning to Fury? I'm sure he misses being outside playing with you." Ben picked up two empty buckets and walked to the kitchen.

Cat opened Lady's stall door and Fury, seeing the open door, ran past Cat and almost knocked her down. "Fury come back here. You can't go outside today because it's raining." The colt ignored her, raced for the open barn door, and ran out into the pouring rain. Cat put her rain sicker on and went out into the yard after her colt. Because the ground was so wet and Joe's old boots were too big for her, Cat had a hard time chasing Fury. She walked around the yard, calling him as she chased him but he was having fun and ignored her. Cat got angry and said, "Go ahead, stay out here and get soaking wet! See if I care!" and started to walk back to the barn.

Ben walked out of the kitchen carrying a bucket of hot water in each hand and started laughing when he saw Cat chasing her colt around the yard. He carried the water into the barn, grabbed a rope and walked up to Cat. "I see that you're having some trouble catching him. Would you like some help?"

"Yes please."

Ben roped Fury and handed the rope to Cat. "Take him back into the barn and I'll get some towels out of the tack room to dry him off with." Cat took Fury back into the barn and Ben went into the tack room to get some towels. "I'll help you dry him off so you don't hurt your rib. I want to close the barn door first so he doesn't run off again." Ben closed the barn door and helped Cat dry her colt off. She started to put him back in the stall with Lady but Ben said, "You can leave him out. The barn door is closed so he won't run off again. He reminds me of a little filly I happen to know who got bored on a rainy day and was ready to run outside and play in the pouring rain without even so much as boots on her feet." Cat giggled when she realized he was talking about her. "Now, give me a minute to get some things out of the tack room and I'll show you what we're going to do today." He went into the tack room and returned with a bucket containing some sponges, scrub brushes, and soap. He was also carrying a harness over one shoulder. "We are going to clean bridles and harnesses today. Since the Ponderosa will be yours some day, this is something you need to know how to do but as I said earlier, it is something that nobody likes to do. You will not be doing this by yourself for quite a few years, so I am going to pay you for helping me. I will pay you fifty cents for every bridle or halter we get done and since the harnesses are so big, I will pay you one dollar for every harness we finish. After we wash them, we'll hang them in the tack room to dry and once they're completely dry, they'll have to be oiled so the leather doesn't dry out and crack."

Ben showed Cat how to clean the harness and told her to let him know if any holes had become long. While they were working, Fury kept trying to get Cat to play with him. Ben laughed as the colt kept putting his head between Cat and her work. She gently pushed him away and said, "Quit. I can't see what I'm doing if you put your head in the way." When he grabbed a piece of the disassembled harness and trotted around the barn, Cat had to chase him but her boots made it difficult.

"He wants your attention," laughed Ben. "Take your boots off, get the piece of harness away from him, and spend a few minutes playing with him otherwise he will just keep bothering you." Cat spent a few minutes playing with Fury, and then he started playing with Lassie and Silver Chief so Cat went back to helping Ben clean the harness. While they were working, Ben said, "I need to talk to you about what is going to happen tomorrow and Thursday. "Mrs. Warren's trial is going to be on Thursday. You are going to have to tell the judge and jury what she did to you. Tomorrow morning, we are going to see Dr. Martin and when we're done there, the prosecutor and Mrs. Warren's lawyer are going to show you the courtroom and explain what will happen during the trial."

"Is Mrs. Warren going to be there?"

"When, tomorrow or Thursday?"

"Both days."

"She will not be there tomorrow but she will be there on Thursday."

"I don't want to go there on Thursday. She will hurt me again."

Ben hugged Cat and said, "I understand how you feel Sweetheart, but you still have to go. I promise you that Mrs. Warren will not try to hurt you again. Roy will be there to make sure that doesn't happen and so will your brothers and I. Roy said he has an idea that will help make you feel safer during the trial. He's going to talk to the prosecutor and if Mr. Parker agrees, he will tell me what his plan is. Since it will be something that isn't usually done during a trial, Mr. Parker will have to ask the judge if it's ok with him."

"Why does Mr. Parker have to ask the judge?"

"Because the judge is in charge of the courtroom and he makes the rules that have to be followed."

"Oh, ok. But I still don't want to go on Thursday."

"I understand and I promise that you will be safe. If you don't tell the judge and jury what happened to you, Mrs. Warren won't face any consequences for her actions. Now I know you don't want that to happen, now do you?"

"No, but I wish someone else could go instead of me."

Ben hugged Cat, kissed her on top of her head and reassured her that she would be safe in the courtroom.


	59. Chapter 59

By dinner time, they had cleaned two halters, one bridle and one harness. Cat put Fury back in the stall with Lady and closed the door so he couldn't run out in the rain again. Adam, Hoss, and Joe rode into the yard a few minutes later. After they had taken care of their horses, Joe looked at the buckets and the bridle lying on the hay bales where Ben and Cat had been working and said, "I have a feeling I know what we're going to be doing after dinner."

His brothers looked at the equipment and Hoss said, "I reckon you're right little brother. It's a rainy day an' Pa usually has us cleanin' tack when it's rainin'."

"It looks like Cat has been helping him," said Adam. "I wonder what he bribed her with to get her to help."

"I reckon we'll find out just as soon as we go in the house. I don't know about you fellers, but I'm starving."

"So what else is new?" quipped Adam. "You're always hungry."

They walked into the house and sat down at the table just as Hop Sing was serving dinner. While they were eating, Ben informed his sons that everyone would be spending the afternoon cleaning tack. "There are plenty of bridles, halters, and harnesses that need cleaning and the saddles need to be cleaned and polished also. Your sister has been helping me clean halters, harnesses, and bridles all morning and the three of you can help us this afternoon."

A collective sigh came from the three brothers, causing Ben and Hop Sing to laugh. "See Cat," said Ben. "I told you that nobody likes cleaning tack, but it has to be done."

"Sons help fathel and sistel with tack or clean whole house top to bottom," said Hop Sing. "Beat rugs and sclub floors too."

Ben laughed at the expressions on his sons' faces.

"I don't know about my brothers," said Adam, "but if it's all the same to you, I'll help with the tack." Hoss and Joe also said they would help with the tack. Ben smiled to himself, knowing that Hop Sing would get all three of his sons to help do a thorough cleaning in the house another day.

After dinner, the whole family walked out to the barn. Adam and Joe chose to polish saddles, so Hoss helped clean bridles, harness, and halters. Since Cat was still helping, Ben decided to pay her for everything Hoss cleaned too. By the time they finished, Cat had earned ten dollars. Ben asked if she wanted him to give it to her, keep it in the safe or put it in her bank account. Cat couldn't believe that she had earned ten dollars. " ** _Ten whole dollars! WOW!_** Counting the money Miss Kitty has for me, I have twenty three dollars toward Uncle Matt's new saddle. I only need another eighteen dollars until Miss Kitty can order it for me. Can I send it to her now?"

Ben smiled at Cat's excitement. "Why don't I keep it in the safe for you and then when you earn more money, you can send all of it to her at once?"

"Ok. You can keep it in the safe for now."

After supper, Cat soaked her injured rib in hot water for a little while, then she sat in Adam's lap and helped him set up the chessboard so he could play their father. Since she had never seen chess pieces before, Adam had to tell her what each piece was and where it went on the board. "Why don't you just call the horse a horse instead of calling it a knight?" she asked. "A knight wears shiny armor and rides a horse but this horse doesn't have a knight in shiny armor riding it, so it can't possibly be a knight. It's just a horse." Then she asked about the rook. "Why do you call the castle a rook? I read in one of your books about animals that a rook is a bird in England. This piece is a castle, not a bird, so you should call it a castle."

"I tend to agree with you about the names of some of the chess pieces. I don't know why they have those names and I don't ever remember reading anything that says why. Maybe rooks used to nest on top of castles. Now, you can sit here in my lap and watch me and Pa play or you can go and play checkers with Hoss or Little Joe. If you decide to stay in my lap and watch the game, you won't be able to ask a lot of questions. Each piece has a certain number of squares it can move and some of them can only move in certain directions. I'll explain it all to you sometime soon, just not right now."

"If you won't eggsplane the game to me while you're playing it, I guess I'll see if Hoss or Joe will play checkers with me."

"The word is _explain_ ," laughed Adam. "I promise that I will teach you about the game. It's just hard to do when you're playing because it's not easy to play chess and teach it at the same time. Why don't you go and offer to play whoever wins the checker game between Joe and Hoss? Then you can sit in my lap and watch me and Pa play until they finish their game."

Cat walked over and talked to Hoss and Joe who agreed to let her play the winner of their game. Then she went back and sat in Adam's lap. Ben came out of the kitchen carrying two cups and saucers and a pot of coffee. He looked at Cat in Adam's lap and asked, "What are you doing with my best girl in your lap?"

"Finders, keepers," laughed Adam. "I found her so I'm keeping her."

"I'm not worried. You'll want to give her back as soon as her wild streak shows up."

"Her wild streak doesn't bother me. I know how to handle it."

"Oh, and how is that?"

"That's my secret. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself."

"I see. So, who am I playing, you or that wild thing in your lap?"

"You'd like to play her, wouldn't you? That way you would be assured of victory."

"Well, I haven't won in a long time and I know I would win if I played her."

"Ah yes, but not if I tell her what moves to make. In fact, the next time we play when it's not close to her bedtime, I may do just that."

Ben laughed. "You do have a point. Let's get this game going before that wild thing has to go to bed."

Cat watched as Ben and Adam played chess. Both of them explained some of the rules during the opening moves. After they had been playing for about ten minutes, Hoss told Cat it was her turn to play checkers. She played Joe and won a close game. Then she went and sat in Adam's lap to watch the chess match again. When the clock chimed eight, Adam stood up, put Cat over his shoulder and said, "I'm taking this wild thing to the outhouse. That way we can be certain that the only other wild things accompanying her back into the house will be her puppies. She's too much like Hoss and I don't want to wake up with a bear cub in my bed tomorrow morning."

"Awwwwww, you're no fun," complained Cat. "I was going to get you one for your birthday."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Now, let's get you outside and then up to bed. No nightmares tonight or I will be forced to tickle you." After Adam brought her back in the house, she hugged Ben and Hoss goodnight. Then Adam said, "Here Joe. I have something for you. Catch." He pretended like he was going to throw Cat to Joe.

"Boys," scolded Ben. "What have I told you about throwing things in the house? If you want to play catch, please do it outside where you won't break anything. Since it is late and your 'ball' needs to go to bed, I recommend you do it during the day when it's light outside."

Cat giggled at her brothers being scolded.

"Sorry Pa," said Adam and Joe together.

"I forgive you. Now please take that wild thing upstairs and put her to bed. She's going to have a busy day tomorrow."

At breakfast the next morning, Ben told his sons that they needed to oil all of the harnesses, bridles, and halters that had been cleaned the previous day. He said that he needed to take Cat to town so Paul could check her injuries and that Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels were going to talk to her about what happens during a trial.

"I still don't want to go there on Thursday," said Cat. "That mean nasty lady will be there and she's going to try and hurt me and my puppies again."

"Don't worry Punkin'," said Hoss. "Me, Adam, Joe, and Pa will all be there to protect you. We won't let anything happen to you. Roy will be there to protect you too."

"Don't forget what I told you yesterday," said Ben. "Roy has an idea to make you feel safer during the trial. While Paul is checking your injuries, I'm going to talk to him and see what his idea is. I'm also going to talk to Mr. Parker and ask him if will be ok for you to play over at the school until you are needed at the trial. If he says yes, we'll stop at the Devlin ranch and see if Mike can come along tomorrow. We'll also stop at the Ingalls and see if Laura and Mary can come. That way you will have friends to play with while you're waiting to testify and after you're done. Now you need to stop worrying about tomorrow and eat your breakfast. We have a long ride to make to town and I don't want Paul yelling at me because you're hungry."

"Hop Sing go to court and take big knife. No let nasty lady hurt Missy Cat. You too skinny. Need to eat mole and get big like number two son. If you no eat bleakfast, you get no dessert after suppel. Now eat or I make you wash dishes and clean kitchen."

"You are welcome to come with us, however you won't need to take a knife with you," said Ben. "Cat will be well protected and Mrs. Warren won't dare do anything in the courtroom. If she does, it will prove her guilt."

After breakfast, Cat went out to work with Fury until Ben was ready to leave for town. She decided to see if he would let her brush him, so she got a brush out of the tack room before going to the pasture. Thaddeus spotted her leaving the barn with the brush and said, "Good morning Cat. Where are you going with that brush?"

"Hi Thaddeus. I'm going to see if Fury will let me brush him."

"Won't that hurt your rib?"

"I don't think so 'cause I'm not going to do it hard and he might not even let me."

"May I come with you and see what he does?"

"Sure. You can if you want to."

They walked out to the pasture and Cat squeezed through the gate. "You could open the gate and walk through," said Thaddeus.

"Yeah I could, but this is more fun. I might climb the gate on the way out."

"No you won't. If you do that and fall, I'll be in trouble for not stopping you and you'll be in trouble for doing something to hurt your rib. The best thing to do is to walk back out through the gate."

Fury ran up to Cat who hugged and kissed him. "Let him see and smell the brush before you try using it on him," said Thaddeus. "If he runs off, call him back and try again."

Cat did as Thaddeus suggested and to their surprise, Fury let her run the brush lightly down his back and on his neck for a few minutes before running off. "That was very good. Don't worry about trying to do any more today. Just do exactly what you did for a few minutes every day and it won't take long before he lets you brush him properly. You should pick his feet up once a day too so he will let you clean them when he's older." When Fury came back to Cat, she handed the brush to Thaddeus and proceeded to pick up her colt's feet. He let her pick up his two front feet but ran off when she tried to pick up his back feet. "That's fine. You're doing a very good job training him. Just keep being patient and work with him every day. He'll be fully trained in no time at all."

Fury put his chin on Cat's shoulder so she walked around the pasture with him. While she was doing that, Ben came out to tell her it was time for them to leave. He looked at the brush Thaddeus was holding and asked why Cat had brought it out to the pasture. "She was introducing it to Fury. He even let her brush him a little bit. Don't worry, she didn't do anything to keep her sore rib from healing."

Cat and Fury walked back up to Ben and Thaddeus who handed her the brush. "Pa, look what Fury lets me do," she said excitedly. She lightly ran the brush down the colt's back a few times.

Ben hugged her and said, "That's very good. You are doing an excellent job training him and I am very proud of you. Quint is right. You do have a way with horses. I think I'll make you my head wrangler after you finish school."

"I don't need to go to school to work with horses. Since I already know everything I need to, I shouldn't have to go to school."

"We've talked about this before Sweetheart. You don't know everything you need to yet and you have to attend school until you graduate. Hoss and Joe didn't like it either but they attended school until they graduated and so will you."

"No I won't. I'm taking Uncle Sam's job when I turn ten and I'm going to pass a law that says kids don't have to go to school after they know how to read, write, add, subtract, and multiply."

Ben gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug. "That's fine, but until you do become president, you have to go to school. Now, say goodbye to Fury because we need to start for town." They walked back to the barn and Cat put the brush away, walked out to the hitching rail and mounted Beauty. Ben put a puppy in each side of her saddle bags. "It's a good thing these saddle bags of yours are large. Otherwise your puppies wouldn't fit in them. As is, they're getting too big but they're not big enough to keep up with a horse. We'll have to figure out how you can carry them on your horse until they're big enough to run with a horse. We'll stop at the saddle and harness shop while we're in town. Maybe Mr. Miller will have an idea of what we can do."

While Cat and Ben were riding to town, Adam was telling his brothers about their father being scolded by his friends because he had treated their sister like she was Joe. Hoss and Joe laughed hysterically, causing Hop Sing to come out of the kitchen to see what was wrong. When Adam told him about Ben being scolded by Roy and Paul, Hop Sing began to laugh also. "Shellif Roy and Dr. Paul good men. They know when fathel wlong and tell him so. Hop sing tell him too."

When Cat and Ben reached Virginia City, they tied their horses up in front of Paul Martin's office. Ben helped Cat down off her horse and she said, "I can get down by myself. I don't need help."

"I know, but helping you get down gives me an extra chance to do this…" Ben replied as he hugged Cat tightly. "I might just go to school with you so I can hug you every fifteen minutes."

"If you do that, I won't go to school because all the kids would laugh at me and I would have to fight all of them."

Ben pretended to think and said, "I'll tell you what. I'll ask Paul about that and see what he says. If he thinks me going to school with you so I can hug you every fifteen minutes is a good idea, then I'm going to do it and you will not be allowed to fight all of the other kids even if they laugh at you. If he doesn't think it's a good idea, I won't do it."

"I hope he says it's not a good idea."

"Well, let's go and ask him."

When they walked into Paul's office, he looked up from his reading and said, "You're here. Good. Ben I need you to leave and come back in a little while. I am not about to try and examine Cat with you hovering. I heard all of your excuses for staying when Joe was a boy so scoot."

Cat giggled to hear her father being ordered out of the doctor's office as though he were a misbehaving child. "Alright, I'll go under protest but before I leave, I have a question for you. I told Cat that I should go to school with her so I can hug her every fifteen minutes. She doesn't think that's a good idea, so I told her I'd ask you. Do you think I should do that?"

" **No, absolutely not!** **DO NOT** go to school with her. All you would do is embarrass her in front of all the other children and that would not be a good thing. If you insist on doing something so foolish, I promise that I will embarrass you in front of all your friends at the next town council meeting. Or better yet, I will embarrass you at the next school board meeting because there will be more people in attendance. Then Virginia and I will be forced to steal her from you." Ben sighed and left Paul's office. Cat stuck her tongue out at her father's retreating back. Paul saw what she did and laughed. "Alright, that's enough of that silliness. Take your shirt off so I can check your injuries. I know that you're tired of not being allowed to run and you're not going to want to tell me if your rib still hurts. However, it is very important for you to tell me if it does. If it is not healed and I let you start running again, it could get worse and I know you don't want that to happen."

Cat sighed. She was tired of having to walk everywhere and had planned on telling Paul that her rib didn't hurt any more. He checked the cuts and was pleased that they were almost healed. When he pushed down on her rib, Cat said, "It still hurts a little but not as much as it did on Sunday."

"That's very good. Your cuts are healing nicely and your rib is almost healed. You're not going to be happy, but I am going to keep your restrictions in place until Saturday. It won't be that bad. You'll be here in town for the trial most of tomorrow. Your Pa will probably drive you in the buggy so you don't get your good clothes dirty before the trial, so you won't have to worry about trotting or galloping your horse. That only leaves Friday and I know you can go just one more day with those restrictions, can't you?"

"I guess so," replied Cat who was not happy with what she had been told. She could only hope that Paul did not tell her father her restrictions would be in place for two more days.

Paul laughed at the expression on her face. "Come on Cat. It's not that bad. If you run and fall, your rib could get hurt even worse and then it will be a month before you feel better."

"How about if I run and don't fall down?"

"Sorry little one. I'm not willing to take that chance."

While Paul was examining Cat, Ben walked over to talk to Roy. "I'm curious to know what your idea is to help Cat feel more secure in the courtroom tomorrow. Did you talk to Richard about it and what did he say?"

"I'm sorry Ben. I got busy and plumb forgot. Let's go talk to him now."

They walked over to Mr. Parker's office and he greeted them when they entered. "Hello Roy, Ben, I didn't expect to see either of you until tomorrow."

"Hello Richard. I needed to talk to you about tomorrow," said Ben. "Catherine is very afraid of going to court tomorrow because Millicent will be there. She's afraid that she will be attacked again. Roy has an idea that may make her feel more secure while she's testifying and I have an idea that will make the whole day a little less traumatic for her. I don't know what Roy's idea is, but I would like to keep Catherine out of the courthouse until you want her to testify. My plan is to bring some of her friends with us tomorrow and all of the children can play at the school until you need Catherine."

"I was going to suggest the same thing to you," replied Mr. Parker. "Let me hear Roy's idea and then I'll tell you why I was going to suggest keeping your daughter out of the courthouse until I need her. What is your idea Roy?"

"My idea is to put a chair between the witness chair and the defense table and have Hoss sit in it. Having Hoss between her and Millicent should help Cat feel more secure about testifying. There are very few people in this town who would try and do anything to anyone Hoss was guarding and I know Millicent won't even think about doing anything with Hoss there."

"That's an excellent idea Roy. Since that's not normally done during a trial, I'll ask the judge to allow it when the time comes. I don't think he'll say no. Ben, the reason I don't want your daughter in the courtroom until I'm ready for her is because Millicent has questioned her parentage. I remember you saying that she was standing next to her mother when she was murdered and I don't want her reliving that moment all over again. I'm concerned that she'll become so upset over that memory; she won't be able to testify. I know it's deeply personal but I need to know exactly what happened to cause your sister to be murdered and you to adopt your niece." Ben told Mr. Parker everything that had happened since Cat's father was killed in the war. "Thank you for telling me. I am going to have to ask you to repeat that in court tomorrow. I am assuming that Catherine does not know all of the facts concerning how she came to live in Dodge and why her mother's husband was so anxious for her to return to Australia with them."

"No she does not and I do not want her to know until she is old enough to understand everything. Catherine has only been told that her mother was only pretending to try and get her to move to Australia because was going to divorce her husband because he did not treat her the way a lady should be treated."

"Then I definitely don't want her in the courtroom until I'm ready for her. I am certain that the judge and Tom will understand when I tell them some facts will come out that she is not old enough to understand and that her family and I do not want her to have to relive her mother's death all over again. Where is she right now?"

"She's over at Paul's office. He wanted to check and see how well her injuries are healing. He's probably done by now."

"Alright. Why don't you go and get her while I get Tom. We'll meet you at the courthouse in a few minutes."

Ben and Roy went over to Paul's office to get Cat. "Paul, how is she?" asked Ben.

"Angry at me but fine otherwise."

"Why is she angry at you?"

"Because I told her I was keeping her restrictions in place until Saturday. Her cuts are almost healed but the rib is still a little tender so I want her to take it easy for two more days. You can imagine how that little spitfire took that news."

Roy and Ben laughed. "I hope she wasn't rude or disrespectful," said Ben.

"No she wasn't. She made a very angry face, complained and asked if she could run if she promised not to fall down. I don't have to tell you what my answer was."

"Where is she now?"

"I believe that she's in the kitchen. Virginia is baking today and asked Cat to sample the cherry pie to see how it tasted. Of course Cat was more than happy to taste the pie. Let's go and find out what else Virginia has her tasting."

They walked into the kitchen and laughed when they saw a Cat eating a piece of pie with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies also in front of her. "Virginia, you're spoiling my daughter," laughed Ben.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "She's not being spoiled at all. In fact, she's helping me by telling me which of my creations tastes best."

"Virginia, you are incorrigible. At the rate you're stuffing her with baked goods, Catherine won't be able to eat any dinner."

"Of course she will because you are coming back here for dinner when you're finished at the courthouse and she'll be hungry by then. As you remember, I used to do the same thing with your youngest son and he still ate his share of my fried chicken." Ben started to tell Cat to leave her treats and come with him when Virginia said, "That child is not going anywhere until she finishes that piece of pie. Those lawyers can just wait a few minutes. In fact, since my baking is done, I may just come with you and give them a piece of my mind just in case they plan on getting her upset."

"They're not planning to get her upset Dear," said Paul. "All they're going to do is explain how a trial works and what everybody's job is. They'll probably have to explain to her why Millicent needs a lawyer because she's never seen a trial before, let alone testified in one. You can attend the trial tomorrow and give them a piece of your mind then if they upset her. Cat, once you finish your pie and milk, we need to go. You can eat the cookies later."

Cat finished her pie and milk then everyone walked over to the courthouse. Ben introduced Cat to Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels and they explained their jobs to her. "Why does Mrs. Warren need a lawyer?" asked Cat. "I'm not lying about what she did to me."

Before Ben could say anything, Mr. Michaels picked Cat up, sat her on a table and said, "The law says that everyone who has been accused of a crime can have a lawyer to make sure they get a fair trial. For example, your Pa has told me that you are raising a colt and I'm sure that these puppies are yours too. Am I right?"

"Yes sir."

"Ok. Good. Now, let's pretend that your colt and puppies are all grown up and you and your family are visiting a town where nobody knows you. Now, while you are visiting that town, a man rides in, sees your horse and dogs, and decides that he wants them for himself. So he goes over to the sheriff's office and tells the sheriff that you stole his horse and dogs. The sheriff is going to tell your Pa that you have been accused of stealing your horse and dogs. He's also going to tell the prosecutor and the judge will decide to have a trial. Your Pa is going to have to get a lawyer to defend you so the strange man doesn't get to steal your horse and dogs. The lawyer is going to ask your Pa who knows that the horse and dogs really belong to you and not the strange man. What do you think your Pa is going to tell him?"

"He's going to say that all of the hands on the Ponderosa know they're mine."

"That's true, but the prosecutor could say that they're just saying the horse and dogs are yours because they work for your Pa. Who else could the lawyer send telegrams to?"

"Let me think a minute. I know. Sheriff Roy, Dr. Paul, and Reverend Long. Mr. McLeod too because his brother gave Lassie to me."

"That's very good. They are all very good men to ask. Now do you understand why Mrs. Warren needs a lawyer? My job is to make sure she gets a fair trial."

"I guess I do."

"Good. We'll talk more about what I do during a trial in a few minutes. Right now, Mr. Parker and I want to tell you more about where everybody sits during a trial and what their job is."

"Do you see that big desk up front in the middle?" asked Mr. Parker. "That's where the judge sits. He's in charge of the courtroom and makes the rules everyone has to follow. If the judge tells us we can't do something, then we're not allowed to do it. For example, if I get up on the table in front of Mrs. Warren, start jumping up and down on it and yelling at her, the judge is going to scold me and tell me I have to stop. If I don't stop, he's going to yell at me and then I'll be in a lot of trouble."

Cat giggled at the thought of a grown man jumping up and down on a table and yelling at someone at the same time. Mr. Parker continued. "Do you see that chair next to the judge's desk? That's the witness chair. People sit there and tell the judge and jury what they saw. They're called witnesses. The prosecutor and defense lawyer ask them questions and they do their best to tell everything they remember. Now those twelve chairs near the witness chair are where the jury sits. The jury's job is to listen to everything the witnesses say and decide if the accused person is guilty or innocent. They tell the judge what they have decided. If they say a person is guilty, the judge will tell them what their punishment is going to be. If the jury says a person is innocent, the judge will tell that person they're not in trouble any more and can go home. Do you understand everything we've explained to you so far?"

"Yes sir."

"That's very good so let's continue. The table on your left is where the accused person and their lawyer sit. The accused person is called the defendant because they are defending themselves against something they have been accused of doing. Like in our pretend story of you and your family in that strange town, you and your lawyer would sit at the table on the left. The chair near that table is where Sheriff Coffee will sit. The prosecutor sits at the table that you're sitting on. The prosecutor's job is to try and convince the jury that the defendant did what they have been accused of doing while the defense lawyer's job is to convince the jury that the defendant did not do the thing they have been accused of."

"Both Mr. Parker and I are going to ask the witnesses some questions," said Mr. Michaels. "Neither one of us is allowed to say a witness is lying unless we know for sure that they are. For example, if I ask you what color Santa's suit is and you say it's green, I can say that you're not telling the truth because everybody knows that Santa's suit is red and his elves wear green. Now, as Mr. Parker told you, my job is to make sure that Mrs. Warren gets a fair trial and to try and convince the jury that she's innocent. You are going to have to sit in the witness chair and Mr. Parker will ask you questions about what happened on Sunday. When he's done, I'm going to ask you questions about what you said. I might ask you questions to see if maybe you may have remembered something wrong."

"I don't understand."

"That's ok. Mr. Parker, will you please help me? I want to try and give this young lady an example of what I meant when I said I might ask questions to see if she remembered something wrong."

"Sure, I'll be glad to help. I don't want Catherine to be confused about anything tomorrow."

"Thank you. Now Catherine, Mr. Parker and I are going to pretend like he's a witness at a trial. I'm going to ask him a question to see if he might have remembered something wrong. Mr. Parker, what color horse does Little Joe Cartwright ride?"

"He rides a paint horse."

"I think you might be mistaken. I am certain that he rides a sorrel."

"No, I am not mistaken. Little Joe rides a paint horse and Adam rides a sorrel."

Mr. Michaels continued insisting that each of the Cartwright men rode a different color horse than they actually did. By the time they finished, Cat was laughing at them. "That was funny."

"Yes it was," answered Mr. Michaels. "But I wanted you to understand how I might try and see if you remembered something wrong. Remembering something wrong is not the same as telling a lie. For example, if I ask you what the weather was like on your eighth birthday and you say it was sunny when it was really raining, that's ok. Your eighth birthday was a long time ago and you might have forgotten that it was raining. If either one of us asks you a question and you don't understand the question or don't remember, that's ok. Just tell us that you don't understand or don't remember. You won't get in trouble for it. If you don't understand a question, we'll try and ask it in a way you do understand."

"Do you understand everything we have tried to explain to you about how a trial works? Even though it's my job to try and convince the jury that Mrs. Warren is innocent, it is important that you re not confused about what is going to happen tomorrow."

"There is nothing to be nervous about," added Mr. Parker. "All you have to do is answer the questions we ask the best you can and everything will be fine. There is one more thing we forgot to tell you. When you are in the witness chair and we are asking you questions, we will be calling you Miss Cartwright or Catherine because that's how we have to talk to everybody in court. Even though Mr. Michaels and I have known each other for several years, if he was a witness in court, I would have to call him Mr. Michaels. Do you have any questions for us?"

"Yes sir. What are all the chairs in the back of the room for?"

"I'm sorry. We forgot to tell you about them. The chairs in the back of the room are where the witnesses sit while they're waiting their turn to answer questions. People who are interested in watching trials also sit in them. Do you have any other questions?"

"No sir."

"Very good because it's almost dinner time and your Pa is waiting for you. I will see you in the morning." He helped Cat down off the table and said, "Here you go Ben, you had better take her before I decide to keep her for myself."

Ben laughed. "You would have to wait in line. Roy, Paul and Virginia have been trying to steal her for a long time, so you would have a long wait. Come on Kitten. Mrs. Martin wants us to come there for dinner. Then we'll go and see Mr. Miller about something to carry those puppies in until they're big enough to run along side a horse."

After everybody else had left the courtroom, Mr. Parker turned to Mr. Michaels and said, "There are a few things you need to know concerning Cat for tomorrow." He told him of their plans and Mr. Michaels agreed to them.


	60. Chapter 60

There was still time before dinner so Cat and Ben started to walk over to the saddle and harness shop and ask Gerald Miller if he could think of a way Cat could carry her puppies on her horse when they got too big for her saddle bags. "Since we're eating dinner at the Martin's," said Ben. "We may as well leave our horses there and walk over to Mr. Miller's shop. You should bring your saddle bags so he can see how little room there is for your puppies any more." Cat started to run over to Paul's office when she heard Ben's voice behind her. "Catherine Michael, are you supposed to be running yet?"

Cat stopped and sighed. 'Why did Dr. Paul have to tell Pa that I'm still not supposed to run?' she thought. 'Now I'm going to be in trouble.' "No sir."

"Then why are you running?"

"Because I always run everywhere. It's hard for me to remember I can't. Dr. Paul shouldn't have told you I can't run yet. I promised him I wouldn't fall."

Ben laughed and hugged Cat. "He told me so I can keep you from running before he says you can. Your rib is almost healed and we want it to heal completely. You are silly. Nobody can promise that they won't fall even if they're walking. Somebody could run into you or trip you. You could also trip over something or step in a hole. If you're walking and start to fall, you have time to try and keep from falling or land so you won't get hurt. Now walk over to Paul's office and get your saddle bags so we can go and see Gerald before dinner is ready." He gave Cat a not too hard swat as she started to walk over to her horse.

Once Cat got her saddle bags, she rejoined Ben and they walked over to the saddle and bridle shop. Mr. Miller greeted them. "Hello Ben, Cat. What brings you here today? Does Cat need a new saddle?"

"Hello Gerald," replied Ben. "No, Cat doesn't need a new saddle yet, but we have a small problem that we're hoping you can help us with."

"Oh, what kind of problem is that?"

"Hi Mr. Miller. My puppies are getting too big for my saddle bags but they're still too small to keep up with a horse. Do you have anything I can put them in and carry them on my horse?"

Mr. Miller looked at Lassie and Silver Chief. "Yes, they are really growing up, aren't they? I see that you have your saddle bags with you. That's good. Hang them over that saddle stand and put your puppies in them so I can see what you need."

Cat did as she was told. Mr. Miller looked at the puppies in the saddle bags and said, "Yes, I can see that they're getting too big to carry in your saddle bags. How old are they now?"

"They're almost five months old now."

"I didn't realize they were that old already. You can take them out of your saddle bags now. Please put them up on the counter one at a time so I can measure them." Cat put the puppies up on the counter and Mr. Miller measured each one and wrote the measurements down. "I don't have anything made up that you can use. Since you still have some room in the saddle bags for them, you won't need anything right away. Give me a week or so to think of something and I'll see what I can do. I may even ask my wife for suggestions because she is very creative and has given me many ideas for some of the things I do. I hope you realize that whatever I am able to do for you will only work until they're about eight or nine months old. After that, your puppies will be too heavy to pick up and put in any kind of carrier."

"Yes sir, I know. I was kinda hoping that they'd stay little for longer."

Mr. Miller and Ben laughed. "Yes, I know you do. Just like your Pa is kinda hoping you'll stay nine for a long time. You'll get to meet my children next week. They've been spending the summer visiting their grandparents in San Francisco and should be home by next Thursday. The house has been too quiet without them."

"I didn't know you had kids Mr. Miller."

"Yes I do. I have a girl and a boy. Sally is ten and Richard is seven."

"I was wondering when those two little monsters were coming home," teased Ben. "This town has been entirely too quiet since they left to visit your parents."

Mr. Miller laughed. "Those two "little monsters" as you put it are better behaved than all four of yours put together. Why just last night, I saw Cat here getting into a big fight in the Bucket of Blood. Some twelve year olds said she was cheating at poker and started a fight."

Cat and Ben laughed. "But I won that fight, didn't I Mr. Miller?" asked Cat.

"Yes you sure did. I didn't think a nine year old could whip four twelve year olds in a bar fight but Cat proved me wrong. How much money did you win last night anyway?"

"I won five hundred million dollars."

Ben laughed. "Wow! That sure is a lot of money. What did you do with it?"

"I sent money to Miss Kitty for Uncle Matt's saddle and I bought some licorice and peppermint candy and I put the rest in the bank."

"Well, I am very happy to hear that you put a lot of your winnings in the bank. Now we had better get going. Mrs. Martin is expecting us for dinner and it's not polite to be late when you've been invited to someone's house for a meal. Gerald, why don't we plan on having a picnic out at Lake Tahoe after church next Sunday? We can spend the afternoon fishing and swimming. Hop Sing will pack a picnic dinner for us. Cat and your children can get to know each other and you and your family can have supper at the Ponderosa."

"That sounds wonderful to me Ben. I haven't been out at your place in quite a while and I know the kids will enjoy spending a day fishing and swimming. Let me check with Julia when I go home and I'll let you know tomorrow when I see you for Millicent's trial. Cat, don't you go worrying about tomorrow at all. Mrs. Warren won't try and hurt you in the courtroom and if she does, there will be a whole lot of people, including me, to stop her. You just get up in that witness chair and tell the judge and jury exactly what she did to you. Don't even look at her. Look at your Pa and brothers. You can look at me and I'll make a funny face to make you smile. If you start getting too upset, just close your eyes, take a deep breath, count to ten and let it out slowly. If you need a drink of water, just say so and someone will get one for you. I know you'll do fine."

After Cat and Ben left the saddle shop, Cat asked, "Pa, are Mr. Miller's kids really monsters?"

"No they're not. They are very well behaved. I have been teasing Mr. Miller like that for many years now. I was at his house one day when Sally was cranky because she was not feeling well and Richard was having a temper tantrum. I think Richard was two at the time and was upset that his parents were paying attention to his sister instead of him. Now little girl, let's talk about your gambling habit. No more sneaking out at night to play poker with twelve year olds. You won't always win if you get into more fights with them. Twelve year olds are too big for you to fight with and you could get hurt. The last thing anybody in the family wants is for you to get hurt."

"Ok. I won't play poker with twelve year olds any more. I'll play with thirteen year olds instead."

Ben laughed, hugged Cat and gave one of her braids a playful tug. "Ok silly girl. You do , we had better get over to the Martins for dinner before Virginia gets angry with me." Cat proved Virginia right, ate a lot of fried chicken and another piece of pie and some cookies for dessert. During dinner, both Paul and Virginia reassured Cat that she would be safe in the courtroom and told her that both of them would be there to protect her also.

After dinner Cat and Ben walked over to the general store. "Since you won five hundred million dollars last night and bought all of that licorice and peppermint candy, I guess you don't need me to buy any for you today," Ben teased.

"But I don't have any left. I gave some to Uncle Roy and the four boys I was playing cards with and I ate the rest on the way home."

"That was nice of you to give candy to Roy and those boys after beating them in a fight. Just exactly how much money did you spend on candy?"

"Twenty five dollars."

"You spent that much on candy, ate most of it and didn't have a sick stomach this morning? That's amazing. Little Joe couldn't even do that when he spent ten cents on candy."

They walked into the general store and found Mr. McLeod and James helping customers. "Morning Ben, Cat," said Mr. McLeod. "I'll be with you in a few minutes."

While they were waiting for Mr. McLeod and James to finish helping their customers, Cat looked around the store. She didn't see anything she was interested in until she saw the new knives Mr. McLeod had received. She spotted one that she thought would be perfect for hunting and fishing. It had a carved bone handle and the blade was only about four inches long, but it would be perfect for skinning rabbits and cleaning fish. James walked up to Cat and asked, "Which one do you like?"

"I like the one with the carved bone handle."

"Would you like to look at it?"

"Oh yes please. Can I really?"

"Yes you can. Let me get it out for you." James took the knife out of the case and handed it to Cat. She held the knife, looked it over carefully, and handed it back to James. "I need a knife like that for when I'm hunting or fishing but Pa'll never let me get it. He thinks I'm a baby." Cat looked around and not seeing Ben anywhere close said, "Can you keep a secret James?"

"Yes. I'm very good at keeping secrets."

"Good 'cause after the trial tomorrow, I'm gonna ask the judge to unsign the papers saying I'm adopted. I want to go back to Uncle Matt in Dodge. "Pa doesn't love me. He let that nasty witch attack me. He won't let me do anything by myself. I always have to have a grown up with me. He yells at me and threatens to spank me for breaking rules I didn't even know he had. He also thinks I'm Little Joe and yells at me for doing stuff I didn't do just because Joe used to do that stuff. Uncle Matt never would never let anyone attack me and he doesn't treat me like I'm a baby and yell at me about stuff I didn't do or stuff I didn't know I was supposed to do."

"Gosh Cat. I'm real sorry your Pa's doing that stuff. I know he didn't let Mrs. Warren attack you on purpose. He really does love you and would never let anyone hurt you. I don't want to keep this a secret Cat. I won't tell your Pa but I want to tell my parents, Dr. Martin and Reverend Long. They'll know what you should do. Please let me talk to them and I'll talk to you before the trial starts and tell you what they said."

"Ok. You can tell them but nobody else except for Sheriff Roy."

"I promise. I won't even tell Adam, Hoss, or Joe. Let me see how much Pa is charging for that knife. Maybe he can get your Pa to buy it for you."

James took the knife over to where his father and Ben were talking and handed it to his father. "Cat's interested in this knife Pa. How much are you charging for it?"

"It's only two dollars and fifty cents."

"Thanks. I'll tell Cat."

James walked back to Cat and told her how much the knife cost. "Thank you James. I'll have to try and earn the money for it somehow. I know that Pa won't buy it for me and he won't let me take the money out of my bank account even though it is my money. Maybe Hop Sing will pay me to weed the garden and since I know Adam, Hoss, and Joe hate cleaning tack, maybe they'll pay me to do some for them. Even if the judge does unsign the adoption papers, it might be a while before Uncle Matt can come and get me."

"I hope the judge doesn't undo the adoption. I like you and want you to stay here. I'm sure things will get better for you. Just give it some time. You've only been here for three weeks. The Ponderosa is a really big ranch and it takes time to learn your way around. School will be starting soon and you'll make more friends."

"James, why don't you and Cat take her puppies outside so they can play with Prince?" asked Mr. McLeod. "I want to talk with Ben for a little while."

Cat and James walked outside and put her puppies in the yard with James' puppy. "Since our fathers are talking, let's go and talk to the Martins and see what they think you should do," said James. "Then we can go and talk to Sheriff Coffee. If we have time, we can go and talk to the Longs.

They walked over to Paul's office where they found him bandaging one of Roy's thumbs. "Hi kids," said Roy. "I must look pretty silly to the pair of you. I was doing some work around the office and hit my thumb with the hammer instead of the nail."

James and Cat laughed at Roy's bandaged thumb. "What brings the two of you here?" asked Paul. "You and your Pa just left here a little while ago Cat. Did you forget something?"

"No," answered Cat. "I want to do something and James said I should talk to you, Mrs. Martin, Sheriff Roy, and Reverend and Mrs. Long before I do it."

"That sounds serious. Let me get Virginia and the five of us can talk." Paul walked into his home and returned a few minutes later with his wife. "Ok Cat. What is going on? What are you planning to do that James though it was important for you to talk to us before you do it?"

"I told James that after the trial, I want to ask the judge to unsign the papers saying I'm adopted. I want to go back to Uncle Matt where I belong."

"Why do you want to do that?" asked Virginia.

"Because Pa doesn't love me. He let that nasty witch attack me. He won't let me do anything by myself. I always have to have a grown up with me. He yells at me and threatens to spank me for breaking rules I didn't even know he had. He also thinks I'm Little Joe and yells at me for doing stuff I didn't do just because Joe used to do that stuff. Uncle Matt never would never let anyone attack me and he doesn't treat me like I'm a baby and yell at me about stuff I didn't do or stuff I didn't know I was supposed to do."

"Come here Cat," said Roy. Cat walked over to him, he pulled her into his lap and hugged her. "Your Pa loves you a lot. He didn't let Mrs. Warren attack you any more than I did. I know for a fact that if anyone had known she was going to do that, they would have stopped her. What do you mean that he won't let you do anything by yourself?"

"He won't let me go anywhere unless Adam, Hoss, Joe, or him are with me. I wanted to go and play with Mike Devlin yesterday but Pa said he didn't trust me not to gallop my horse so I had to have someone go with me. Nobody was going to go with me so I said I was going to go there by myself and then I was going to go back to Uncle Matt. He didn't even ask me to promise that I wouldn't gallop my horse. I'm sure that Uncle Matt told him that I always try to keep my promises. He even said I was dumb and swatted me and made me stand in the corner because I said I wanted to get even with that nasty lady for hurting me."

"I see, said Paul. Roy and I scolded him on Monday about treating you like you're Little Joe. I think that Reverend Long did too after the school board meeting. It sounds like we're going to have to talk to him about more things."

"I don't think you should talk to the judge just yet," said Virginia. "You've only been here for three weeks and that's not enough time to get used to everything or learn your way around. But I do think you should tell your Pa how you feel. If he doesn't know how you feel, he can't change the way he does things."

"I can't tell him. He said he'd spank me the next time I said I wanted to go back to Dodge."

"He will do no such thing!" exclaimed Virginia. "James, is Ben over at your father's store?"

"Yes he is."

"Will you please go and bring him over here. We need to get this sorted out right now. In fact, before you go and get him, please go over to the parsonage and ask Reverend and Mrs. Long to come over here."

While Cat and James were over at the Martins, George was talking to Ben. "Ben, you need to buy this knife for Cat."

"No, she's much too young for that. I don't want her using as a toy."

"Ben, you're comparing her to Joe again."

"You know about that?"

"Yes, everyone who cares about that child knows about it. Does Catherine use her bow and arrows as toys?"

"No, she just uses them for hunting and target practice."

"Then what makes you think that she'll use the knife for a toy? Catherine is not Joe. She never has been and never will be. The fact that they share a birthday and are a lot alike is where the similarity stops. How old was Joe when you bought him that single shot .22 rifle?"

"He was ten. I gave it to him for his birthday along with Cochise."

"Did he ever try and use it as a toy?"

"No, I made sure he understood all of the rules concerning guns before teaching him how to shoot."

"Ok. Has Cat ever used a large knife before?" Ben admitted that she had. "Did she use it properly?" Once again, Ben admitted that Cat had. "Well then, there you have it. She has been taught how to use a knife and the rules that go with using it. Now, if you don't buy this knife for her, I will."

"Alright, you win. I'll pay you for it now and surprise her with it after the trial tomorrow."

"That's better. Now are you going to stop yourself from treating her like Joe before you lose her? Nobody wants to see that happen. We're all quite fond of her and would like to see her grow up here. How would your sister and brother-in-law feel if they knew the way you were treating their baby girl? My family and I were at your house for Joe's party the night Cat was born. I remember how proud her parents were of her and the hopes and dreams they had for her. From what I remember of them, I would say that Catherine's parents would be very upset at the way you have been treating her since you brought her home."

Ben sighed. "You're right George. I'm not being fair to Cat by treating her like she's Joe. I've got to remember that she was raised a lot differently then my boys were and hasn't had the same kind of experiences they did."

"You're on the right track. I know that Cat is wild, but from what I remember you telling me, so was her mother. Part of her wildness comes from the fact that she had a lot of freedom living in Dodge. But being wild doesn't necessarily mean she's always going to get into trouble or do the same things that Joe, James, and Mitch did when they were her age. For example, I noticed that she didn't ask you to buy that knife for her. She simply wanted to know how much it cost. Is she used to buying her own things?"

"She's used to buying a lot of her own things. She had three jobs in Dodge. She ran telegrams to the farms and ranches outside of Dodge, she caught fish and sold them to the hotel restaurant, and she helped the blacksmith by keeping unruly horses calm while he was shoeing them. I can't begin to tell you how surprised I was to learn that."

"What did she do with the money?"

"She spent a few cents on candy, saved some for something she wanted and gave the rest to Kitty Russell to put toward birthday and Christmas gifts for Matt. She gave him a very nice winter coat just before we left to come here."

"Well, there you have it. Did any of your sons ever do that or did they ask you to buy things for them? I know James was always asking me to buy things for him and I can remember Mitch Devlin asking his father to buy things for him."

"Joe was always asking me to buy things for him. I learned about Cat wanting to pay for things herself on the trip between North Fork and Dodge and then between Dodge and here."

While they were talking, James went over to the parsonage and told the Longs that he had been asked to ask them to go over to Dr. Martin's office. He gave them a few minutes to go to Paul's office and learn what was happening before going over to his father's store to tell Ben he was needed in Paul's office. He walked into the store and said, "Mr. Cartwright, Dr. Martin asked me to ask you to go over to his office. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with Cat. The doctor just needs to talk with you." After Ben left the store, James turned to his father and said, "You and Ma need to go over there too. Cat's going to need all of the support she can get."

"What's going on son?"

"Cat told me that she plans on asking the judge to undo her adoption. I convinced her to talk to Dr. and Mrs. Martin, Sheriff Coffee, and Reverend and Mrs. Long before doing anything. You've known Mr. Cartwright ever since Joe and I were little boys, so I think you and Ma should be there too. I'm on my way back there now."

"Alright son. I'll get your mother and join you there."

Ben walked into Paul's office and was surprised to see the Longs there and Cat sitting in Roy's lap. James walked in right behind Ben and his parents followed a few minutes later. "What is going on?" asked Ben. "Why is Catherine crying? Is she hurt?"

"No, not physically," said Reverend Long. "She has something to tell you and we want you to listen to what she has to say without interrupting or threatening to punish her. Now Cat, we need you to tell your Pa what you told us. Don't worry. You're not going to be scolded or punished for telling him how you feel."

"Ok, if you're sure. After the trial tomorrow, I was going to ask the judge to unsign the papers saying I'm adopted. I want to go back to Uncle Matt where I belong."

"Why Cat?"

"Because you don't love me. You let that nasty witch hurt me and you won't let me do anything by myself. I always have to have a grown up with me. You yell at me and threaten to spank me for breaking rules I didn't even know you had. You also think I'm Little Joe and yell at me for doing stuff I didn't do just because Joe used to do that stuff. You even said I was dumb for wanting to get even with that nasty witch and weren't going to let me have dessert until Hop Sing yelled at you. Uncle Matt never would never let anyone attack me and he doesn't treat me like I'm a baby and yell at me about stuff I didn't do or stuff I didn't know I was supposed to do."

Ben sat there in shocked silence for a minute. Before he could say anything, Reverend Long said gently, "Cat, do you remember what we talked about after church on Sunday, about how God wants us to love everybody, even if they're mean or hurt us?"

"Yes sir."

"Good because I don't think you understand that calling someone names is not loving them the way God wants us to. I understand that you are angry at Mrs. Warren and you have every right to be, but calling her names is not the right thing to do. I want you to promise me that you will never call anyone a bad name ever again, even if they hurt you."

"Ok. I promise."

"That's my girl. Now, your Pa sat here and listened to you without interrupting and you need to do the same to him."

Ben had to struggle to keep his voice from breaking while he addressed his daughter. "Cat, I am very sad to hear you say that you think I don't love you because I love you very, very much. I have loved you ever since your parents told me they were going to have a baby. The day you were born, I promised them that if anything ever happened to them, I would adopt you and raise you as my own daughter. I promise you that I did not let Mrs. Warren attack you. If I had known she was going to do that, I would have stopped her. I will never, ever let someone hurt you on purpose. I was wrong yesterday to tell you I didn't trust you not to gallop your horse. I didn't remember what your Uncle Matt said about asking you to promise not to do something and that you always try to keep your promises.

You misunderstood what I said when I scolded you for saying you wanted to get revenge on Mrs. Warren for hurting you. I did not say you were dumb. I would never say that because you are not dumb. I said that talk of getting revenge was nonsense and foolish, which it is. Joe told me that you promised him not to try and get even with Mrs. Warren and I believe you.

The main reason you need to have an adult with you most of the time is because you do not know your way around the Ponderosa. You have only been home for three weeks and we are just starting to teach you how to get around on your own. I would be a very poor parent if I just let you go off on your own to someplace you had never been before. The Ponderosa is a very large ranch and you could ride for two weeks and never see all of it. Right now, your puppies are still too young to know how to get help if you get hurt. Once your rib is completely healed, we will be showing you more of the ranch, but I am still not going to let you go anyplace by yourself until I am positive that you won't get lost. I am sure that everyone here will agree with me about that because nobody wants you to get lost.

I am very, very sorry that I keep treating you as though you are Little Joe. I am wrong for doing that and I am going to try very hard to stop doing it. If it makes you feel any better, I have been scolded by almost everybody in this room for doing that and your brothers have told me that if I don't stop, they are going to take you back to Dodge. Since I love you very much and don't want to lose you, I need to stop treating you as though you are Joe. I know that you are not him but you are so much like him that I forget you haven't always lived with me and were raised much differently than your brothers were.

I am also sorry that I said I was going to punish you the next time you said you wanted to go back to Dodge. I was wrong for saying that. You have feelings and I should not tell you that you can't feel the way you do, especially because I have not been doing a very good job of letting you know how much I love you and am very happy that you are my little girl now. I was also wrong to tell you I was going to punish you because you did not want to go to church. I forgot that you don't know that church is like school and you have to go unless you are sick or hurt. But just like Reverend Long said in his sermon, you have to tell me why you don't want to go to church and that reason can't be just because you want to stay home and eat all of the left over chocolate cake or play with your puppies and colt. I promise that I will listen to your reason and if I think it's a good reason, I will not make you go to church. I hope you can forgive me for not being the father you need right now. I promise I will do my best to do better."

"Yes, I forgive you."

"Thank you. Now, I'm going to tell you the rules I have for you right now so everyone can hear them and if you ever have any questions about why I have those rules, you can ask me, your brothers or anyone here. Most of them are safety rules. Rule number one is that unless you are sick, hurt, it's raining too hard, or we are snowed in, you have to go to school. The Ponderosa will be yours one day and you will need a good education to run it properly. Rule number two is similar. Unless you are sick, hurt or have a good reason not to, you have to go to church. Rule number three is a safety rule. No swimming in Lake Tahoe unless somebody else is with you. I have that same rule for your brothers and myself also. There is a large pond closer to the house you can swim and fish in. If you are fishing at Lake Tahoe and want to go in the water up to your knees, that is fine but no swimming unless someone else is with you. Rules number four and five are also safety rules and they are the same ones Matt had for you. No running inside and no jumping your horse over fences or other high objects. Rule number six is also a safety rule and one you had in Dodge. I need to know where you are and when you expect to be home. If something happens to you and I don't know where you are, it could take a long time to find you. I think you've noticed that your brothers and I don't leave the house without telling someone where we're going. If someone is home, ask before you go somewhere. If nobody is home, leave a note on the armoire and someone will see it when they come in."

"What's an arm more?"

Ben smiled at Cat's pronunciation and confusion. "Oops, I forgot you don't know what that is. The armoire is the cabinet by the door where we put our guns and you put your bow and arrows. We keep the ammunition and extra pistols in it."

"Oh, ok."

"If Hop Sing is the only one home, you can ask him if you can go somewhere. Unless one of your brothers gets into trouble this week, starting on Monday, you are going to be doing your own chores and the morning chores have to be done before breakfast. All you have to do is gather the eggs, fill Hop Sing's wood box and take care of your horse. Don't worry about giving him hay. Your brothers will do that because you're not quite big enough yet to use a pitchfork to put hay in the manger.

School will be starting in a few weeks. I am going to tell everyone here what is going to happen because I don't want you to think I'm treating you like a baby. Today is the first time you've ridden your horse to town and you don't know your way here and back home yet. So, for the first week of school, someone is going to ride with you to show you the way. I will go with you the first day because I need to get you enrolled. Someone will pick you up after school to make sure you get home ok. The second week of school, someone is going to ride about five minutes behind you both ways to make sure you don't get lost. Once I am convinced you can find your way to school and home again safely, nobody will have to ride with you. That is exactly what your uncle Lucas did with Mark when they first moved to North Fork. When you get home from school, put your books in your room. Then take care of your horse, fill Hop Sing's wood box and do your homework. Do you have any questions about the rules I have for you?"

"Why don't you, Adam, Hoss, and Joe go swimming in Lake Tahoe alone?"

"Because the lake is very deep and the water gets very cold the deeper you go. If someone gets a cramp or they get too cold and nobody is there to help them get back to shore, they could drown."

"Oh. That would be really bad, wouldn't it?"

"Yes it would and everyone would be very sad because we would no longer have one member of our family with us."

"Ok. I won't swim all the way across Lake Tahoe unless someone is there with me."

Everyone laughed at Cat's statement. "You little scamp. Come here and let me hug you and tell you how much I love you."

Cat got down from Roy's lap and walked over to Ben who picked her up and hugged her tightly. "OWW Pa. Not so tight. You're hurting my rib."

"Ben," scolded Paul. "Be careful with that child. Do you want to have a very grumpy nine year old on your hands for another week because you injured her rib again when it's almost healed?"

"Oops, sorry Kitten. I didn't mean to hug you that tightly. I just want you to know how much I love you. Now, let's go over to Mr. McLeod's store and buy some candy so we can get home before supper. I do not want Hop Sing yelling at me because we're late. By the way Roy, I have a bone to pick with you. How could you let my nine year old daughter bribe you with a bag of candy to let her play poker half the night with four twelve year old boys and then get into a fight with them?"

"Well you see Ben, I have this here sweet tooth and when Cat offered me a bag of candy, I just couldn't say no to letting her play poker with the twelve year old boys."

"I don't care how many bags of candy she gives you Roy. Catherine is not to play poker with anyone older than eleven."

"But you said I could play with thirteen year olds," complained Cat.

"I changed my mind. You are not allowed to sneak out of the house at night to play poker with anyone older than eleven. You could get hurt if you get into a fight with anyone older."

"Awwww gee. You're no fun."

"I know. It's my job to keep you from having fun. Now let's go and get our candy."

The gathering broke up with everyone laughing at the last exchange between Ben, Roy, and Cat.


	61. Chapter 61

a/n: To Freewrite 8, Your review came up as a guest review so I am unable to reply to you directly. Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate you taking time to read and review my story. Cat will have plenty of adventures once she has been on the Ponderosa for a while.

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While they were walking back over to the general store, Ben said, "Cat, I meant every word I said. I am sorry that I've been treating you like Joe and I promise to stop but I'm going to need your help. Every time I start treating you like Joe, I want you to remind me that you're Cat, not Joe. Will you do that for me?"

"Sure, I can do that."

"Thank you. Now, let's get some candy and go home before Hop Sing yells at me for being late to supper. They walked into the store and Ben told George that he wanted six bags of candy. Cat heard him and exclaimed, "Six bags of candy! Wow! Are they all for me?"

Ben laughed, spotted a pink dress and matching sunbonnet and teased. "You can have all six of them _if_ I can get that pink dress, sunbonnet, pantaloons and frilly petticoats for you."

" ** _Pink?!_** " exclaimed Cat in horror. "I'm an Apache warrior and you want me to wear a pink dress, sunbonnet, pantaloons, and frilly petticoats? **_YUCK!_** That's awful. I thought you loved me. Everybody knows that Apache warriors don't wear pink. My father and grandfather would never let me ride in battle if they knew I was wearing pink. Little Bear wouldn't let me be his sister any more either. It's a good thing I only wear dresses once in a while. Apache warriors don't wear dresses either. I'd rather eat carrots than wear pink."

Everybody in the store laughed at Cat's pronouncement. "Well then little girl, and you are a little girl even if you do want to be an Apache warrior when you grow up, I guess you're going to have to be satisfied with one bag of candy. I'll be sure to tell Hop Sing to make extra carrots for you since you like them so much."

"Now you're bein' mean. Telling Hop Sing to make extra carrots when you know I absalootly, positively hate them is real mean. If I have to eat extra carrots, so does Adam, 'cause I know he hates them just like I do. James, if Pa makes me eat extra carrots and not Adam, will you help me get to the Apaches?"

"Sure Cat, but I'd rather eat carrots than Adam because I don't think he'd taste too good." Cat gave James a funny look. I think what you meant to say was would I help you get to the Apaches if your Pa made you eat extra carrots and didn't make Adam eat them too."

Ben and everyone else in the store laughed at Cat's grammar error and James' response. "James is right Kitten. I don't think that Adam would taste too good and I also don't think he'd be too happy with you trying to eat him."

" _Paaaaa!_ You know what I meant."

"Yes, I do know what you meant but you said something totally different. Miss Winter is definitely going to have to work on your grammar." Cat scrunched up her nose and made a funny face, causing Ben to laugh. "Sorry Kitten. Like it or not, school will be starting soon and you have to go."

"Please stop sayin' bad words like school. I'm not allowed to say bad words & that word you said is the worst of all."

Ben gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug and hugged her. "Come on silly girl. I've got a bag of candy for everyone. Get yourself some licorice and your puppies so we can go. We still have to make two stops on the way home and if we're late for supper, I'm going to tell Hop Sing it was all your fault."

"You got six bags of candy. You and Hop Sing don't like candy, do you?"

"Of course we do and so do your brothers."

"Oh. I thought all of the extra candy was for Hoss because he eats so much."

"Hoss gets the same amount of candy as everyone else. If he wants more, he can buy some the next time he's in town. Now, get some licorice and your puppies. We have to leave."

"Ok. How much licorice can I get?"

"You may get four pieces. Two for you and two for me."

While Cat was outside getting her puppies, Paul Martin walked into the store and up to Ben. "I wanted to tell you that because Millicent's trial is tomorrow, you should expect Cat to have nightmares tonight and tomorrow night. This is very traumatic for her and will most likely trigger nightmares. Her injuries from the attack should be completely healed by the weekend, so the boys should take her out to her parents' graves soon. I can't guarantee that will stop the nightmares but it could help. Either way, she needs to mourn her losses. If she doesn't, she will never heal from what happened to her mother."

Before Ben could reply, Cat walked back into the store with her puppies. She walked up to where Ben and Paul were standing and asked, "Pa, can I get some licorice for Dr. Paul too?"

Ben smiled at his daughter's thoughtfulness. "Sure Kitten, you can get some for him also."

"How much licorice do you want Dr. Paul?"

"Well, I'd better get four pieces. Virginia would never forgive me if I didn't bring some for her too."

Ben gave Cat some money and she walked off to pay for eight pieces of licorice. "She's a sweet child Ben," said Paul. "You're lucky to have her."

"I know Paul. Now I've got to change my ways so I don't lose her. If she goes back to Matt, the only way I'll get to see her is if I go to Dodge."

Cat walked back to her father and the doctor and gave them their licorice and started to run toward the door with her puppies at her heels. "Cat!" exclaimed Ben and Paul together. "You're not supposed to be running until Saturday."

"Oh pooh! Can't you just close your eyes and pretend you don't know?"

"I can always make it another week before I allow you to run," replied Paul.

"That's not fair. My rib hardly hurts so I should be able to run."

"We talked about this in my office. You only have two more days to go. I know you're tired of having to walk everywhere, but you need to be patient. I don't want to take a chance on you falling and hurting your rib even worse than it was." Cat just sighed and walked outside. Ben and Paul laughed at her frustration with her situation. "She'll be ok Ben. Just be patient with her. It's hard for that little spitfire to have to walk everywhere when she's used to running. You're going to need to be extra patient with her on Saturday. She's going to be so thrilled that she's allowed to run again that she may forget she's not supposed to run indoors. Don't be too hard on her if she does run in the house on Saturday. Remember, she'll be excited that her restrictions have been lifted. Don't be surprised if she saddles a horse and takes off as fast as it can go."

"I don't think there's much that girl can do that will surprise me. I'd better go before she gets tired of waiting and takes off without me. I'll see you tomorrow." Ben walked outside and found Cat adjusting Buck's stirrups for herself. "Why are you doing that?"

"I figured you were gonna stay in there all day so I thought I'd steal Buck and Beauty can run along with us."

"Oh, and how am I supposed to get home?"

"You can walk or get a horse from the stable."

"You are a little scamp." Ben picked Cat up and turned her upside down just as Paul walked out of the store.

"Ben, what on Earth are you doing to that child?"

"I caught her trying to steal my horse. Isn't this what we do to horse thieves, turn them upside down and tickle their feet?" He pulled one of Cat's moccasins of and started to tickle her foot.

After a minute, Cat cried, "Stop! Please! I'm going to wet my pants."

Ben turned Cat upright and carried her back into the store. "George, may Catherine use your water closet? I tickled her too much."

Mr. McLeod laughed. "Sure Ben. James, please take Cat into the house and show her where the water closet is. Now, what did that sweet child do to cause you to tickle her too much?"

"She got tired of waiting for me and decided to ride my horse back home and lead hers, leaving me to walk or hire a horse from the livery stable."

George laughed at the expression on Ben's face. "You're definitely going to have to be on your toes around that little girl. I wonder what she'll think of next."

Before Ben could answer, Richard Parker walked into the store. "Ben, you're still here. Good. I have some news for you about tomorrow. Among other things, Millicent is going around town telling people that Cat attacked her and she was just defending herself. It is important that Cat wear a dress to court tomorrow. I don't want the jury looking at a little girl wearing buckskins and deciding that she attacked an elderly lady."

Mr. McLeod said, "I can't believe that Millicent is doing that. I know she doesn't like children or animals but I can't believe she'd lie like that."

"I agree," said Ben. "I'll talk to Cat about wearing a dress tomorrow and why she needs to. I was going to tell her she didn't have to wear one unless she wanted to, but this way she won't argue with me when I tell her she has to."

"Thanks Ben," said Mr. Parker. "I've got to get back over to my office. Celia Johnson said she needed to talk to me about something this afternoon."

Cat came back into the store then she and Ben walked outside. He helped her mount Buck and shortened the stirrups for her. Then he put her puppies in her saddle bags, adjusted Beauty's stirrups, mounted the horse and rode out of town with his daughter. After they rode for a while, Ben spotted a fallen tree rode over to it and dismounted. Cat dismounted and took her puppies out of the saddle bags. Ben sat down and motioned for Cat to join him. She sat down and he hugged her. "I need to talk to you about tomorrow. I wasn't going to make you wear a dress to court but now I need you to." Cat started getting upset and Ben hugged her again. "I'm sorry Kitten, but it's important. While you were in the McLeod's house with James, Mr. Parker came to see me. Mrs. Warren has been going around telling everybody that you attacked her and she was just defending herself."

"But I didn't attack her Pa. She's lying. She pulled me out of the buggy by my hair. I hit the side and one of the wheels. That's how my rib got hurt."

"I know sweetheart. Mrs. Warren is lying and that's why you need to wear a dress. The jury isn't going to be made up of men who live in Virginia City and know me and Mrs. Warren. Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels got twelve men from Galena to come here to be the jury."

"I don't understand. Why did they do that?"

"They did it so that Mrs. Warren would get a fair trial. Many people in Virginia City benefit from the Ponderosa in one way or another and the two lawyers did not want a jury to decide the trial just because we contribute a lot to the town. If the jury was going to be made up of men from Virginia City, they would know that Mrs. Warren was lying. However, the men who are coming from Galena do not know me or Mrs. Warren. If they see a little girl wearing buckskins, they might believe Mrs. Warren. However, if you are wearing a dress and tell the jury that you were attacked after church, they will be more likely to believe you because everybody knows that girls do not like to get their dresses dirty. You'll need to wear your shoes and a sunbonnet also so you look like a proper little girl. I know that your shoes aren't broken in yet, so you can wear your moccasins until someone comes to get you when it's your turn to testify. Then you'll have to put your shoes on. Will you do that for me?"

Cat sighed. It wasn't fair. She had to go to court and wear a dress tomorrow all because of the mean nasty old witch. "Alright Pa. I'll wear a dress and my shoes."

Ben hugged her again. "That's my girl. Thank you for agreeing to wear a dress. You can wear your hat until it's time to come into the courtroom and you can put your moccasins back on after the trial is over. Now, let's get going. I want to stop and talk to the Devlins and the Ingalls on our way home. And, if we're late for supper and Hop Sing yells at me, I'm going to tell him it was all your fault."

Cat giggled. "He won't believe you because he thinks I'm perfect."

"Well, I'll just have to convince him otherwise. Maybe I'll hide his slippers in your bedroom."

Cat started laughing. "He will probably think that Little Joe did it or Hoss was playing games. I'll tell him you did it and then he'll yell at you."

Ben gave one of her braids a playful tug. "You are a little scamp. I think you enjoy hearing Hop Sing scold me." Cat giggled. "That's what I thought. Round up your puppies so we can get home before supper." Cat called her puppies who reluctantly stopped chasing squirrels and answered her call. Ben helped her mount Buck and put her puppies in her saddle bags. He mounted Beauty and they rode off toward the Devlin ranch.

When they rode into the Devlin's yard, they saw Mike and his father sitting on the corral fence, watching Mitch work a new horse they had just acquired. Cat admired the blood bay stallion and asked Mitch if she could walk him around a little. Mitch looked at Ben who nodded so he handed the rope to Cat. Cat spent a few minutes petting and talking to the horse before walking him around the yard. Mr. Devlin got down off the fence and greeted Ben. "Hello Ben. It's been a while since we've gotten together. Are you sure it's safe for Cat to be handling that stallion?"

"Hello Dan. Yes it has been too long. For a while there it seemed like one of us was always bringing the other's son back to him. Yes, it's perfectly safe for Cat to handle that stallion. I don't know what it is about her, but she's very good with horses and they seem to like her. You should see her colt follow her around the pasture like her puppies do. The blacksmith in Dodge used to pay her to help him with unruly horses. He sure is a good looking horse. If his bloodlines are as good as his looks, I've got some mares I'll pay you to breed to him."

"He has excellent bloodlines. I'm sure we can work something out about him servicing your mares. Why don't we go into the house? I know Mary would love to see you. Mitch, why don't you put Flame in the corral and then come into the house?" Ben and Cat walked into the house where they were greeted by Mrs. Devlin. "Now, what can we do for you today Ben?"

"Millicent's trial is tomorrow and Catherine will not be in the courtroom until she is needed to testify. She can play at the school, but I do not want her to be alone. Would it be alright with you if Michael came to town with us so that Catherine will not be alone?"

"I know that Mitchell was planning on attending the trial," said Mrs. Devlin. "So were his father and I. I think it would be an excellent idea for Michael to stay with Cat until she is needed at the trial. You are right. She should not be alone. Michael, will you stay with Cat at the school until she is needed in the courtroom?"

"Sure Ma. I do that for Cat. I'll bring my marbles and you bring yours Cat. We can play while we're waiting for the grownups to need you."

"But I have to wear a dress tomorrow and if I play marbles, I'll get it dirty before I have to go to the courthouse."

"Don't worry about that," said Mrs. Devlin. "You go ahead and bring your marbles. I'll think of something between now and then to keep your dress from getting dirty."

"Ok. Thank you."

"I'll be taking Cat to town in the buggy tomorrow," said Ben. "Mike, do you want to ride your horse or ride in the buggy with Cat?"

"I'll go with Cat."

"That's fine. We'll pick you up in the morning. Now we have to go because I want to stop and talk to Charles and Caroline to see if Mary and Laura can come with us also." They said goodbye to the Devlins and rode over to the Ingalls. Mary had a summer cold and couldn't go to town the next day but Laura was allowed to. Cat told Laura she'd ask Joe if she could borrow his marbles and Ben said he'd pick Laura with the buggy in the morning. They reached home just before suppertime. Dave came out of the barn and said he'd take care of their horses. During supper, Cat asked Joe if Laura could use his marbles and Joe said he'd get them before bed and put them next to his gun so they wouldn't be forgotten. After supper, she helped Adam set up the chess board and played checkers with Hoss and Joe. As Paul predicted, Cat had a nightmare. All three of her brothers and Ben sat with her until it passed. They hugged her and Joe took her to the outhouse while Adam put her pillow and blanket on his bed.

Cat was nervous and grumpy the next morning and complained about having to wear a dress. Joe hugged her and reminded her that she would be well protected in the courtroom and nobody would be allowed to hurt her. After helping her into her dress, Joe braided Cat's hair and picked out a sunbonnet. He put it on his head, causing Cat to laugh. She got her shoes out of the wardrobe and Joe picked her bag of marbles up off of her desk and they walked down to breakfast together. The rest of the family had a good laugh at the sight of Joe wearing Cat's sunbonnet. He pulled her chair out for her and once she was seated, he put Cat's sunbonnet on her backwards so it was covering her face, causing her to laugh again. "It's backwards Joe. I can't see."

"Oh, so it is. How about this way?" He hung the bonnet so the strings were going down Cat's back.

Ben looked at Cat and laughed. "Catherine Michael Cartwright, I cannot believe that you are nine years old and don't know how to wear a sunbonnet," he teased. "Hoss, would you please show your sister the correct way to wear her sunbonnet?" Hoss took the sunbonnet off of Cat, put it on his head and proceeded to dance around the dining room. Cat laughed so much she had to excuse herself and go to the outhouse. While she was gone, Ben said, "Boys, thank you for making your sister laugh. Today is going to be very difficult for her and laughter is some of the best medicine known to man." After breakfast, Ben told Cat that she only had ten minutes to say good morning to Fury and then they had to leave to pick up Laura and Mike before going to town. When they arrived at the Devlin ranch, Mrs. Devlin handed Cat a small blanket and told her to put it on the ground so she wouldn't get her dress dirty playing marbles. When they reached town, Ben dropped the children off at the school before driving the buggy to the courthouse.

The courtroom was packed and people were standing along the back and side walls when the judge started the trial, read the complaint out loud and said, "The defendant has been accused of attacking and injuring a young child, however I do not see a child in the courtroom."

"The child in question is a nine year old girl. The defendant has called her parentage into question and used that as the excuse for the attack. Because of this, it will be necessary for me to call her father to the stand and reveal deeply personal family information that the child is not old enough to understand. Being in the courtroom will also cause her to relive a very tragic and traumatic incident that just occurred this past June. As neither Mr. Michaels nor myself wish to see a young child further traumatized, we have agreed to keep her out of the courtroom until it is time for her to testify. She is at the school playing with some friends," replied Mr. Parker.

"While that is highly unusual, I do not want to see a young child traumatized, so she may stay at the school until you are ready for her to testify," said the judge. "Please call your first witness."

Mr. Parker called Ben to testify. Ben explained Cat's history including his father forcing her mother to remarry less than five months after she had been widowed and what had happened to all of her new husband's previous wives. When Ben talked about Cat's mother and her husband trying to get Cat to go to Australia with them, Mrs. Warren yelled out, "She should have gone. Then we wouldn't have to put up with the little brat!" The judge scolded Mrs. Warren and told her that she was not to say anything until she was called to testify and if she had another outburst, he would fine her for contempt of court. The men on the jury could not believe that Mrs. Warren would compromise her defense when there was a distinct possibility that she would be found guilty and sent to prison. When Ben told about Cat standing next to her mother when she was killed and was still having nightmares of the murder, Mrs. Warren yelled out again. "Too bad she wasn't killed too. We don't need her kind here among decent people." The judge scolded her again and said that the next time she interrupted the trial, he would have her gagged until it was time for her to testify. Ben finished his testimony by saying he adopted Cat and gave her the adoption papers on her ninth birthday.

Mr. Michaels asked when Cat actually moved in with Ben and he replied, "Three weeks ago yesterday." When Mr. Michaels asked why it was almost two months from the time she was adopted to the time she actually moved onto the Ponderosa, Ben replied that in an attempt to keep her life as normal as possible after the tragedy of her mother's murder, she spent two weeks with her father's youngest brother in Arizona and a week with her father's best friend in New Mexico. Then she spent two weeks in Dodge so she could say goodbye to her friends and he could bring all of her belongings back home with them.

Mr. Parker called Adam to testify next. He told how he and his brothers were returning from the lumber yard and were just around the corner from the buggy when they heard Cat yell for help. He talked about how they found their sister on the ground and Mrs. Warren using the buggy whip on her, and how he took the whip from Mrs. Warren and broke it while Joe picked Cat up off the ground, and Hoss picked up her puppies. Mr. Michaels asked Adam what he meant when he said that if Mrs. Warren ever did anything to hurt his sister or her puppies again, that he would forget that he was supposed to be a gentleman. "I meant that I would give her a very large piece of my mind and tell her exactly what I thought of her. You are very sadly mistaken if you think I would ever stoop so low as to hit a woman."

Once Adam had answered all the questions asked of him, Mr. Parker called Reverend Long who explained that he and Ben had been sitting on the church steps talking when they heard Cat yell for help. He said that they reached the buggy just after Cat's brothers, saw Mrs. Warren using the whip on Cat and Adam take the whip and break it. Then it was Paul Martin's turn to explain Cat's injuries and how the cuts were consistent with someone having had a buggy whip used on them. He said he didn't know how Cat's rib got bruised but said it was most likely from striking a hard object.

After Paul returned to his seat, Mr. Parker surprised everyone by calling on Miss Celia Johnson to testify. "Miss Johnson, will you please tell the court what you told me in my office yesterday afternoon?"

"Mrs. Warren and I were having supper together on Tuesday when she began to talk about her being charged with assaulting and injuring Mr. Cartwright's daughter. You can imagine my surprise when she said that the girl deserved everything she got for pretending to be Mr. Cartwright's daughter. She also said she would do it again and her only regret was not killing the puppies and injuring the child more severely, causing her to die. I have known Millicent Warren for many years and cannot believe that someone who claims to be a Christian, God fearing person would do such a terrible thing to a child just because she didn't believe the girl was who she claimed to be. I don't understand why she does not believe that the girl is Mr. Cartwright's daughter when just about everybody in the town knows he adopted his niece after her mother was killed. He introduced her to almost everybody before and after church last week."

When Miss Johnson finished testifying, Mr. Parker said, "Your honor, my next witness is the victim herself. She is very afraid of the defendant and has great concerns that she may be attacked while she is testifying. I would like to place a chair between the witness chair and defense table for one of her brothers to sit in while she testifies. It is my hope that having one of her brothers between her and the defendant will help to ease her fears." The judge asked Mr. Michaels if he had any objections to Mr. Parker's request. He said no so the judge told Mr. Parker to put a chair between the witness chair and the defense table. Mr. Parker then asked the judge for a brief recess so a member of the Cartwright family could go and get Cat from the school. The judge called a ten minute recess and Hoss went to get Cat.

Hoss walked over to the school where he found his sister, Mike, and Laura at the end of a game of marbles. He decided to let them finish their game before taking Cat over to the courthouse. Mike and Laura decided to go with them to support their friend. They walked into the courthouse and there were a lot of murmurs and whispers of "Isn't she cute?" Even the judge and jury had to smile at the sight of a little girl in braids wearing a blue dress with a yellow sunbonnet hanging down her back and a cowboy hat on her head, holding her biggest brother's hand. Hoss looked at the judge and said, "Sorry about the delay Judge, but they was in the middle of a high stakes game of marbles. The winner got to use the swing first and the loser had to push. I couldn't interrupt a game that important." Everybody in the courtroom except Mrs. Warren laughed at Hoss' statements.

"I totally agree Mr. Cartwright," replied the judge. "The court can wait for an important game like that."

Hoss looked at Cat and said, "Why don't you let Little Joe hold your hat until you're done. You won't need it in here." Joe picked Cat up and hugged her, making sure Mrs. Warren saw how much she was loved. Then he took her hat and sat down again. Hoss walked Cat up to the front of the courtroom and pointed to the two chairs. "You're gonna sit there and I'm gonna sit right here so nobody can hurt you."

Cat hugged Hoss tightly and cried, "No! I want you to sit with me. She'll hurt me again if you don't."

"I'll be right here Punkin. Nobody will hurt you."

"No! She'll hurt me again if you don't sit with me!"

Hoss looked at the judge who said, "Alright Mr. Cartwright. You may sit with your sister. I don't want her to be upset while she testifies. Bailiff, please swear the witness in."

The bailiff walked up to Cat with the Bible, told her to put her left hand on it and raise her right hand. Then he told her the oath she needed to swear to. Cat's eyes got as big as saucers. She couldn't believe that this strange man wanted her to swear on the Bible in front of all the people in the courtroom. "I'm not allowed to swear, 'specially on the Bible! I'll be in real big trouble ifn I do. My uncles and cousins will magically appear and when everybody in my family finishes with me, I'll be twelve before I can sit down again!" She rubbed her bottom with both hands at the thought of what would happen if she swore, causing almost everyone in the courtroom, including the judge and jury to laugh.

The judge decided to hurry things up. "Miss Cartwright, do you know the difference between the truth and a lie?"

"Yes sir. I ain't told a lie since I was five when me and Pete and Mike skipped school and lied about it. I got in real big trouble and Uncle Matt took my pony away from me for two whole weeks." Once again, almost everybody in the courtroom started laughing.

"I am very glad to hear that you haven't told a lie since you were five. Will you promise me that you will answer all of the questions asked honestly? It's ok to say you don't remember or you're not sure."

"Yes sir. I'll tell the truth."

"Thank you. Now you can go and sit with your brother." Cat sat in Hoss' lap and he hugged her.

Mr. Parker stood up and said, "Miss Cartwright, will you please tell the court what happened after church on Sunday?"

Cat took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "It kinda started before church. I didn't want to go to church and Pa was mad at me because he forgot that Uncle Matt only made me go to church on Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas. When we got to church, he scolded me, said I was going to get a spanking and have to spend the day copying verses out of the Bible when we got home. Then he said to go and stand by Adam because I was going to have to sit with my family instead of my friends. Reverend Long heard what Pa said to me and picked me up and started carrying me around when he was sayin' good morning to everyone. Pa wasn't real happy that I was with Reverend Long instead of Adam but he didn't scold Reverend Long. Reverend Long kept carrying me around and when he said good morning to the nast…Mrs. Warren, she started saying real bad things about me. She started calling me a brat and a thing and an it. She said that I wasn't a Cartwright and Pa wasn't my Pa and Adam, Hoss, and Joe weren't my brothers. She said that I should be in an orphanage or a work house and my puppies should have been drowned when they were born.

Reverend Long said that Mrs. Warren wasn't nice but God still loved her and wants us to do the same thing. I thought he was joking but he said that God wants us to love everybody even if they're not nice people. He said he had to start the church service and would tell me more after church. After church, Reverend Long said goodbye to everybody and then we sat on the church steps. He told me that when he said that God wants us to love everybody, even people who are mean, he didn't mean that you have to let them move into your house and act like they're your family. I was real worried about that 'cause I was scared that Mrs. Warren was going to move to the Ponderosa and I was gonna have to let her take my bedroom. That's the bedroom I was born in. It was Adam's but Pa said that Hoss and Little Joe made him give it to me while I was with my uncles in Arizona and New Mexico. They fixed it up real nice for me and even painted it green like my eyes. I can see Lake Tahoe from one window and the mountains from the other and I don't want anybody, especially somebody mean like Mrs. Warren to have it." There were quiet chuckles from the people watching the trial and even the judge and jury smiled at Cat's pronouncement.

"After Reverend Long finished telling me how God wants me to be nice to mean people like Mrs. Warren, Pa walked up and said he had to talk to Reverend Long about grown up stuff and said I should wait in the buggy for him. He promised not to take too much time and said my brothers were running an errand and when they got back we would go home. I told him I was hungry and if they took too much time, I was going to drive the buggy home and then Pa and my brothers would have to walk home. There was chocolate cake left from supper and I was in a hurry to go home so I could eat it." There was more quiet laughter from almost everyone in the courtroom, including the judge and jury. Many of them had children and could understand a child wanting to hurry home to eat chocolate cake.

"While I was waiting for Pa and my brothers, Mrs. Warren drove up in her buggy and asked why I was sitting in the Cartwright's buggy. I told her Pa told me to wait for him and she said that I wasn't a Cartwright and was going to teach me a lesson. She grabbed my braids and pulled me out of the buggy. I hit the side of the buggy and a wheel and hurt one of my ribs. Then she started hitting me with her whip. My puppies tried to protect me but she kicked them and they got hurt." Cat started crying while she was talking about what had happened to her so Hoss wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Then I yelled for my Pa and brothers and they made her stop hurting me."

"Thank you Catherine," said Mr. Parker. "I have one more question for you. What do you hope will happen when this trial is over?"

"I hope that the judge makes Mrs. Warren go way, far away from here. I'm scared she's gonna come into the school and hurt me again when school starts. My Pa and brothers will be busy on the ranch and can't keep her from hurting me again."

Then Mr. Michaels stood up and walked over to Cat. "Are you sure that you told everything just like it happened? Mrs. Warren said that you attacked her and she was just defending herself."

Cat became very upset and started yelling. " **SHE'S LYING! I DIDN'T** **TRY** **TO HURT HER! SHE HURT ME** **AND** **MY PUPPIES** **AND** **I HATE HER! I WANT HER TO** **GO WAY** **, FAR AWAY FROM HERE** **AND** **NEVER, EVER COME BACK! SHE'S A MEAN, NASTY OL' WITCH** **AND** **I** **DON** **'T'** **CARE** **IF REVEREND LONG** **AND** **PA** **GET** **MAD** **AT ME FOR SAYIN' IT!** " Cat turned around and buried her head in Hoss' shoulders and started sobbing uncontrollably. She was crying so hard she was shaking and Hoss became worried about her.

Hoss hugged her and tried to soothe her. "It's alright Punkin. Ain't nobody gonna ever hurt you again. Come on baby. Take deep breaths. Ya gotta quit cryin'. It ain't good for ya to cry so hard that yore shakin' like a leaf in the wind." He looked at the judge and said, "Ifn them two lawyers are done, I need to take my sister to our Pa. Maybe he can get her to calm down. I ain't never seen her this upset before, even at her mama's funeral."

The judge asked the attorneys if they had any more questions for Cat. When they said no, the judge recessed the trial until Cat had calmed down.


	62. Chapter 62

a/n: To my guest reviewer: For some strange reason I wasn't notified of your review. Thank you for your kind comments to Ch. 60. Don't worry, the story isn't over yet, but I'm trying to keep my chapters from getting too long or they'll take forever to read.

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It took a while but Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe finally managed to get Cat to calm down and stop crying. When they walked back into the courtroom, Cat apologized to Reverend Long for breaking her promise not to call Mrs. Warren bad names and to the judge for yelling in the courtroom. Both men forgave her and the judge asked, "Did your Pa tell you to apologize to me?"

"No sir. Uncle Matt said that I shouldn't yell at grownups unless they're hurting me or someone else or they're in danger. I could yell at you if you were standing in the street and the stage was going to run you over."

"Yes, that would be a very good time to yell at any adult," replied the judge. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes I am."

"Good, I'm glad that you are."

Before the judge could resume the trial, Dr. Martin stood up and said, "Your honor, if the defense intends to call Mrs. Warren to testify, I believe it would be best if Catherine Cartwright was not in the courtroom. It is not good for such a young child to get as upset as she was a little while ago."

"I would think it wouldn't be good for anyone to be that upset and I do not want her getting that upset again," replied the judge. "Miss Cartwright, you and your friends may go back over to the school and play. One of your brothers will come and get you when you are needed again."

Cat, Laura, and Mike left the courtroom and walked back over to the school. Once they were gone, Mr. Michaels called Mrs. Warren to testify. "Mrs. Warren, will you please tell the court what happened after church this past Sunday'?"

"I was driving my buggy past the church, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, this child jumped into the buggy and began attacking me. It bit me, clawed, and kicked me. I pushed it out of my buggy and began defending myself. Then these foul beasts attacked me and I had to defend myself against them. It's a miracle I wasn't killed. Then the Cartwright boys ran up and claimed that the foul creature that attacked me was their sister. Worse yet, Benjamin claimed it was his daughter and Reverend Long agreed with him. He even had the nerve to say that what I did was wrong. I don't know what is wrong with the Cartwrights and everyone else these days. Everybody knows that Benjamin does not have a daughter. He has three fine sons and is not even married, so he cannot possibly have a daughter. I don't know where that foul creature that attacked me came from but it is not Benjamin Cartwright's daughter. It belongs in an orphanage or a work home, not here among the decent citizens of Virginia City because it will never amount to anything."

Mr. Parker stood up and asked, "Mrs. Warren, do you honestly expect this court to believe that a nine year old child, dressed in her church clothes, would jump into your moving buggy and attack you, knowing all the while that her father and brothers were nearby and she would be severely punished for her actions?"

"Well yes, of course since the brat that attacked me isn't a Cartwright."

"Even if that were true, which it isn't, you were near the Cartwright's buggy, meaning that Mr. Cartwright and his sons were nearby. Surely they would have come to your aid when you called for help and taken the misbehaving child to her parents or Sheriff Coffee. You did call for help, didn't you Mrs. Warren?"

"I saw no need to call for help. I was able to take care of it myself."

"I see. A healthy nine year old child jumped into your moving buggy, bit, clawed, and kicked you but you didn't find it necessary to yell for help. I find that highly unusual, especially for a woman your age."

Mr. Michaels said he didn't have any other witnesses so Mr. Parker called Dr. Martin to testify again. "Dr. Martin, you have heard Mrs. Warren describe an alleged attack on her person that took place on Sunday after church. Have you treated her for any kind of injuries since Saturday morning?"

"No I have not. I have not treated Mrs. Warren for anything except a touch of rheumatism in more than a year."

"Thank you. Would you and two of the ladies present please take Mrs. Warren in the back and examine her for any injuries consistent with the attack she described?" Paul, Mrs. Devlin, and Mrs. McLeod took Mrs. Warren in the back and examined her. When they finished, Paul returned to the witness chair. "Dr. Martin, will you please tell the court the results of the examination you just did on the defendant?"

"Mrs. Devlin, Mrs. McLeod, and I examined Mrs. Warren very thoroughly. We did not find any injuries consistent with the attack she described. The only injury we found was a small cut on the index finger of her right hand that is consistent with a paper cut."

Mr. Michael said that he did not have any questions for Dr. Martin. After both attorneys presented their closing arguments, the jury left the courtroom to decide on a verdict. After the jury left the courtroom, Mr. Parker walked up to Ben and said, "I don't think they're going to take very long, so one of you needs to go and get Cat. She should be here when the jury returns their verdict."

Hoss walked over to the school and brought the three children back to the courthouse. Mike sat in his father's lap and Laura sat in Ben's lap, while Cat sat in Hoss' lap again. The jury returned to the courtroom a few minutes after Hoss, Cat, Laura, and Mike returned to the courthouse. The judge asked the jury if they had reached a verdict. "We have your honor," said the foreman.

"What is your verdict?" asked the judge.

"We find the defendant guilty."

" **How dare you find me guilty!** " exclaimed Mrs. Warren. " **That brat got everything it deserved and if the Cartwrights hadn't interfered, it would have gotten even more!** "

The judge banged his gavel and said, "Mrs. Warren, that is the second time you have interrupted this court since being told not to. You have been found guilty of attacking and injuring Mr. Cartwright's daughter, Catherine. I also find you guilty of perjury as you deliberately lied under oath and I find you guilty of contempt of court for the two outbursts after you were told to keep quiet. Do you have anything to say before I pronounce sentence on you?" Mrs. Warren tried saying she was an elderly lady and shouldn't face any punishment for what she did, but the judge wasn't having any of it. "Mrs. Warren, you have shown no remorse for your actions and have blamed the child you attacked for them. It does not matter who the child claimed to be. She could have claimed to be the Queen of England and still did not deserve to be attacked. I could sentence you to up to three years in prison. However, I will not do that at this time as I do not think you would survive even three months in prison due to your age. Therefore, I sentence you to a fine of three thousand dollars. One thousand is for the attack on young Miss Cartwright, who is Mr. Cartwright's daughter. I signed the adoption papers myself. One thousand is for perjury and the other thousand is for contempt of court. Please do not try and tell me that you cannot pay that fine as I know you are a very wealthy woman. You have been heard bragging about how much money your husband left you when he died.

I also sentence you to two weeks and four days in the Virginia City jail beginning at the conclusion of this trial. Sheriff Coffee has made some modifications to one of the cells so you will have some privacy. You will be released at one o'clock in the afternoon two weeks from this coming Monday. The only privileges you will have during your incarceration are that you will be allowed your Bible to read and you will be allowed to have your needlepoint if you are in the process of doing any. I highly recommend you spend the next two weeks and four days reading your Bible. You will follow all of Sheriff Coffee's rules and eat the food he provides for you without complaining. You will not be allowed to leave the jail for any reason other than an emergency. Attending Saturday night's dance and church services on Sunday are not emergencies.

Once you are released, you are to stay away from the Cartwrights, especially young Catherine Cartwright. When school is in session, you are not to go anywhere near the schoolhouse. You are not to go out to the Ponderosa for any reason at all unless you have been invited and I seriously doubt that will happen. If you go into one of the stores in Virginia City and any of the Cartwrights are in it, you must leave and wait for that person or persons to leave. When you are in church, you are to sit as far away from the Cartwrights as possible and are to enter after they do and leave before they do. If you violate any of these restrictions, I will put you back in jail for a month and you will incur more fines. If you violate them a second time, I will give serious thought to sending you to prison despite your age. You are also to provide Sheriff Coffee with a list of your relatives and where they live."

Mrs. Warren started to protest her sentence when the judge said, "Mrs. Warren, if you say one word, I will increase your fine by an additional one thousand dollars and your jail sentence to three weeks and four days.

Ladies of Virginia City, I apologize for the possible inconvenience, however, I would deem it a great favor if you would get together and work out a schedule to sit at the jail as chaperones for Mrs. Warren. You will only need to be there during daylight hours and need not miss church services on Sundays. You may talk with her and of course, you may have your knitting or needlework or whatever you wish to bring with you. However, I must stress that Mrs. Warren is not to have anything her Bible and her needlework.

Now, before I adjourn the court, I have a question to ask. Miss Cartwright who won the big marble game you were playing this morning?"

"Laura did. I came in second and Mike finished last. He had to push Laura and me on the swing and then we took turns pushing him."

"I see. If I were to go over to the school, would the three of you push me on the swing?"

Mike, Laura, and Cat whispered for a minute then Mike said, "We could try but you're a grown up and grown ups are hard to push. Mitch is nineteen and I have a hard time pushing him."

"Well, I'll tell you what. If your parents will allow it, why don't the three of you meet me over at the school after dinner? The four of us will play a game of marbles and then we'll see if you can push me on the swing."

The three children looked at the judge with their eyes as wide open as they could get and their mouths hanging open in shock. Finally Laura said, "You play marbles?"

The judge laughed. "Yes I do. I used to be quite good at it and I hope to play with my son once he's old enough. Now, I need to end this court session. Sheriff Coffee, will you and your deputy please escort Mrs. Warren to the bank and ensure she withdraws the correct amount from her account? Once she has done that, please have your deputy bring the money to me and then please escort Mrs. Warren to her house to retrieve her Bible and any needlework she wishes to have with her. After she has retrieved her Bible and needlework, please escort her to the jail where she is to remain until two weeks from Monday at one o'clock in the afternoon. One of the ladies may bring her a change of clothing later in the week if they so desire. Gentlemen of the jury, I wish to thank you for coming her from Galena in order to ensure that the defendant received a fair trial. The court will pay for your dinner at the hotel restaurant before you return to your homes. Court is adjourned."

Ben looked around the courtroom and was amused to more than half a dozen Ponderosa hands, including Pete, Dave, Joshua, and Thaddeus leaving. He was even more amused to see Hop Sing leaving the courtroom with a large kitchen knife inside his belt.

Once Roy escorted Mrs. Warren from the courtroom, Hoss hugged Cat and asked, "Do you feel better now Punkin? See we told you that nobody would hurt you while you were here."

"I feel better now but I was scared she would try and hurt me again. Thanks for sitting with me so she couldn't hurt me any more. Is she really gonna be in jail for two whole weeks?"

"Not only is she going to be in jail for the next two weeks," said Ben as he handed Cat her moccasins. "She's not allowed to be anywhere near you forever. If you're in Mr. McLeod's store, she's not allowed to go inside while you're there. But that doesn't mean you can stay in there for a long time just to keep her from coming in. I still expect you to be the polite little girl you are, finish your business and leave so Mrs. Warren can go into the store and do her shopping. Also, if you go to the store and Mrs. Warren is inside, you need to wait until she leaves before you go in. If she goes over to the school while you're there, go inside the school and tell your teacher. She can send someone to get Roy."

Before he could say anything else, a voice from behind him said, "Hello Ben. I thought Hoss was the only family member who brought strays home. Now it seems as though you're following in your son's footsteps."

Ben's smile grew very large as he recognized the voice. He turned around and grabbed the shoulders of the man standing in front of him. "Sam Clemens. I thought I saw you sitting off to the side. How are you? When did you get into town? It's been too long since we've seen you. I hope you're going to stick around for a while. Let me introduce you to the littlest Cartwright. Cat, this is Mr. Sam Clemens. He's an old family friend. Sam, this is my daughter Catherine. The family calls her Wild Cat. Hoss says that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame and I've come to realize just how right he was when he said that."

"Hello Catherine. It's a pleasure to meet you. You did a very good job telling your story today. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I hope that woman never bothers you again."

"Thank you Mr. Clemens. You can call me Cat. Everybody does."

"Ok. I'll call you Cat if you'll call me Sam."

"Sam, why don't you join the family and some friends for dinner at the International? We can do some catching up there and I hope that you'll come out to the Ponderosa while you're here."

"I'd love to do both Ben. I got into town on Monday and when I heard about the trial, I told Dan DeQuill over at the Territorial Enterprise that I'd cover it for him. He was more than happy to have me do it. I'll see you over at the International." He walked out of the courtroom with Adam, Hoss, and Joe.

Ben looked at Cat and said, "Now, while your brothers go over to the hotel and get tables for us and all of our friends so we can eat dinner, you and I are going for a short walk." Before Cat can ask where and why, Ben says, "Don't ask where or why because it's a surprise and I know you like surprises." They walked over to the general store where Mr. McLeod was waiting for them. "Hello George. I've come for that special item I asked you to hold for me."

"I thought you would which is why I'm here instead of over at the restaurant with everybody else. I have it behind the counter. Give me a minute to unlock the door and I'll get it for you." Ben and Cat followed him into the store. He went behind the counter, retrieved a package and gave it to Ben.

"Thank you George. I appreciate you keeping this for me. Now, let's go and get some dinner. I believe that Cat, Laura, and Mike have an important game of marbles to play after we finish eating."

"Do you think that Hoss will leave any food for us?" asked Cat.

"The restaurant has a lot of food. Hoss can't eat that much," laughed Ben.

Once everybody had placed their order, Ben stood up, cleared his throat, and said, "Catherine, I want everyone to know just much I love you and how proud I am of you. You were very afraid that you would be attacked again and you had every right to be. You could have refused to tell your story and nobody would have blamed you, but you didn't. You got up in the witness chair and told your story like a very brave little girl. I bought this and asked Mr. McLeod to keep it for me until I thought you were ready to have it. You showed me today that you are more than ready to have this."

Ben handed the package Mr. McLeod had given him to Cat. When she opened the package, her eyes got as big as dinner plates. Inside the package was the knife she had been looking at but some changes had been made to it. The handle had the Ponderosa brand and a wild cat carved into it and the sheath had the same things burned into it. " ** _WOW!_** Gee thanks Pa. This is really swell."

"You're welcome Kitten. I thought you might like it. I'm glad you do. Your brothers and I will teach you how to take care of it. It isn't much different than taking care of your father's sword and we'll use an old axe head to teach you how to sharpen it. Not even I can ruin an old axe head and, as your brothers can tell you, I've tried several times." Cat giggled at the thought of Ben trying to ruin an old axe head.

While everybody was looking at Cat's new knife, the jury foreman walked up to Ben and introduced himself. He told Ben that the members of the jury were very impressed with Cat's testimony and behavior during the trial. He said that they didn't believe Mrs. Warren's testimony at all and were quite shocked by her attitude. He also said that while they understood the judge's decision, they were sorry that the woman wouldn't be going to prison for what she did. Before returning to the table with the other jury members, he told Ben that if he ever had the occasion to visit Galena, they hoped that Ben would bring Cat with him.

While the Cartwrights, their friends, and the jury were having dinner, Roy and Clem took Mrs. Warren to the bank so she could get the money to pay her fine. Clem took the money to the judge while Roy took Mrs. Warren to her house. When she started gathering clothes, books, needlework, knitting, and anything else she could think of to bring, Roy said, "The judge said your Bible and your needlework, nothing else. I don't have room in my jail for all of that stuff. If one of the ladies feels like it, they can bring you a change of clothes next week. Consider yourself lucky if they do because most people staying in my jail don't get that luxury. Now get your Bible and your needlework. It's dinner time, I'm hungry and don't want to waste a lot of time here when there's no need to and don't you dare complain about the food I bring you. It's what the town pays for and you'll have to eat it or go hungry. If you want something better, you'll have to take it up with the town council at their next meeting." Roy took a protesting Mrs. Warren by the arm and escorted her out of her house and over to the jail. Roy had hung several blankets between two of the cells and tied them along the sides and bottom so nobody could move them and look into the other cell. He had also moved the bunks in the two cells so they were against the far walls. He opened the door to one and told Mrs. Warren to enter it.

Mrs. Warren took one look at the cell and started complaining loudly. " **I am not going into that cage and you can't make me! I am leaving here right now and returning to my home! That brat deserved everything I gave her and more! I am leaving here right now and you are not going to stop me!** "

She started to leave but Roy blocked her exit. "Mrs. Warren, you were convicted of assaulting and injuring Catherine Cartwright. You were also convicted of perjury and contempt of court. Be glad the judge didn't send you to prison. The conditions in prison are much worse than they are here and you probably wouldn't survive more than a month. If I have to force you to enter that cell, I will report your lack of cooperation to the judge and he will most likely increase your sentence. He may even change his mind about sending you to prison. My deputy will be back in a few minutes and if necessary, the two of us will force you to enter the cell and we won't be none too gentle about it either."

" **I am a lady and will not tolerate being treated this way. You will not lay a hand on me. I will have you fired if you do!** "

"Mrs. Warren, you cannot have me fired. I was elected by the citizens of this town and hope to be reelected in the next election. You are my prisoner and will remain so until two weeks from Monday unless the judge decides otherwise. Now you can either enter that cell by yourself or when he returns, my deputy and I will carry you in and then I will let the judge know about your refusal to cooperate." Mrs. Warren continued refusing to enter the cell, so when Clem returned to the sheriff's office, he and Roy each grabbed her by an arm and carried her into the cell. Roy closed and locked the cell door then he and Clem walked out into the office, closing and locking the door leading to the cells behind them. "Let's go and get some food. I was going to get her food first, but she's been so uncooperative, she can wait until we're done."

"Alright, I'll meet you over at the café. The judge asked me to give Ben Cartwright a message for him so I'd better do that first."

"Alright. I'll see you in a few minutes." They left the office with Mrs. Warren locked in a cell and complaining loudly.

Clem walked into the International and spotted the Cartwrights and their friends right away. He walked up to Ben and told him that the judge wanted to see him, then took time to admire Cat's knife before going to join Roy for dinner. Ben told Adam where he was going, left the restaurant and walked over to the courthouse. The judge was waiting for him in his office and stood up when he walked in. "Thank you for coming back over here Ben. This will just take a minute and then you can get back to your dinner and I can go home to mine." He handed Ben a stack of cash. He counted it and looked at the judge with questioning in his eyes. "That's for Catherine. She's been through Hell this week and deserves every penny of it."

"But there's fifteen hundred dollars here. That's half of Millicent's fine."

"I am fully aware of how much money I handed you. I want Catherine to have it. Please don't put all of it in the bank. I would like to see her spend some of it."

"I'm trying to teach her that now that she has a family, she doesn't need to spend her own money on things she wants or needs. She's used to earning money to buy birthday and Christmas gifts for her uncle and since I have no intentions of letting my nine year old daughter hold even so much as one job, I'll put all of it in the bank for now and then I'll give her some at Christmas to spend on gifts for whomever she wants to give them to."

"That's fine. However, I'd still like you to give her a little bit of it to spend on herself. It doesn't have to be a lot. Five dollars would be plenty. I'd like to see what she spends it on. I know that you don't approve of gambling and neither do I, but I'm going to make you a little wager. I'll wager you one dime that she spends very little of it on candy and keeps most of it to spend at another time."

Ben laughed. "Alright Judge. I'll take that wager and make you another one. I've got a nickel that says Millicent is doing her best to give Roy a hard time."

The judge laughed loudly. "No deal Ben. We both know that she is. If she continues after today, I may increase her sentence by an additional week. After I finish playing with the children, I'm going to go over to the jail and see if she gave Roy that list of her relatives I instructed her to. I want to start writing to them and see if any of them would be willing to take her should it become necessary."

Ben gave him a funny look. "I still can't believe that you are going to get down on the ground and play marbles with three children and then play on the swings with them."

"I have to. David will be four in two weeks and I've got to keep in practice for when he gets older. I can't have him beating me, now can I?"

Ben shook his head and laughed. "Listening to you makes me wish I would have taken the time to play with my sons when they were little. I was traveling west by wagon train when Adam and Hoss were little and then I was busy building the Ponderosa when Joseph was little. I should have taken time to play with my boys. I'm not even sure I even know how to play with Cat."

"Don't worry about it Ben. You did the best you could. That's all any of us can do. I don't know that you need to spend a lot of time playing with her. If you've got a swing in the yard, I'm sure she'd love to have you push her on it. Just spend time with Cat and do things she likes to do. Above all, be patient with her as she learns to adjust to having a family and having new rules to follow. Now, I don't want to keep you from your dinner any longer. Do what you think is best with that money but please give a little bit to Catherine today."

"Alright Judge. I'll give her five dollars and see what she does with it. I have a feeling she's going to want to put it toward her uncle's birthday gift. She's buying him a new saddle that costs forty dollars and she has twenty three dollars saved up so far."

"She's a sweet child Ben and you're lucky to have her. Remember, she's been through Hell since Sunday so for the next few days, go easy on her if she breaks any rules. I don't know anything about her, but some children who have been through similar things can act out. If she does, at first, just comfort her and remind her that she is loved and safe. If she continues after a few days, start with mild punishment and then move to more severe if it is warranted. I'm speaking from experience here Ben. I was twelve and my sister was nine when two men broke into our house. They robbed it and tried to take my sister with them. I was able to get hold of a rifle and shot both of them. They didn't die but they were sentenced to long prison terms. My sister was traumatized and started acting out. The steps I described to you are what my parents did with Rachel. It took two or three weeks, but she eventually went back to being the sweet little girl we all loved. Now, go back to your dinner before everyone else eats and is ready to leave."

"I don't think I'll have any problems in that regard. Remember, Catherine was standing next to her mother when she was killed and the only problems we've had are nightmares. I'll see you at the schoolhouse after dinner."

Since Ben didn't want to go to the bank before he ate and he didn't want anyone to know he was carrying a large amount of cash on him, he pulled one of his boots off, and put the money the judge had given him inside it before putting it back on. Then he walked back to the hotel where dinner was just being served. He took a five dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to Cat. "The judge asked me to give this to you. It's part of the fine Mrs. Warren paid. He gave me more and that's going into your bank account but he wanted you to have a little bit of it for you."

Cat took the money and said, "Gee thanks Pa." She counted on her fingers and said, "Now I have twenty eight dollars toward Uncle Matt's saddle. I only need…"

Cat struggled trying to do the math in her head when Adam said, "How much more do you need to have thirty dollars?"

Cat counted on her fingers. "Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty. I need two dollars more."

"That's right. Now when you have thirty dollars, how much more will you need to have forty dollars?"

"That one's easy. I'll need ten more dollars."

"Very good. So if you need two more dollars to have thirty dollars and another ten to have forty, how much do you need altogether?"

Cat smiled when she realized she knew the answer. "I need twelve more dollars before I have enough money to buy the saddle for Uncle Matt."

"Excellent. You did a good job figuring that out. Would you have been able to figure that out if you had a piece of paper and a pencil?"

"Yes. I can do addition and subtraction on my slate or with a pencil and paper. I have trouble with multiplication and get confused trying to do arithmetic in my head."

"That's alright. It will come with time and practice. Here's our food so let's eat. I believe you, Laura, and Mike have an important game of marbles after dinner. You won't be able to win if you're hungry."

Cat was surprised at Adam's statement. Nobody had ever expressed an interest in her marbles games before and she never expected someone to have someone say they thought she would win.

After dinner, everyone walked over to the school to watch the game between the judge and the three children. The judge took one look at all of the adults and said, "Shoo. This is between me and these three children. We don't need you getting in the way and distracting us. Go find something else to do. Talk or better yet, go and spend your money on these three. They deserve to be spoiled. We'll let you know when we're done. Now shoo and let us play. Scat!" He waved his arms at the adults as though he was chasing chickens. "Now, how do you children decide who's going to go first?"

The children were surprised that an adult really wanted to play with them and just looked at each other for a minute when the judge asked his question. "We go by birthdays," answered Mike. "My birthday is in January so I go first. Laura's birthday is in February so she goes second and Cat's is in June so she goes third. If we play more than one game, the one who went second in the last game goes first."

"Well, it looks like I'll be going last because my birthday is in August. Go ahead Mike. Take your first shot." The judge and the three children played marbles for a while and when the game was over, Cat had won, Mike finished second, Laura finished third, and the judge finished last. After they finished playing marbles, the judge pushed each of the children on one of the swings and then the three of them pushed him, laughing the entire time.

While the judge and the children were playing, the adults walked back to the International so they could sit and talk. While they were walking, Ben said, "George, how much do I owe you for the work you had done on Catherine's knife and when did you have time to have it done?"

"You don't owe me anything Ben. I had it done because I wanted to make it special just for her. To be honest, that's not the same knife Cat was looking at yesterday. I got them in last week and thought she would like that one so I had it done up special for her then. I was just waiting for the perfect time to get you to buy it for her."

"You shouldn't be spoiling my daughter like that."

"I'm not spoiling her Ben and you know it. I got several of those knives in the last shipment so I just had that one done special for Cat so there would be no mistaking whose knife it was. Besides that, even if I was spoiling her, it wouldn't hurt her a bit. She's had a rough time of it and deserves a little spoiling. I remember all of the things you bought for her when you first brought her home and realized that she didn't have much. Now, the judge did tell us to spend some money on those three children, so why don't we go over to my store and see what we can find for them? It doesn't have to be anything big or expensive, maybe just a toy or two for each of them. Whatever we decide on for Laura, I'll buy the same thing or things for her sister, Mary since she wasn't here today."

"That's very nice of you George," said Paul. "I'm sure Mary will appreciate it. Although, depending on what we decide on, Mary may appreciate a doll more. She doesn't like getting down on the ground and playing the way those three over at the school do."

"That's alright. We'll figure something out and I know those three will be very happy with whatever we get them. Since Christmas is only four months away, I'm thinking just one or two small toys each right now and you can look in my catalogs to get ideas for Christmas gifts."

Ben walked over to the bank and deposited the money the judge had given him into Cat's bank account. Then he joined everybody else at the general store. They looked around and finally decided on a yo-yo and top each for Cat, Laura, and Mike. Then they picked out a nice doll for Mary and a rag doll for Carrie. Once the purchases were totaled, it was decided that each family present would contribute an equal amount of money toward the toys. After looking through catalogs and getting ideas for Christmas gifts, everyone walked back to the school to see who had won the game of marbles. The adults all had a good laugh at the sight of the three children pushing the judge on the swing. The judge saw the other adults and told Laura, Mike, and Cat to stop pushing him. He hugged all three children, told them he hadn't had that much fun in a long time and then said, "Let's go and see if those grown ups listen as well as the three of you do."

The four of them walked up to the group of adults who laughed when the judge admitted he had lost a game of marbles to three children. They gave the tops and yo-yos to Mike, Laura, and Cat who started to run off and play with their new toys. "Hold it you three," said Mr. Devlin. "It's getting late and we have a long ride to make before we get home. You can play with your new toys another day but right now, we need to start for home."

The Millers, Longs, Martins, and McLeods said goodbye to the Devlins and Cartwrights. Once they left, Ben turned to Mr. Devlin and said, "Dan, why don't you and your family join us for supper on the Ponderosa? It's been a long day and I'm sure that Mary will appreciate not having to cook tonight. Joe and Mitch can ride ahead and tell Charles and Caroline that Laura will be having supper with us. Then they can let Hop Sing know we're having company for supper and help him in the kitchen." The Devlins agreed so Ben sent Joe and Mitch ahead to talk to the Ingalls and start helping Hop Sing fix supper.

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 **a/n** $3,000 in today's currency would be $52,486.39


	63. Chapter 63

As they were getting ready to leave town, Ben asked Adam to please go over to the newspaper office and invite Sam Clemens to supper and to tell him to plan on spending several nights on the Ponderosa. Adam rode over to the newspaper office and returned a few minutes later. He said that Sam was going to finish his article about the trial and would ride out to the Ponderosa when it was finished. On the ride home, Mike asked, "How come you didn't bring your puppies today Cat?"

"I wanted to but Pa made me leave them at home. He said that the courtroom would be too crowded and there wouldn't be anywhere for them to lay down without getting stepped on. He also said they need to get used to not being with me all the time because I can't take them to school with me."

"That's a shame. It would have been nice if you could have had them with you when you told what Mrs. Warren did to you."

"Too bad you can't bring them to school," said Laura. "It would be lots of fun to have them there."

"And that's precisely why she can't take them to school. You children would be busy playing with the puppies instead of doing your school work." That statement was greeted by three sighs causing Ben to laugh.

When everyone arrived at the Cartwright's house, there was still time before supper, so Cat, Laura, and Mike spent time playing with their new toys and Cat's puppies. Sam Clemens arrived at about five forty five and was introduced to the Devlins and Laura. During supper, Mitch asked Cat if she was still going to the dance on Saturday night. "I want to but I don't know if everyone else is going. If they don't go, will you take me?"

"Of course we're going," said Ben before Mitch could answer. "We always go to the dances."

After supper, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Little girls and little boy stay at table. Lest of family clear table." He pointed at Mitch and said, "You family and help clear table too."

"Of course I will Hop Sing. That was a wonderful meal and I wouldn't dream of not helping to clean up after."

Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Mitch got up from the table and started clearing it. Hop Sing looked at Ben and said, "You head of family. You help clear table too."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'll help." He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Devlin and said, "As you can see, I may own the Ponderosa, but Hop Sing is really in charge."

While the table was being cleared, Mrs. Devlin said, "Hop Sing, those biscuits were wonderful. They tasted better than the ones you fixed the last time we dined here. I know I won't be able to fix them as well as you did, but please give me your recipe."

"Hop Sing happy to give you recipe. Come to Pondelosa any time and I show you what I do."

"You can count on it. I'll probably come over sometime next week."

Once the table had been cleared and everyone was sitting down again, Hop Sing brought out a fresh pot of coffee for the adults and a fresh pitcher of milk for the children. Then he brought a large chocolate cake out and gave a very large piece to Cat before serving everyone else. Hoss looked across the table at Cat's piece of cake and said, "That's an awfully big piece of cake little sister. In fact, it's almost as big as you are. That's too much for you to eat all at once, so you should switch pieces with me." He began to reach across the table and Cat picked up her fork and held it, ready to stab her brother's hand if he tried to take her piece of cake.

"You touch my piece of cake and Dr. Paul is going to have to dig this fork out of your hand. The last person that tried to take my food ended up with a sharp knife and lots of stitches in his hand and I was only six then. I didn't get to eat like this much when I was in Dodge and ain't nobody gonna take my food away from me even if you are my brother!"

Mike and Laura stood up. "You might be bigger than us Hoss, but Laura and me ain't gonna let you take Cat's cake away from her. You'll have to fight all three of us to get it!"

"Alright, that's enough!" exclaimed Ben. "Hoss, you know better than to try and take anyone's food away from them. Hop Sing wouldn't give your sister more than he thought she could eat. Laura, Cat, Mike, would you like more milk?"

"Yes please," came three replies.

"The pitcher is full, so if you'll pass your glasses to me, I'll pour for you." Three glasses were passed to Ben along with three Thank Yous when they were passed back.

After dessert was finished, everyone took their drinks into the great room. Adam played his guitar and everyone talked and sang until Mr. Devlin noticed the three children having a hard time staying awake. "Ben, thank you for dinner today and a wonderful meal tonight. It's been too long since we've done anything like this. We need to start for home as these three youngsters are having a hard time staying awake. If you'll give Mary those dolls for Laura's sisters, we'll take her home and leave the dolls with Charles and Caroline and tell them why Laura has a yo-yo and a top and why her sisters have new dolls." Everyone walked outside and Joe and Mitch got the Devlin's horses from the barn. Once Dan, Mary, and Mitch were mounted, Adam handed Laura to Dan and Hoss handed Mike to his brother and the Devlins rode out of the yard.

Ben picked Cat up and carried her over to the outhouse. Then he carried her back into the house where all three of her brothers and Hop Sing hugged her and said goodnight. "I don't think she'll stay awake long enough to read tonight Joe. In fact, I'm willing to bet that she'll be asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow."

The rest of the family looked at Cat who was almost asleep with her head on Ben's shoulder and said quietly, "No bet. She'll be asleep before you get half way up the stairs."

Ben chuckled, knowing they were right. Cat was asleep before they reached the second floor. He sat her down on her bed, got her night clothes out and proceeded to get her ready for bed. He took her dress of and said, "I'll put this in the laundry and Hop Sing can wash it tomorrow. That way it will be clean if you want to wear it to the dance on Saturday night." Ben chuckled as Cat mumbled something unintelligible and finished getting her ready for bed. Once she was in her night clothes, he kissed and hugged her goodnight, put her and her puppies in bed, covered them up and blew out the lamp. When he left the room, he left the door part way open so everyone could hear if she had a nightmare and went back downstairs. Ben no sooner reached the bottom of the stairs when someone knocked on the front door so he walked over and opened it. "Hello Pete. What brings you to the house this late?"

"Sorry to disturb you so late but I wanted to wait until your company left. Dave and Josh were working in the south pasture when they noticed the pond there was low and not getting any water. It was getting late when they noticed it so they didn't have time to find out why. It was almost dark when they got back here. I didn't want to interrupt your supper because nobody can do anything about it until morning."

"Thank you Pete. I'll have Adam, Hoss, and Joe check it out in the morning. They can take their sister with them so she can start learning what it takes to run a ranch this size. I am curious, was anybody on the ranch this morning or was everybody at the trial?"

"Pete laughed. I figured you saw us. Only ten of us went to town this morning. Everybody else stayed here. The cattle, chickens and horses wanted to come and were upset when we told them that there wasn't enough room for them. That little black colt tried following us too. We finally had to put him in the house with the puppies. When we saw Hop Sing with that big knife, we kept him in the back with us so he wouldn't decide to use it on Mrs. Warren."

Ben laughed at Pete's description of the livestock wanting to attend the trial. "I hope you cleaned up the house after that black colt before Hop Sing got home. I saw the size of the knife he had with him."

"Don't worry boss. Some of us rode home real fast, got that colt back with its mama and cleaned up after it long before Hop Sing got back here. None of us wants Hop Sing mad at us, especially when he's carrying a big knife."

"That's a very good thing. I'd hate to see some of my best hands laid up because they made Hop Sing angry when he was carrying a big knife. Tell the men thank you for attending the trial. I'm positive Cat noticed you were there and between you, Hop Sing, and Hoss, she felt safe."

"I'm glad we were able to make things a little easier for her. I know you've had a long day so I'll see you tomorrow. Give Cat a hug for me."

"Will do Pete. Have a good night."

Ben walked back into the great room to find his eldest and youngest sons in a heated argument with their brother. "I can't believe you tried to take Cat's dessert," said Joe. "What were you thinking?"

"Yes brother," said Adam. "Please tell us what you were thinking when you decided to get our sister upset again. Wasn't she upset enough earlier that you had to add to it?"

"I agree," said Ben. "Please tell us what you were thinking when you tried to take your sister's dessert. It's bad enough that you tried to do it when we had company, but to get your sister all upset again after what she went through today was a terrible thing to do. I'm going to leave part of your punishment up to Hop Sing since he was the one who gave Catherine such a large piece of cake. However, beginning on Monday, you will be doing your sister's chores for the next two weeks. In fact, Joseph, you no longer have to do your sister's chores. Hoss will be doing them beginning tomorrow until two weeks from Sunday. I still can't believe you did that Hoss. You haven't done anything like that since you were twelve years old. So, please enlighten us and tell us what you were thinking."

"I was just tryin' to help her out. That piece of cake was too big for her to eat so I offered to swap with her."

"That piece of cake was not too big for your sister to eat. Hop Sing knows what he's doing and would not give your sister more than she could eat. Joe, would you please ask Hop Sing to come out here so your brother can tell him what he tried to do tonight?"

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and glared at Hoss. "Hop Sing know what you tly to do at suppel. Mr. Hoss vely bad boy to tly and take Missy Cat cake. You get no desselt for two weeks. Next time, you get no desselt for one month. Missy Cat already feel bad. You make her feel worse. Stalting tomorrow, you do Missy Cat chores until Hop Sing say diffelent!"

"Now Hop Sing, I was just tryin' to help little sister out. You done give her such a big piece of cake I figured she couldn't eat it all. Pa said I only have to do her chores for two weeks. Why you changin' it?"

"You fifteen yeals older than Missy Cat and know better. You not thinking of little sister. You just jealous she get bigger piece of cake than you. You do her chores until Hop Sing say diffelent."

"By the way brother," said Adam. "If you had succeeded in taking Cat's piece of cake, she would have ended up with three pieces because Joe and I would have given her ours. So she still would have had more than you."

Sam just sat in Ben's chair, chuckling to himself at Hoss getting in trouble for trying to take his sister's piece of cake.

"Alright, that's enough discussion of that subject," said Ben. "Tomorrow morning, I want the three of you to take your sister and find out why the south pasture isn't getting any water. By the time Dave and Joshua noticed the pond was going dry, it was starting to get dark and they didn't have time to look for the source of the problem." Before he could say anything else, they heard Cat cry out in the beginning of another nightmare. The four of them rushed up the stairs to be with the youngest family member while the bad dream played itself out. It was the worst nightmare Cat had experienced since moving to the Ponderosa and it took a while to get her calmed down. By the time the dream had passed, Cat was shaking like a leaf. Ben wrapped her in a blanket and held her close in his lap. Before taking her to the outhouse, he said, "Put her pillow and favorite blanket on my bed. She can spend the rest of the night there." He picked Cat up, still wrapped in the blanket and started for her bedroom door.

Lassie and Silver Chief jumped off the bed to follow, lost their footing and somersaulted over each other causing everyone to laugh at them. Hoss picked them up, put them on their feet and said, "It won't be long before the two of you are gettin' on that bed by yourselfs."

Cat was still shaking when Ben carried her outside so he left the blanket wrapped around her when he set her down inside the outhouse. When he carried her back into the house, he took her into his room and sat on his bed with her in his lap, holding her close until she stopped shaking and fell back to sleep. He put her and her puppies in his bed, covered them up, turned the lamp down low and walked out of the room, leaving the door part way open so the family could hear Cat if she had another nightmare. He walked back downstairs, sat down in his chair, and said, "Sorry Sam, but I had to take care of my daughter."

"There's nothing to apologize for Ben. The needs of a young child always take priority over company. I am concerned about those nightmares. How long has she been having them?"

"Ever since her mother was killed. That was the worst one since she moved here."

"That is totally understandable given what she's been through in the last few months, especially this week. I thought she did a remarkable job with her testimony in court this morning. I was able to see the faces of the jury and it was obvious that they completely believed her testimony. I truly hope that she never has to go through that again but I have a feeling that woman is not going to abide by her restrictions once she is released from jail. The judge may have to find a family member in another state and send her to live with them. Oh by the way, I gave Dan some money to send a rider out here with the paper once it's published in the morning. Then you'll be able to read my article about the trial."

"Thank you Sam. I appreciate you doing that. How much do I owe you for the paper and rider? Unfortunately, I believe you are correct about Millicent Warren. She believes that the rules are meant for everyone but her. My main concern is when school begins in two weeks. I'm concerned that Millicent will go to the school and try to hurt Cat again."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that Ben. After all, it is highly unlikely that Mrs. Warren will try anything when Cat has a school yard full of children to protect her and witness anything that happens. I believe that her big mistake was in thinking that a jury would believe her over a nine year old child."

"I hope you're right Sam. I really don't want to have to keep one of my hands at the school all day to protect my daughter from another attack. Well, it's getting late and we need to be up early. Let's get some sleep." They walked upstairs. Sam entered the guest room that had been prepared for him while Ben got his night clothes from his bedroom, changed in Cat's room and then returned to his own room. After ensuring that Cat was asleep, he blew out the lamp and got into bed. Cat sensed he was there, snuggled up close to him and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning while everyone was eating breakfast, Ben told Cat that she would be riding out with her brothers to find out why the south pasture wasn't getting any water. After breakfast, Cat took Sam out to the pasture and introduced Fury to him. He laughed at the colt's antics and was amazed at what Cat had taught him to do in only three weeks. They had been playing with Fury for about fifteen minutes when Joe walked out to where they were and said, "We're ready to go Cat. You need to get your hat and gloves. I've already put your saddle bags on Beauty so you don't need to worry about them." Cat started to run toward the pasture gate when Joe said, "Cat, you're not supposed to be running until tomorrow. Be glad it's me out here instead of Pa or Adam."

"Thanks Joe. Are you going to tell Pa? I really don't want to get a spanking and spend an hour standing in the corner."

"I won't tell him unless he asks. I love you but I won't lie if Pa asks me if you were running, so you had just better hope that he doesn't ask."

"Don't worry Cat. The newspaper should have come by now so I'll talk to him about my article. That way he won't think about asking Joe if you ran."

Cat hugged Sam and said, "Gee thanks Mr. Sam. That's really nice of you."

"That's alright Cat. I know it's hard for a young child like you to walk when you want to run. Just remember, you'll be able to run tomorrow so be careful today so you don't get in trouble."

"I will. I promise."

"That's a good girl. Now go with Joe and find out why that pasture isn't getting any water."

"Come on Squirt. Climb up on my back," said Joe. "That way if Pa does ask, I can honestly say you were thinking about it and that's why you're on my back. You won't get in trouble for thinking about running. As Roy likes to say, "If people got in trouble everytime they thought about doing something wrong, the jails and prisons would be full and there wouldn't be anybody to run the shops."."

Joe carried Cat back to where their brothers were waiting with the horses. Ben was there and had Cat's hat and gloves in his hands. "Why are you carrying your sister son?"

"Two reasons Pa. First, she was thinking about running and I wanted to keep her from getting in trouble and it was a lot faster to carry her. If she would have seen a rabbit or any other critter, she would have been off chasing it and we'd never get anywhere near the south pasture today."

Ben laughed. "You're right about that son. Your sister is a lot like Hoss when it comes to the wild creatures. I am concerned about her running though. How far did she get?"

Joe spread his arms apart to indicate how far Cat had run and said, "Just enough to put one foot in front of the other. She looked like she was going to take off running so I had her climb up on my back."

"Thank you for keeping your sister out of trouble Joe." He reached up, put Cat's hat on her head and said, "As for you young lady, you only have one more day before you can run. I am certain if you try hard enough, you will remember to walk instead of run. I really don't want to have to punish you for running when you'll be able to do it tomorrow without getting in trouble. Promise me that you'll think and remember not to run before tomorrow."

"I'll try Pa. Really I will."

"That's my girl. Now let's get you on your horse. You need to find out why there's no water going into that pond in the south pasture." Ben put Cat on her horse, then put her puppies and gloves in the saddle bags, and watched her ride out of the yard with her brothers. After his children had ridden out of the yard, he turned to Sam and said, "Why don't we get some coffee and sit out on the porch. It's a nice morning and we can get caught up on what's happened since we last saw each other.

"That sounds like a good idea to me. If I knew anything at all about ranch work, I would move in with you just so I could eat Hop Sing's cooking all the time."

Ben laughed. "You and half of Virginia City. I can't even begin to tell you how many people have tried to steal Hop Sing away from here."

"I can believe it. He's an excellent cook and you were extremely lucky to find him."

"You won't get any argument from me on that point."

While Ben and Sam were talking, Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Cat rode out to the south pasture. They saw the almost empty pond and the dry stream leading to it. They followed the stream bed to a small lake north of Lake Tahoe and found a beaver dam right where the stream left the lake, causing the water to back up behind it. "Joe, ride back to the house and get some dynamite and long fuses," said Adam. "I'm going to get rid of these beavers once and for all."

"Why do you need dynamite?" asked Cat.

"Because I want to blow up this beaver dam and the lodges so I can get rid of them. They are a nuisance."

"You said a cuss word and I'm tellin' Pa. If you blow up the beaver's house, you'll kill them."

"That's exactly what I intend to do. They're pests."

"You can't kill the beavers. I won't let you and I'm still tellin' Pa that you said a cuss word."

"Exactly how do you plan on stopping me from blowing up that beaver dam and the lodges? You're too small to do much of anything."

Hoss and Joe stood together near their horses, laughing at how angry their sister was getting about Adam wanting to blow up the beaver dam and kill the beavers. "Watch me. They're my beavers and I'm not going to let you kill them!" With that, she ran to the water's edge and climbed up on top of the dam, followed by her puppies. "You can't blow up the beaver's houses now because if you do, I'll get hurt. So will Silver Chief and Lassie and Pa will kill you."

Adam sighed loudly while Joe and Hoss kept laughing. "Get off of there now! We have to get rid of the beavers. The cattle in the south pasture need water."

"I don't care. You're not gonna to kill my beavers!"

"How are we supposed to get water to that pasture so the cattle don't die."

"I don't care. You're an arkitekt. You went to college and are supposed to be smart. You figure it out."

"That's architect and I am also an engineer."

"You're not an engineer. You don't drive a train. Now I'm going to tell Pa that you said a cuss word and told a lie."

"There are different kinds of engineers little sister. There are engineers that drive trains and there are engineers that build things like bridges and buildings."

"Oh ok. But I'm still not gonna let you kill my beavers."

"I should just pull you off of there and set your bottom on fire."

"You can't 'cause Pa will get mad at you. I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just sittin' here to keep you from murdering my beavers."

Adam sighed again and looked at his brothers. "Any suggestions?"

"No older brother," said Joe, laughing the entire time. "As little sister said, you went to college and are supposed to be smart. You should be able to figure it out."

"No," said Hoss. "But ya gotta admit that little sister shore is cute sittin' up there on top of that beaver dam. She's right. She ain't doin' anythin' wrong and you know we're not allowed to spank her."

Adam sighed. "Yes she is cute, but she's also a royal pain in the neck. The cattle need water but I can't get rid of the beaver dam because she's sitting on top of it. Do you suppose the two of you can stop laughing long enough to take a look around and see if you can help me figure something out?"

"Shore, we can do that. Come on Joe. Older brother needs our help." The three brothers mounted their horses and started riding around the lake. They found another stream coming from the lake that was flowing in the general direction of the pasture before curving away from it.

"How about this stream Adam?" asked Joe. "Why can't we make this one meet up with the one the beavers have blocked?"

"Because that one is flowing to a good, healthy stand of timber we may need in the future."

"Ok," said Hoss. "But how about ifn we put a fork in it? Then part of it will go to the timber and part of it will go to the pasture. Also, there's no trees on this side of the lake so the beavers can't block it and ifn we have it join with the dry stream far enough away from the lake, the beavers won't be able to block it between here and the pasture."

"That might work, but how are we going to get that channel made? We can't use dynamite and Cat won't come off that beaver dam until she knows it's safe."

"I guess we'll have to dig it out by hand," said Joe. "That means one of us is going to have to ride back to the house and get a bunch of hands with shovels. Pa will probably want to see Cat sitting on that beaver dam himself. I'm sure he and Sam would enjoy a good laugh. Too bad we don't have a way to get a picture of it."

"Alright, you two keep an eye on little sister and make sure she doesn't fall in. I'll ride back to the house and have Pete round up as many hands as he can. I'll tell Pa and Sam what's happening and get my sketch book at the same time. We won't have a photograph of Cat but I can draw her sitting on that dam." Adam mounted Sport and rode off toward the house. When he reached the yard, he walked into the bunkhouse and said, "Pete, I need at least eight hands with shovels to go out to the small lake that's just north of Lake Tahoe. Make sure that Frank is not among them. You should come too and bring Joshua and Thaddeus. The three of you are going to want to see this. So is Pa."

"Ok Adam. I'll round up as many hands as I can including Joshua and Thaddeus. What's going on? Why do you need the hands with shovels?"

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling you. All I'll say is that Hoss and Joe were still laughing when I rode back here."

Adam left the bunkhouse and walked into the house. Ben was surprised to see him. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. Did you find the source of the problem?"

"Yes we did. There is a beaver dam blocking it."

"Well, that should be easy to get rid of. Just break or blow it up."

"We can't. There is a problem…"

"What kind of problem would keep you from destroying a beaver dam?"

"Why don't you and Sam come with me? Then you can see the problem for yourself. I think you'll think it's just as funny as my brothers do. I certainly don't." Adam walked upstairs to get his sketch book.

"That sounds interesting Ben. I'd like to ride out and see what he's talking about."

"Alright Sam. I would like to see what's got him so upset and causing his brothers to be amused." Adam came back downstairs carrying his sketchbook and pencils. Ben looked at him and asked, "Why do you need your sketch book Adam?"

"You'll see when we get out there. I don't want to spoil your surprise." He walked out of the house and put his sketch book and pencils in his saddle bags. Then he walked over to the tool shed, took some string and three shovels out, tied the shovels together and then tied them to his saddle horn. Then he put the string in his saddle bags, walked back into the barn, saddled Ben's and Sam's horses and led them out to the hitching rail. His father and Sam joined him a few minutes later and the three of them rode off toward the lake.

As they approached the lake, Sam spotted Cat sitting on top of the beaver dam and said, "Ben, do you see what I see? That must be Adam's problem."

"I see it but I'm not sure if I believe it or not. Adam, is that your problem son?"

"Yes it is! I have better things to do with my time than cater to a nine year old's whims! She's pulling at least eight hands off their jobs and creating a lot of extra work by her actions. I've half a mind to pull her off of there and blow that thing and the beavers to kingdom come."

"You need to learn to relax son. Your sister has been through Hell in these last three months and this week was extremely hard on her. Do you have any idea what it will do to her if you do pull her off the dam and blow it up? If you think if her nightmare was bad last night, go ahead and follow through with your plans and see how bad tonight's is. Then you may as well help her pack her things and take her back to Dodge because she won't be able to trust us to take care of her. The ranch won't fall apart because several hands are going to do something here instead of their other jobs. I don't remember you being this upset when Joseph was nine and did something similar."

"You weren't there and I was plenty upset. If he hadn't run for home with his tail between his legs, I would have blistered it for him! I didn't have time for that nonsense then and I don't have time for it now!"

"Well now I know why he came home several times saying that you were going to kill him. We'll talk about that later. Now settle down and relax before Sam gets the idea that you don't like your sister and youngest brother. Several hours of lost work won't hurt the ranch and you know it. You're just frustrated because your sister is protecting animals that you consider to be a nuisance. Remember, God created animals, including beavers, before He created man." They rode up to the lake and dismounted. Adam took his sketch book out of his saddle bags and started drawing his sister on the beaver dam. Ben and Sam walked up to the water's edge, looked at Cat and her puppies and started laughing. "What are you doing up there Kitten?"

"I'm keepin' Adam from killing the beavers. They're my beavers and I'm not gonna let him murder them!"

"Well now, when did you get pet beavers?"

"When we got here and Adam said he wanted to murder them. I'll name them as soon as I see them."

"I hope you realize that you can't bring the beavers home. They won't be happy out of the water and have to live here. How long do you plan on sitting there?"

"Until I'm sure that Adam isn't going to murder my beavers, even if it takes all night."

"What if Adam promises not to hurt them."

"I don't trust him. Little Joe says that he doesn't always keep his promises. He'll kill my beavers as soon as I get on the ground."

Sam, Joe, and Hoss stood there laughing while Ben tried convincing Cat to get off the beaver dam. Pete rode up with ten hands including Thaddeus and Joshua. Since most of them had known Cat since she was five, they joined in the laughter when they saw her and her puppies sitting on a beaver dam. "She sure is cute Ben," said Pete. "I think everyone else agrees with me. Josh, Thad, are you starting to learn why the family calls her Wild Cat?"

"Yes we are," laughed Joshua. "I agree. She is cute sitting up there. But why is she there?"

"She's keeping Adam from blowing up the dam and beaver lodges," replied Ben. She has decided that the beavers are her pets and is bound and determined to protect them from her brother at all costs. Adam is sketching her now but I wish there was a way to get a photograph of her. The rest of the family won't believe this."

"Perhaps I can help," said a voice behind Ben who jumped at the sound of a strange voice behind him. He turned around and saw a older tall, thin man with a small enclosed wagon. "Please allow me to introduce myself," said the man. "My name is Abel Goss and I am a photographer. I was trying to find Mr. Ben Cartwright and the Ponderosa ranch when I took a wrong turn and ended up here."

Ben shook Abel's hand and said, "I'm Ben Cartwright and you are on the Ponderosa."

"That is excellent. I am a friend of Lucas McCain. I just came from Northfork. He said that you had adopted your niece and might be interested in having a family portrait done. It would seem that my wrong turn was fortuitous. Please allow me to retrieve my camera equipment from my wagon and I will be more than happy to photograph the little girl, whom I assume is your new daughter. May I ask what she is doing sitting on that beaver dam?" Ben told him and he started laughing. "Lucas said she was high spirited and I can see that he was correct."

As Abel started getting his camera equipment out of the wagon, Ben asked, "Will you be able to make more than one copy of the photograph?"

"Oh yes. I will be able to make as many copies as you need."

Pete walked up to Adam just as he finished his drawing of Cat and said, "I've got ten hands here and everyone has a shovel. What do you want us to do?"

"Give me a few minutes and I'll show you." He put his sketch book back in his saddle bags, too the string out, picked several small sticks up off the ground and walked over to the other stream. Using his shovel, he pounded two sticks in the ground and tied a piece of string to each stick and walked back toward the blocked stream, stopping two times to put more sticks in the ground and wrap the string around them. Once he had his desired channel marked, He showed Pete what he needed done, grabbed his shovel and said, "Hoss, Joe, grab some shovels and lend a hand. We have better things to do than stand out here all day and watch our sister sit on a beaver dam."

"Go on boys," said Ben. "Help Adam and the hands. I'll keep an eye on your sister to make sure she stays safe."

Hoss and Joe grabbed shovels but before joining Adam and the hands, they walked up to their father to talk with him for a minute. "Me and Joe were talkin' an' we figure there's something important you need to know."

"Oh, what is that?"

"Adam threatened to pull Cat off that dam and set her bottom on fire," replied Joe.

"Yeah," added Hoss. "He's real mad she won't let him blow it up and kill the beavers. We had to remind him she's not doin' anythin' wrong and we're not allowed to spank her."

"I don't want him treating Cat like he treated me when I was a boy," said Joe. "If he does, we'll lose her for sure."

"Thank you boys. I appreciate you telling me that. I had already planned on having a talk with Adam about how he reacted to your sister today. Now it appears I need to remind him that he is not allowed to do more than give her a swat if she's misbehaving, which she is not. Go and help your brother before his mood gets worse. I'll talk with him later."


	64. Chapter 64

Abel Goss set up his camera equipment and took several pictures of Cat and her puppies sitting on the beaver dam. He also took a picture of the men digging the channel to connect the two streams. When he finished, he put his camera equipment back into the wagon and returned with three photographs that he handed to Ben. "Lucas asked me to give these to your daughter."

Ben looked at the pictures. One was of Lucas, one was of Mark and the third was of both of them together with Mark standing in front of his father. "Those are very nice Abel. I am quite sure that Catherine will enjoy seeing them. I will have to buy some frames so she can hang them on one of her bedroom walls or keep them on her chest of drawers. "Lucas was right. I would like to have a family portrait done."

"I will be more than happy to do a family portrait as well as portraits of each individual family member. In fact, I will do two family portraits and two individual portraits of everyone. One with everybody in work clothes and one with everybody in dress clothes."

"Thank you Mr. Goss. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing that. Saturday before we leave for the dance or Sunday after church would probably be the best time to do the portraits of everyone in dress clothes. Once we get back to the house, I'll have a room made up for you and you will be welcome to stay as long as you care to."

"Thank you Mr. Cartwright. I gladly accept your offer."

"Please call me Ben."

"Alright, Ben it is. Please call me Abel. A comfortable bed and home cooked meals are pleasures I do not enjoy very often while traveling around the country. If you don't mind, I am going to wait until we get to your house before I develop these negatives. It takes time to do, especially if you want more than one print from each negative and I don't know how long we're going to be here."

"That's fine Abel. We'll find a good spot in the yard to park your wagon and you can develop your negatives whenever you want to. I am looking forward to seeing those photographs."

The men worked on digging the channel for several hours when Adam said, "Hoss, go and get Cat so she can see what we're doing. I know that Pa's watching her on that dam, but I'd feel better if she were off it."

"Shore thing Adam. I'll be back with little sister in a few minutes." Hoss walked over to where Cat was sitting on the beaver dam and said, "Come her Punkin. I need to show you somethin'."

"But Adam will hurt my beavers if I get off here."

"No he won't. I promise you that I won't let him do anything to the beavers."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Who's bigger, me or Adam?"

"You are."

"That's right and if he tries to do anything to the beavers, I'll pick him up and throw him in the lake."

"Ok. I'll come with you but if Adam tries to hurt my beavers, I'm gonna kick him in the shins."

"Little sister, if Adam tries to hurt your beavers, I'll let you wear my boots when you kick him."

Ben, Sam, and Abel stood there laughing as Hoss tried to coax his little sister of the dam. Cat sent her puppies to Hoss and then climbed off the dam and walked over to her brother.

"I sure hope she's not going to go back up on that thing," said Ben. "I'm sure the beavers did a good job building it and Cat doesn't weigh all that much, but I worry about her sitting up on it."

"You wouldn't be a very good parent if you weren't worried about it," said Abel.

Sam agreed. "Ben I've known you for a lot of years and you worry about your sons all the time. Even though I sometimes think you worry too much, that's what makes you such a good parent. It wouldn't matter if that dam was ten feet wide, you would still worry about Cat sitting on it and that just means that you love and care about her enough to want to make sure she's safe. Knowing you, you're probably going to want to go to school with her to keep the other kids from picking on her because she's adopted."

Ben laughed. "You know me too well Sam. You're right. It is tempting to go to school with her so I can keep the other children from picking on her."

Cat took Hoss' hand and they walked over to where the men were working. While they were walking, he said, "I'm sorry I got you so upset at supper last night. I wasn't really gonna take your piece of cake. If anything, I would have given you mine too. I was just tryin' to get your mind off Mrs. Warren and the trial."

"I know. You teased me like that before. I reckon I was just too tired to know what you were doin'. I'm sorry I got mad at you."

"That's alright. People get grumpy and don' think right when they're real tired. Now little sister, you've got to stop talkin' like me. You've got to start usin' proper grammar. Ifn you don't, you'll get bad grades in school and Pa will be mad at you. Also, Pa and Adam will keep correctin' your grammar until it makes you mad enough to scream and I don't want that to happen 'cause you could lose your temper and get in trouble for it. Here we are. I'll let Adam tell ya what we're doin'."

Adam looked at his sister, shook his head and sighed at the extra work she was causing. "We are digging a channel to connect the stream the beavers blocked with their dam to another stream coming out of the lake on that side." He pointed to where the other stream was coming out of the lake. "This channel is deep enough to bring water from one stream to the other but still have water in the other stream going to where it's needed. This way, the cattle will still get water and your beavers can stay where they are."

"You mean you're not going to murder my beavers?"

"No little sister. You and those beavers are making us do a lot of extra work, but your beavers will not be harmed. Now, it's almost dinner time. Why don't you and Pa ride back to the house and see if Hop Sing will make sandwiches for everybody? That way we can go back to work right after dinner and it will only take us a few more hours to finish."

"How come there isn't any water in it yet?"

"Because it's very hard to dig in the mud. If we dig in the dry ground, we can make sure we don't dig too deep."

"Oh. Ok. I'll go and ask Pa about asking Hop Sing to make dinner for everybody."

Cat started to run off when Adam grabbed her, gave her a light swat and said, "No running until tomorrow Cat. You've only got half a day to go. I know that you can do it if you try hard enough. You don't want Pa to punish you for running when you've only got half a day to go, now do you?"

"No I don't, but it's hard not running."

"I understand but Paul just wants to make sure your rib is completely healed. If you fall when you're running, you could get hurt worse and then Paul could make you go a whole month or more without running. I know you don't want that to happen, so walk even though you don't want to."

"Ok."

"I love you little sister and I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt or getting in trouble with Pa. Now, go and talk to him about getting Hop Sing to make some dinner for all of us. Because if we have to finish this on empty stomachs, I'm going to throw you in the lake and then I'll let our brothers and all of the hands do the same thing."

Cat stuck her tongue out at her brother and dodged a pretend swat he aimed at her. Then she walked back over to Ben and told him about Adam's request for dinner to be brought out. "He said if they have to finish digging the channel without eating dinner, he's gonna throw me in the lake and he's gonna let Hoss, Joe, and all the hands do it too."

"Well, we can't have that happening, now can we? So I suggest we get our horses, ride back to the house and ask Hop Sing to make some dinner for everyone."

While they were riding back to the house, Cat said, "Pa?"

"Yes Cat?"

"Adam said a cuss word and I think he told a lie too."

Ben tried to keep a straight face but his eyes were full of laughter at his nine year old daughter trying to get her eldest brother in trouble. "I am very surprised to hear that. What word did he say?"

"It starts with d."

"I see. And how do you know it's a cuss word?"

"'Cause Uncle Matt and I were walking by the Long Branch one day and a cowboy came out and said that word. I asked Uncle Matt what it meant and he said it was a cuss word and I shouldn't say it."

"He was correct. That cowboy said a cuss word and you should not say it. However, that word can be spelled two different ways and each spelling has a different meaning. The word Adam said is spelled d-a-m and it means something that has been built to hold back water. Now the word that the cowboy used has the letter n after the m and that is a cuss word." At Cat's confused look he said, "Did Miss Jackson teach you about words that sound the same but are spelled differently, like s-t-a-r-e and s-t-a-i-r?"

"Oh yeah, now I remember. S-t-a-r-e means to look at someone for a long time and s-t-a-i-r is something you walk on to get to a different level."

"Exactly."

"Oh, so Adam didn't say a cuss word."

"No he didn't. Why do you think he might have told a lie."

"When I said he was an arkitekt, he said he was an engineer too. I said he was lying because he doesn't drive a train and he said that there are engineers that drive trains and there are engineers that build stuff like houses and bridges."

"He's telling the truth. He went to college and studied architecture and engineering. He is the kind of engineer that builds things."

"Oh."

Ben found himself laughing at the look on Cat's face when she learned that she wasn't going to be able to get Adam in trouble. "What else did he say?"

"He said he was gonna pull me off the beaver wall and set my bottom on fire. He can't do that, can he Pa?"

"No he can't. Your brothers aren't allowed to spank you yet and he knows it. I am going to have a talk with him about that, especially as you weren't doing anything wrong. Now let's go and see if we can talk Hop Sing into making sandwiches for everybody. I don't want your brothers and the hands throwing you in the lake."

"But it might be fun to play with my beavers. I need to meet them so I can name them."

Ben sighed. His little girl was just as big, if not bigger animal lover than his middle son and wanted to play with every creature she found. "Cat, those beavers are wild animals. They won't understand that you're trying to play with them and they might bite you. If that happens, you could get very sick and nobody wants that to happen. The best thing to do is watch them from the shore and stay away from any trees they're cutting down. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Why do they need to cut down more trees? They already have a house and a wall to hold the water."

"Beavers don't just use trees to build their houses and dams, they also eat trees."

"Oh. I thought they ate fish. I was gonna go fishing and bring them lots of fish to eat."

"Sorry Kitten. Beavers eat trees. Now if you want to catch a lot of fish and bring them home, I know that your brothers would love to eat them."

"Yeah, but if I bring lots of fish home, I have to clean them and that takes a lot of time 'cause Hoss eats more than anybody else in the whole world."

Ben laughed at Cat's description of her brother's appetite as they dismounted and walked into the kitchen. Ben asked Hop Sing to make sandwiches for everybody out at the lake. "How many people?" asked Hop Sing.

Ben looked at Cat and asked, "Well Cat, how many people do we need dinner for?"

"Let's see. There are ten hands. Pete, Adam, Hoss, and Joe makes fourteen. Me, Pa, Mr. Sam, and Mr. Goss makes…" She started counting on her fingers.

"You don't need to count on your fingers Sweetheart," said Ben. "You already said that counting your brothers and Pete there are fourteen men working on the channel between the two streams. Counting you, how many more people are left?"

"Four. You, me, Mr. Sam and Mr. Goss."

"That's right so how much is four plus four?"

"Eight. Counting you and me, we need dinner for eighteen people."

"Very good. Isn't it easier if you break the arithmetic problem down into smaller pieces?"

"Yeah, it is but I still don't like arithmetic."

Ben laughed as they walked into the great room. "You don't need to like it. You just have to be able to do it when you have to. Now, we need to talk about your grammar. I don't like the fact that you are starting to talk like Hoss. You are a little girl and need to use proper grammar."

"What's wrong with the way Hoss talks? I understand everythin' he says."

"I know that Kitten but if you don't use proper grammar, you won't get good marks in school. Also, people expect girls and ladies to use proper grammar. They'll think I'm not doing a good job as your father if I allow you to use improper grammar."

"I don't care what people think. I don't need them. Instead of yelling for help, I should have acted like an Apache warrior when Mrs. Warren attacked me and hurt her bad. Maybe she would have died and then I wouldn't ever have to worry about her again. The next time she hurts me, I'm gonna show her just what an Apache warrior does when they get attacked. The kids in Silver Hawk's village were right. I was a coward but I won't be next time."

Ben was shocked to hear his nine year old daughter say that she didn't need people and that she should have hurt Mrs. Warren badly enough for the elderly lady to die. Matt had told him that Cat didn't think she needed people but he hadn't believed it until he heard her say so. He hugged Cat close and asked, "You don't really mean that you don't need people and that you wish you would have hurt Mrs. Warren badly enough for her to die, do you?"

"Yes I do. I don't need people for anything. I can hunt and fish and cook what I catch. I'm getting' better at making my own clothes and in a few years, I'll be able to kill and skin a deer. Then I really won't need nobody, just my dogs and my horse. Mrs. Warren is a mean, nasty lady and I know she'll hurt me again. If I wouldn't have been a coward, she wouldn't be able to hurt nobody ever again."

"You were not a coward. You did the right thing by calling for help. Everybody will do their best to keep Mrs. Warren from hurting you again. Please tell me, why do you think that you don't need people?"

"'Cause they hurt you or lie to you or go away and leave you or die or send you away. People do that stuff because they want to. Animals don't."

Ben hugged her tighter, knowing where her feelings were coming from. The events of the past two months and especially the last week were taking their toll on her. "Sweetheart, your father didn't want to leave you and your mother to fight in the war. It was something he felt he had to do. If he had known he would be killed, he never would have gone. Your mother didn't want to leave you and go to Australia. She left because your grandfather told her if she didn't, he would turn the two of you out on the street with nothing but the clothes on your backs and tell your Aunt Victoria and me that we weren't allowed to help you. He also told her that Uncle Matt wouldn't have been able to take care of the two of you and that unmarried Army officers weren't allowed to have any family members with them. He lied to your mother and she believed him because he was her father.

I don't know about Victoria, but I would gladly have helped the two of you and so would Matt and Rip. Your mother didn't want to die that night in Dodge. She was murdered and one day, the person who killed her will be caught. Uncle Matt didn't send you away. He wanted you to stay in Dodge with him but knew that you needed a home and a family. That's why he let me adopt you. It won't be too many more years before you start turning into a young woman. When that happens, you'll be too old to share that little room with him. He didn't want you living by yourself at Ma Smalley's. He wanted you to live with family and knew that you would be happier here than at Aunt Victoria's house in California.

I will never send you away either unless it is absolutely necessary. If you want to go to college when you finish school here in Virginia City, I will arrange for that to happen, but it will be your decision, not mine. When the right boy comes along and asks for your hand in marriage, I will be the proudest papa in the world and I will spoil your children rotten. If you and your husband want to live on the Ponderosa, I will give you a piece of land or you can live in your parent's house. We have kept it in good repair in the event you ever wanted to move into it. But all of that is in the future. I will never send you away unless everybody in the family is sick and then it will just be until we are well again. If that happens, you will stay with the Ingalls or the Devlins so you won't be far away. Just remember that I have loved you ever since your parents told me that your mother was going to have a baby and I will still love you even after I have gone to live in Heaven. Now, why don't you walk to the outhouse and I will check and see if Hop Sing has dinner ready for everybody?"

Cat went outside and Ben walked into the kitchen to talk to Hop Sing. "Did you hear what Cat said?"

"Yes. Missy Cat been through too much in sholt time. Wolly about Mrs. Wallen. Family upset too. Need to take day to spend as family. Go fishing and swimming. Spend time with Missy Cat. Let her know she loved by family."

"You're right of course. You almost always are. Family includes you. We'll go out to Lake Tahoe after church on Sunday and spend the entire afternoon fishing and swimming. You will come too. Cat will be upset and disappointed if you don't. I just hope that Sam and Abel will understand that we need to spend a day together as a family without anybody else there."

"Who is Abel?"

"Abel Goss is a photographer. He is a friend of Lucas McCain. Lucas sent him here because he thought I might like to have a portrait done of the whole family. I am going to have several done and you will be in them also. Abel will be staying with us for a few days." Cat walked back into the kitchen and found Ben putting sandwiches and cookies into his saddle bags. He looked at her and asked, "Will you please go out to the barn and bring another set of saddle bags in here? Mine are getting full with the food and yours are full with your puppies."

"Bling three more," said Hop Sing before Cat could walk out the door. Cat returned with three more sets of saddle bags and Hop Sing put jugs of sweet cider into each side of two of them, while Ben finished putting the food in the other one. As they were walking out the door, Hop Sing cautioned them, "Be caleful going back. Do not bleak cider jugs."

"Don't worry Hop Sing," said Ben. "We'll be very careful. I wouldn't want to waste a single drop of your sweet cider."

Ben and Cat walked out of the house and were about to mount their horses when Hop Sing walked up to Ben and handed him a sack. Ben opened the sack looked in and smiled. It was full of tin cups. "Evelybody dlink from cups, not jugs. I no want jugs broken."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'll make sure that everybody drinks from the cups. Nobody will drink from the jugs and they won't be broken."

As Ben and Cat rode out of the yard, neither one of them noticed Frank staring at Cat with hatred in his eyes. To his way of thinking, he was always being given the worst jobs on the ranch and it was all the brat's fault. He had to find a way to get rid of her. If she were gone, he reasoned, he would take her place with the family and the Cartwrights would all die one way or another and then the Ponderosa would be his to do with as he pleased. He had heard about Mrs. Warren attacking Cat after church and thought it was a shame the old lady hadn't hurt the brat enough to kill her. Those two young hands that were so infatuated with the brat needed to be eliminated also. Knowing that they and the others were all out enjoying a picnic dinner while he was stuck having to go, mend fences in the north pasture, as far away from the family as he could be sent and still be on the ranch made him hate Cat even more. He started thinking about how to get rid of her without anyone knowing he was responsible for her death. Or he had to make killing her look like an accident. Either way, the brat had to die. He just had to figure out how to do it when she was always being protected by her family and the other hands. Just then Bob came riding into the yard. "What's taking so long to get those nails? You should have been back a long time ago." He noticed Frank staring at Ben and Cat and said, "Quit worrying about what the Cartwrights are doing. We have work to do. That fence isn't going to mend itself."

"Yeah I'm coming. I got the nails. It seems all I ever do around here is mend fences. I always get the worst jobs on the ranch."

"I don't know what your problem is but mending fences isn't the worst job on the ranch. Everybody does it, including the boss' sons and they've been teaching their little sister how to do it too. Now let's get going. We've got a bunch of fence to mend before dark." As they rode toward the pasture, Bob made a mental note to tell Pete about Frank watching Cat and complaining about the work he was given to do. There was definitely something wrong with the man the way he was obsessed with the boss' family, especially Miss Cat.

Ben and Cat rode back to the small lake where the men were working. Since Cat had the jugs of cider on Beauty, Ben helped her dismount. Then he took her puppies out of her saddle bags and said, "Why don't you go and tell your brothers and the rest of the men that we brought dinner. They've been working hard so that the beavers can stay where they are and you should be the one to tell them that we have dinner for them."

Cat walked over to where everyone was working. Adam saw his sister, picked her up and asked, "Well Squirt. Did you bring any dinner for us or are we going to feed you to those beavers?"

Cat giggled. "Me and Pa brought dinner for everyone but you. I told Hop Sing that you weren't hungry."

"Why you little scamp. Do you know what I am going to do to you?"

"No, what?"

"I am going to tickle you until you wet your pants and then I am going to feed you to those beavers. I know that they usually eat wood, but maybe they might like to eat a little girl for a change." Adam put Cat over his shoulder and started tickling her as he walked toward their father.

"Adam, why do you have your sister over your shoulder and why are you tickling her?"

"The little scamp said that she told Hop Sing I wasn't hungry so he didn't pack any food for me. So I am going to tickle her until she wets her pants and then I am going to feed her to those beavers."

Ben laughed. "Well son, since Matt said that your sister won't tell a lie, you must have told her you weren't hungry. I'll ask your brothers and the hands if they heard you. If they didn't, you may feel free to feed Cat to the beavers." Cat giggled, knowing that all of the hands and her brothers would say that they heard Adam say he wasn't hungry. Joe, Hoss, Pete and the hands walked up to where Ben, Adam, Sam, and Abel were standing. "I need to know the answer to a question. Did anybody hear Adam tell his sister that he wasn't hungry?"

"I did Pa," said Hoss. "I was mighty surprised to hear older brother here say he didn't want any dinner."

"So did I Pa," said Joe. "I couldn't believe he said that since he's been digging right alongside the rest of us."

Pete and all of the hands agreed with Hoss and Joe. Ben turned to Adam, trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face while his eyes were filled with laughter. "I'm sorry son, but you heard everybody. You told your sister that you were not hungry, so you may not feed her to the beavers." Adam let out an exaggerated sigh and put his sister down. Cat stuck her tongue out at her eldest brother and started to run off when she was grabbed by her father who gave her a light swat. "That's enough of that. Polite little girls don't go around sticking their tongue out at their brothers, especially in front of men who work for them. Men, there are sandwiches, cookies and sweet cider for everyone. Hop Sing doesn't want his cider jugs broken so he sent cups for everyone to drink from. Please be careful with the jugs because if one gets broken and Hop Sing yells at me, I will tell him exactly who broke the jug. Then he will yell at you and I will laugh at you because you are being scolded by Hop Sing.

"But Hop Sing won't yell at me," said Cat. "He says I'm perfect." Hoss started to eat a cookie before grabbing a sandwich and Cat said, "Hoss, you're not supposed to eat cookies before you eat your food. I'm the only one allowed to eat cookies before food because I'm special."

"An' just what makes you so special?"

"'Cause I'm the only girl."

Everyone who heard Cat's comments laughed. Ben gave one of her braids a playful tug and teased, "I am very well aware of Hop Sing's feelings toward you and that you are very special. However, if you break one of his cider jugs, he will yell at you. Then your brothers and I will laugh at you. In fact, I may tell Hop Sing to yell at you in the yard so all of the hands can laugh at you too. Then I will let Adam feed you to those beavers you were so anxious to protect. Now eat some food before everyone else eats everything and even though you are the only girl, you cannot have any cookies before you eat your food. If you get grumpy because you haven't eaten enough, I'll feed you to the beavers myself."

Cat giggled and started eating a sandwich while Ben poured a cup of cider for her. "Mmmmmm. This ish goo."

"Cat, don't talk with your mouth full," said Adam. "No one can understand you and it's not polite."

Before Cat could reply to Adam, Hoss said, "Adam's right Punkin. It just ain't polite to talk with your mouth full."

Cat glared at Adam but didn't even give Hoss a funny look. She finished chewing her food, took a sip of cider and said, "Ok Hoss. I won't."

Sam was amused at the different ways Cat reacted to her brothers both telling her the same thing. "Ben, I think Adam is going to have his hands full with Cat. She reacts to him the same way Joe used to."

"I think you're right Sam. I'll have to watch how she reacts to him. I don't mind disagreements. They happen all the time and teasing among siblings is common. However I will not tolerate Catherine being disrespectful to Adam."

"Just be patient with her my friend. Remember, she's still learning how to live with a family."

"Don't worry Sam. All I've seen so far is some teasing & angry looks at being corrected for not using proper grammar and just now for talking with her mouth full. Adam is always correcting her grammar and just like Joe, Cat hates it when Adam corrects her grammar."

"I don't know that I've ever met a child who enjoyed having their grammar corrected. I know my brothers and I didn't."

"You're right about that Sam. I'm sure that Abel will agree with us. No child likes having their grammar corrected, especially by an older sibling."

Everyone finished eating and the men went back to work. They worked for several more hours until there were only about five feet to go when Adam told everyone to stop working. He walked up to Cat, handed her a shovel and said, "You are the cause of all this work, so it's time you did some yourself. Get your gloves and finish digging the rest of the channel." Cat just looked at him so he said, "You caused all of this extra work and haven't done anything all day except watch the rest of us. So it's time for you to do some work. Now get your gloves and come with me."

Cat looked at Ben with questioning in her eyes and he replied, "Go ahead, get your gloves and go with Adam. This ranch will be yours someday and you need to start learning what it takes to run it. All of these men, including your brothers have been out here working all day because you wanted to save the beavers. So, it's only fitting that you do a little bit of the work yourself."

Cat got her gloves from her saddle bags and walked over to where Adam was waiting for her. He pointed to where the other stream exited the lake. "We've dug this channel from all the way over there to right here. All you have to do is dig this last five feet. I know that you're still pretty small and not used to ranch work so just do the best you can. If it gets to be too much for you or your rib starts hurting, one of us will help you but you need to try." Cat took the shovel from Adam and started digging. When she started digging too deep, Adam said "Whoa little sister. Not quite so deep. You're not digging for worms. Just did as deep as everyone else did."

Cat started digging again. When her puppies saw what she was doing, they started digging too. Dirt started flying everywhere, causing move so they wouldn't be hit by the flying dirt. Knowing that Cat was just as stubborn as Joe and wouldn't quit even if she was too tired to keep digging, Adam kept a careful eye on her. The dirt was very hard and digging through it was difficult. After digging about two feet, Cat saw that her puppies were doing a better job than she was so she put her shovel down, got down on her knees and started digging with her hands. Everyone laughed and Ben shook his head in amazement. She dug for a few more minutes when a pair of hands grabbed her around her waist, lifted her up and set her down on her feet. "Alright little sister," said Adam. "You've done enough digging for now. I'll finish the rest for you. Hop Sing is right. You are too small and need to start eating more. I think you're smaller than Joe was when he was nine. We've also got to start strengthening those muscles. Otherwise, you'll never be able to help with the ranch work." Adam picked up the shovel and made short work of the remaining distance to the dry stream. Once he had connected the channel to the dry stream, Adam picked Cat up and carried her to where they had started digging the channel. He set her down and said, tuck your pants legs inside your boots. That way they won't get wet when you dig this little bit open. It's not very deep so the water won't go inside your boots."

Cat sat down and tucked her pants legs inside of her boots. Then she picked up her shovel and dug out the little bit of dirt between the stream and channel, allowing the water to flow freely. Cat started jumping up and down in the water. "Look Adam," she cried excitedly. "It's working. Water is going through it."

"Yes I see that," he replied with an amused look on his face." Come out of the water before you slip and get soaking wet. Pa'll have my hide if you do."

Cat walked out of the channel and was picked up by her brother. "I can walk Adam."

"I know that, but it will be faster if I carry you. I want to see how the water is flowing into the other stream and I don't want you running to keep up with me."

Abel had taken his camera back out of the wagon and set it up pointing toward where Adam had taken Cat. As they were walking back and got close to him he said, "Stop a minute please Adam. I want to take a picture of you holding your sister like that. You may think she's a pest now, but one day you will look at that picture with fond memories of today. Some day you will show that picture to her children and tell them about the day a nine year old girl caused extra work for fourteen men and by doing so, saved the life of some beavers."


	65. Chapter 65

After Abel took the photograph, Adam set Cat down and walked over to ensure that water was now flowing into the dry stream. Cat walked over to the lake and started taking off her boots, moccasins and socks. Ben saw her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I want to look inside one of the beaver houses to see what they look like and if they'll play with me."

"Catherine, I already told you that those beavers are wild animals and not to be trifled with."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you shouldn't bother them. Beavers spend a lot of time sleeping during the day and would get very upset if you disturbed them. Would you like it if someone came into your bedroom in the middle of the night and woke you up just to see what it looked like or ask if you wanted to play?"

"No, I guess not."

"The beavers wouldn't like it either and they could bite you. We'll ride out here some evening before sunset so you can see the beavers but you are not allowed to go in the lake with them." Cat thought her father was wrong and was determined to go swimming with the beavers. Ben saw the determined look on Cat's face and said, "Do not disobey me on this Catherine. I can guarantee that you **_will not_** like the consequences."

Ben walked off to talk to the men who had been digging the channel so Cat finished taking off her boots, moccasins, and socks. Then she pulled her pants legs up and sat down with her feet in the lake. Adam had watched the conversation between his father and sister so he walked over to Cat and said, "You are in big trouble little girl. I know Pa told you not to do that."

"Pa just said I couldn't go swimming in the lake. He didn't say I couldn't put my feet in the water. Even if he did say I couldn't put my feet in the water, you can't tell me what to do. You're my brother, not my Pa so I don't have to listen to you. Now go away." Adam bent down and pulled Cat away from the lake.

Ben walked up to the men who were sitting around relaxing after a hard day's work digging in very hard soil. "Men, I want to thank you for digging that channel today. I know it was very hard work but the end result was worth it. Don't worry about finishing whatever you were working on before Pete asked you to come here. I'm giving all of you the rest of the day off. Enjoy yourselves. You have earned it. Since today is payday, for those of you who want to go into town, I'll get your pay ready as soon as I get back to the house."

While Ben was busy talking to the men, Joe noticed Adam pulling their sister away from the water's edge and hurried over to them. He pushed Adam away from Cat and said, "Why don't you leave her alone? She wasn't doing anything wrong. You don't need to go bossing her around the way you did with me when I was a boy. Pa's here and he'll deal with her if she's doing something he said not to."

"I know that Pa told her not to go near the water and she's sitting her with her feet in it. I'm taking her to Pa so he can deal with her."

Joe shoved his brother and said, "There you go being Mr. Bossy Boots again. How do you know that Pa told little sister to stay away from the water? Maybe he just told her not to go in it."

Adam shoved Joe back and said, "Because that's what I would have said if I were Pa." He grabbed Cat's arm, intending to take her to Ben when Joe hit him. Adam hit Joe back and a fight ensued.

Hoss saw his brothers fighting, ran over to where they were pulled them apart and demanded, "Jus' what in tarnation do you two think yore doin? Yore not settin' a very good example for little sister and Pa's gonna skin ya alive. You know how he feels about us fightin' with each other!"

Ben turned around and saw his middle son holding his brothers apart and stormed up to them. "Just what on Earth is going on here?"

"I don't know what started it, but them two was goin' at it real hard and I didn't think they should be fightin' in front of little sister," replied Hoss.

"And just exactly what were the pair of you fighting about?"

"He was pulling Cat away from the lake and I told him to leave her alone. You're here and he doesn't need to go bossing her around the way he did me when I was Cat's age. He was always bossing me around and I'm not going to let him do it to Cat."

"I know that you told her to stay away from the water so I was taking her out of it. It appears that you are going to go too easy on her just like you did with Joe when he was growing up."

Ben sighed. It seemed that even though they were grown up now, his eldest and youngest sons still hadn't patched up their differences from years ago. "Catherine, were you in the water?"

"No Pa. I was just sitting here with my feet in the water. I pulled my pants legs up so they wouldn't get wet. See, my feet are only wet to just above my ankles."

"Adam, your sister was not doing anything wrong. Even if she had been, since I am right here, it was not your place to try and discipline her. If you had asked me, I would have told you she wasn't doing anything wrong. We will discuss how I handled your youngest brother when he was a boy and how I intend to handle your sister at a different time and location.

Now, I am going to put this fight down to the fact that you are both very hot and tired. However, I do not want to see this behavior repeated for any reason. If I am around and you think your sister is doing something wrong, let me know and if she is misbehaving, I will deal with it. If I am not around, the eldest brother who is with your sister will be in charge of her. However, you are not to spank her for any reason. Until she has been living with us a while and become used to being part of a family, I will be the only one to spank her. Hop Sing may also deal with her as he deems necessary. Now I suggest that the two of you get on your horses, go cool off, and find something constructive to do for the rest of the day. Hoss, thank you for stopping your brothers from fighting. I would not have been angry at you if you had thrown them into the lake so they could cool off. In fact, you probably should have."

"Well, I shore thought about it Pa, but I just didn't want to disturb the beavers. They might have got awfully mad and come after me ifn I had thrown Adam and Joe in with them."

Ben laughed. "You may be right about that son. Catherine, I am very glad that you did not go in the lake with the beavers. Now put your boots back on and let's go. I have to pay the men."

"Can I stay with Hoss?"

"That's up to Hoss. How about it son? Are you willing to look after your sister?"

"Shore Pa. Why Cat ain't no trouble at all and ifn she does decide to give me a hard time, I'll just hang her on a tree branch until you can deal with her."

Cat giggled. "Make it a real high tree branch Hoss. I want to know what it's like to be at the very top of a tree."

Ben sighed. Cat had only been home for three weeks and she was already giving him more gray hairs than he already had. "Alright Cat. You may stay with Hoss. He's in charge of you and if you misbehave, he has my permission to give you a swat if you need it."

"Don't worry Pa. Little sister and I will be just fine. In fact, since it's still pretty hot outside, we might just go to Lake Tahoe and do some swimmin'. There might even be some fishin' poles laying around we can use. I won't need to swat her ifn she don't listen to me. I'll just turn her upside down and tickle her until she wets her pants just like I used to do with Joe."

"Go on you two before I change my mind and make both of you spend the rest of the day working. The barn needs cleaning and wood always needs to be cut and stacked."

"Come on big brother. I don't want to clean the barn and stack wood. I want to go fishing and swimming."

"I'm commin' little sister. I don't want to do them things either. Adam and Joe can do them. They was fightin' not us." Just in case Ben was changing his mind about letting Hoss and Cat spend the rest of the day fishing and swimming, Hoss picked Cat up, quickly walked over to her horse and set her in the saddle. After putting her puppies in her saddle bags, he mounted his horse and the two of them rode off toward Lake Tahoe.

Ben laughed at how quickly his son could move when it came to avoiding work. Then he walked over to where Abel and Sam were waiting. "Abel, if you'll follow Sam and I, we'll get you to the house. You can park your wagon next to the barn. That should be a good place for you to develop your photographs."

"That will be fine Ben. Thank you. Please tell me how many copies you want of the pictures I took today."

"I'll sit down and figure that out as soon as I pay the hands."

"That will be fine. I am eager to see your house and ranch. Sam here has been telling me all about it."

"I'll make sure to give you a proper tour while you're here. Now if you're ready, let's go. I have a bunch of hands waiting for their pay so they can go to town."

As they were riding back to the ranch, Sam asked Ben, "What was the fight all about? Was Adam being Mr. Bossy Boots again?"

Ben laughed. "I didn't know that anyone outside the family knew that Joe used to call him that."

"I heard Joe call Adam that several times when I stayed with you. It wasn't my place to interfere with your sons so I just let you handle things."

"To answer your question, yes, Adam was being bossy again. I told Cat that she couldn't swim in that lake but I never said she couldn't get her feet wet. Adam decided his little sister shouldn't even be getting her feet wet and was going to deal with her himself until Joe stopped him. While I am happy to see Joseph defending his sister, I do not condone my sons fighting with each other for any reason. They're old enough to know how to settle their differences without using their fists and I certainly hope Adam and Joe will have resolved their differences before they return to the house."

The men reached the house and Ben showed Abel where he could park his wagon under the shade of a tree next to the barn and invited him into the house. After showing Abel which bedroom he would be using, Ben walked outside to take care of Abel's horses. While he was doing that, Adam and Joe walked in leading their horses and still quarreling. Ben looked at them with fire in his eyes. "I thought I told the two of you to find something constructive to do. Quarreling with each other is not constructive. Now, since the pair of you seem to unable to find anything constructive to do on your own, I will do it for you. As you both know, this is a large ranch and it takes a lot of work to keep it running properly. That work includes cleaning the barn and cutting and stacking wood. Joseph, since you are always trying to get out of doing your share of the work around here, you can cut and stack wood. Adam, you can clean the barn. I am going to go and entertain our guests."

"Where are Hoss and Cat?" asked Joe.

"Your brother and sister went to Lake Tahoe to fish and swim."

"That sounds like fun. I think I'll join them."

"You will do no such thing Joseph. You had the opportunity to do just that when you left the lake with the beavers. Instead, you chose to continue arguing with Adam so now you can just stay here and cut and stack wood. I want to see all of those large logs cut and stacked before supper so I suggest you get busy." Ben walked into the house where he found that Hop Sing had already brought a fresh pot of coffee into the great room.

Hoss and Cat rode out to Lake Tahoe to swim and fish. "How are we going to catch fish when we don't have any fishing poles with us?" asked Cat.

"Don't you worry yore little head about that. Ol' Hoss always has fishin' poles stashed around here. Let's swim first sos we can dry off while we're fishin'. After we're done swimmin' I'll rustle up some fishin' poles and we'll see if we can catch us some supper."

They swam and played in the water with Cat's puppies for a while when Hoss said it was time to get out of the water because they needed time to dry off before going home. He found two fishing poles and Cat asked, "How are we going to dig for worms and what are we gonna put them in? We don't have a shovel or cans with us."

"Little sister, one thing yore gonna learn is that ol' Hoss is always ready to go fishin'. You just go look in my saddle bags and bring me what you find." Cat felt around in Hoss' saddle bags and started laughing when she found a small shovel, a stringer and a tin can. She carried them over to her brother who smiled at her, patted her on top of her head and said, "See, what'd I tell ya? I'm always ready to go fishin'. I've got poles hid all around this ranch. I'll start showin' ya where they are but ya gotta put them back when yore done usin' them sos they're there for next time."

While they were fishing, Cat asked, "Hoss, can I ask you a question?"

"Shore Punkin. Ya can always ask me anything'."

"Why does Adam hate me?"

"What do ya mean? Adam don't hate ya. He loves ya a lot."

"No he doesn't. He said I was a nuisance and a pest and he was gonna spank me twice today and I wasn't doing nothin' wrong."

"Well, older brother takes bein' the oldest too serious sometimes. He gets some funny notions about what he thinks little kids should and shouldn't be doin'. He was that way with Joe when he was little too. That's why Joe calls him Mr. Bossy Boots and Yankee Granite Head, 'cause he was always tellin' Joe what to do. Adam always thought Pa let Joe get away with too much when he was little but Adam weren't always around to see how Pa handled Joe, especially when he was away at school in Boston. Pa didn't have to be as hard on Joe as he was on Adam 'cause when Adam was growin' up, he and Pa was travelin' west and a kid could get killed ifn they didn't obey adults right away.

Ya see, Adam had to grow up too fast. His ma died right after he was born and then Pa decided to leave Boston and head west. I was just a baby when my ma was killed by Indians and Adam had to take care of me while we was with the wagon train. He still had to take care of me when we got here 'cause Pa was busy building the ranch. Sos he didn't get much time to be a little boy. Once Hop Sing came here, he helped look after me and then Adam had a little more time to do kid things, but there was still a lot of work he had to do around here. He was half grown by the time Pa married Little Joe's ma so besides going to school, he had even more to do on the ranch.

Just 'cause Adam bosses you around and threatens to spank you, don't mean he don't love you. He was the one that took the whip away from Mrs. Warren and broke it. I can guarantee you that ifn it had been a man who attacked you, Adam woulda half killed him. Then Joe and I would have finished the job. I'll talk to him tonight after our guests are in bed and tell him he's gotta quit bossin' you around unless Pa says he's in charge. Ifn he's in charge then he's allowed to boss you around. I'll make sure both Adam and Pa know ya think Adam hates ya, which he don't.

'Don' worry about Adam callin' ya a pest and a nuisance. He used to do that to Little Joe all the time. Joe used to follow Adam around everywhere he went an' kept getting' in Adam's way when he was tryin' to do his chores. He got tired of it one day, grabbed Joe and hung him up by his belt on a nail in the barn. Boy was Pa mad when he walked out to the barn and saw his baby boy on that nail. They probably heard him yellin' all the way in Carson City. It was before Joe's ma died, so Adam musta been about fifteen or sixteen then. Adam thought he was a man and too old for one of Pa's discussions in the barn. Pa showed him he was wrong and ol' Adam had a real hard time sittin' still in school the next day. One thing ya gotta learn is that Pa says as long as we live under his roof, we gotta abide by his rules or suffer the consequences and it don't matter how old we are. Now don't go thinkin' that Adam was the only one to get in trouble. Joe got scolded and a swat fur getting' in Adam's way and I got in trouble too, only it was the next day."

"I didn't think you ever got in trouble Hoss."

"I didn't too much, but Adam not bein' able to sit 'cause Pa gave him a whippin' was more than me and my friends could take. When we was little, Pa had this rule about not laughin' at the other and not tellin' anybody else what happened when he got in trouble and ifn we did, we got in trouble from Pa. Well, Adam used to go around school tellin' all the little kids he was perfect. Of course I knew different sos when Adam got that whippin' and had trouble sittin' still in school, I told all my friends what happened and all of us laughed at Adam. That made him real mad sos when we got home from school, he told Pa about me and my friends laughin' at him. That meant Pa and I had a discussion in the barn, I didn't get dessert that night and had to go to bed right after supper. Not getting' dessert and having to go to bed at the same time as my baby brother hurt more than the spanking Pa gave me.

One other thing ya gotta learn about Adam is he hates bein' called Mr. Bossy Boots. He also hates it when Joe calls him a Yankee Granite Head. Now, ifn ya decide to go callin' him any of those things, and I know ya will 'cause you and Joe are cut from the same cloth, ya better run real fast and have a hiding spot where Adam can't find ya. 'Cause ifn he does, I can guarantee that you won't much feel like sittin' down when he finishes with ya. I'm tellin' ya this 'cause I love ya little sister and I know sure as shootin' that you're gonna get mad at Adam one day and call him one or both of them things. Then he's gonna get even madder at you and ifn Pa ain't around to stop him, he'll want to fix it sos ya can't sit down for a week. Like I said, he takes bein' the oldest too serious sometimes and he's even worse when Pa leaves him in charge. Now, let's see how many fish we got and how many more we need to feed everybody. How many people are there this time?"

Cat counted on her fingers and teased, "There's Pa, Adam, Joe, me, and Hop Sing so that's five. Mr. Sam and Mr. Goss makes seven and you make twelve 'cause you eat enough for five people."

Hoss grabbed his sister and started tickling her. "Why you little scamp. I ought to do like Adam threatened to and feed ya to them beavers. Maybe they'd like to chew on a little girl for a while instead of trees."

Cat giggled and tried to get away from her brother but he was too strong. After a few minutes she cried, "Hoss stop! I'm gonna wet my pants!"

Hoss stopped tickling Cat and said, "Go behind them bushes over there and take care of yore needs. Just be sure to check for snakes before ya drop your britches. Then we need to catch more fish if we're gonna have enough to feed everyone." They fished a while longer then Hoss said, "It's getting' late. We gotta start for home."

"How do you know it's getting late?"

"'Cause the sun is startin' to get low in the sky."

"Ok, but how do you know it's time to go home?"

"Ok. Let me see ifn I can explain it to you. Do ya know where the sun rises and sets?"

"Yes. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. What does that have to do with what time it is?"

"Don't be in such an all fired up hurry. I'm gonna show ya. Grab me a stick, will ya please?" Cat found a stick and handed it to Hoss. "Thank you. Now let me draw you a picture to show ya what I was talkin' about." He drew a curved line in the dirt and a person standing under the middle portion. "Now we'll say the right side of this line is east and the left side is west. You know that as the sun rises, it gets higher in the sky. At noon, it's directly overhead. Then as the day gets later, the sun starts getting' lower in the sky. Take a look where it's at now. It's getting' close to the tops of the mountains. That means it's almost five o'clock and it'll be gettin' dark in a few hours and we need to go home. I'll get Pa to let ya spend some time with me sos I can teach you how to tell what time it is by where the sun is in the sky. Right now, we need to get home. I don't want to have to listen to Pa and Hop Sing yellin' 'cause we're late for supper. Besides that, I'm hungry. Call your puppies and let's go."

"Joe says you're always hungry."

"Joe's wrong. I ain't always hungry."

"When aren't you hungry?"

"Right after I finish eating."

Cat laughed. "You're silly Hoss."

"That could be. However, I know fur shure ifn we're late for supper, both Pa and Hop Sing will yell at us."

Hoss tied the stringer of fish to his saddle horn and helped Cat mount Beauty. Then he put her puppies in her saddle bags and mounted Chub. Cat laughed as Hoss grabbed the fish and pretended to eat one. "Hoss, don't eat the fish now. We have to cook them first. Besides that, if you eat them now, there won't be enough for everyone else."

"Don't worry little sister. I'll save a small one fur ya."

" _Hooooss_. I need more than one small fish to eat. My puppies need to eat too. So does Pa and everyone else. Besides that, you could get sick if you don't cook the fish first."

Hoss let out an exaggerated sigh. "Alright little sister. I won't eat them now. I'll wait until they're cooked. Then I'll eat all of them."

Cat giggled. "Pa will get mad at you and yell at you if you eat all of the fish. Then Adam, Little Joe, and me will laugh at you."

He pretended to growl at Cat and teased. "Brat. Just remember I can always sneak into your room after you're asleep and tickle you until you wet the bed."

"Pa and Hop Sing will yell at you if you do. Then me, Joe, and Adam will laugh at you again."

"You have all the answers today, don't ya Squirt. I'll get ya, never fear. Maybe I'll use you for bait sometime. Ifn I catch a whale, Pa won't be mad at me 'cause I used ya for bait. A whale will feed the whole family for several years."

Cat giggled. "You have to catch me first big brother. I can run faster than you and climb trees higher and faster than you can."

"You just think you can Squirt. We'll find out one day."

"Hoss?"

"What's up Punkin?"

"Do you think Pa will get mad at me if I tell him the beavers caught the fish for us?"

Hoss laughed loud and long. "You go right ahead and tell him that. He'll think it's downright funny. But what are you gonna tell him when he asks what the beavers look like?"

"I'll tell him I didn't get to see them much 'cause they were throwing fish up on the shore too fast for me to see them and I was busy throwing the little fish back into the water."

"I tell ya what Squirt. The way you tell tall tales, you and Sam Clemens oughta get together. Maybe he can write them down for ya. I'm still laughin' over ya tellin' Adam ya jumped Sport over a ten mile high mountain when ya first got here and went fur that ride with Pa."

They rode into the yard where Joe had just finished stacking the last of the wood he cut. He helped Cat down off her horse and took her puppies out of the saddle bags. "I'll take care of Beauty for you. Why don't you get the fish from Hoss and show them to Pa and Hop Sing? Then I'll meet you and help clean them."

Cat hugged her brother. "Gee thanks Joe."

"My pleasure little sister. Now go and show those fish to Pa and Hop Sing so we can get them cleaned."

Cat got the fish from Hoss and walked into the house. Hoss looked at all of the wood that had been stacked and said, "It seems like Pa kept ya busy this afternoon."

"Yeah, he was in the barn when Adam and I got back. We were still arguing and of course Pa got angry at us. He said since we couldn't find anything constructive to do, he would find something for us. I had to cut and stack wood while Adam had to clean the barn."

"Well little brother, ya got nobody to blame but yourself. Ya know how much Pa hates it when we argue sos the two of ya shoulda stopped before ya got home."

"Yeah, I know but Adam just makes me so mad the way he tries to treat Cat."

"It makes me mad too but I know better than to get into a fight with him when Pa's around. Let's get these horses put up sos we can help little sister clean them fish we caught. Would ya believe she said I eat as much as five people?"

Joe laughed. "Well big brother, you do eat a lot and to Cat it probably seems like you eat enough for five."

"Yore probably right about that little brother."

Cat carried the fish into the great room and said, "Look at all the fish me and Hoss caught Pa. We got enough for everybody and Hoss."

Ben laughed and pulled his daughter into his lap. "I see that. However, you should have said Hoss and I, not me and Hoss."

Before Cat could answer Ben, Sam said, "Cat…"

"Yes Mr. Sam?"

"Let me teach you a little trick I learned when I was around your age. It will help you to remember when to say I or me in a sentence. Break the sentence into two parts and see if it makes sense to say me or I. For example, you said 'Me and Hoss caught a lot of fish.' If you break that sentence into two, you would say Me caught a lot of fish and Hoss caught a lot of fish. Does it sound right if you say 'Me caught a lot of fish.'?

"No it doesn't."

"That's right. Does it sound right if you say 'I caught a lot of fish."?

"Yes it does."

"Excellent. Now let's try another sentence. 'Pete played marbles with Jack and me.' Break it apart and see if it sounds right."

"Pete played marbles with Jack. Pete played marbles with me. That sounds right."

"Very good. If you remember that little trick you'll always get it right."

"Thanks Mr. Sam. You're the only one who's ever eggsplaned it to me."

"That's alright Cat. Now you had better show those fish to Hop Sing. By the way, the word you meant to use is explained."

"Oh, ok."

"Don't worry about it too much. You're young and will eventually get it right."

Cat took the fish into the kitchen. Hop Sing looked at them and said, "Vely good. Catch lots of fish. Supper almost leady. Clean fish and put in smokehouse."

"But the fish will spoil if we don't cook them tonight."

"No wolly. Clean and put in smoke house. They no spoil."

Cat was confused but took the fish outside where she found all three of her brothers waiting to help clean them. "Hop Sing said supper's almost ready and to put the fish in the smokehouse. What's a smokehouse and why won't Hop Sing cook the fish tonight? I may as well just give my puppies as much fish as they'll eat and throw the rest in the trash heap. They'll spoil before tomorrow."

"The smokehouse is that little building with the small chimney behind the outhouse," said Adam. We always keep a small, smoky fire in it. The smoke keeps meat and fish from spoiling before it can be cooked. When we slaughter a steer, we hang the meat in the smokehouse so it won't spoil. We do the same when we return from hunting. After we clean these fish, we'll hang them in the smokehouse and then Hop Sing can cook them tomorrow. I'll show you when we finish here."

"Are you sure the fish won't spoil? Why is the smokehouse so far from the house?"

"Yes little sister, I am positive the fish won't spoil. The smokehouse is far from the house and barn because there's always a fire in it. If that little chimney gets blocked up and the smokehouse catches on fire, the house and barn won't catch on fire too."

"Oh ok. Hoss, Joe, is Adam right or will the fish spoil?"

Adam was about to scold Cat for doubting him when Hoss elbowed him in the side. "Yes Cat," said Joe. "Adam is right. The smokehouse keeps meat and fish from spoiling. You've seen how big steers are. One will feed the family for several weeks, even the way Hoss eats. If we didn't have the smokehouse, we would have to butcher a steer every day because the meat would spoil. This way, we only have to do it when we're running low on meat. We'll show you the smokehouse when we finish cleaning the fish."

They finished cleaning the fish and walked over to the smokehouse. Adam opened the door, propped it open with a small board and said, "Do not ever come in here without propping the door open, especially if nobody knows you're in here. You could get trapped and the smoke would eventually kill you. After you prop the door open, push on it from behind to make sure it's going to stay open. I'm going to work on a latch that will open from the inside as well as the outside. That way you can't get trapped in here." He pointed to a shelf and said, "We're going to put the fish on that shelf." Cat carried her fish into the smokehouse and piled it up on the shelf.

"Not that way Cat," said Joe. "We have to lay it out flat otherwise it won't smoke properly. See, how the shelf has holes in it? That's so the smoke can get to both sides of the fish."

Once all of the fish were on the shelf, they walked out of the smokehouse and Hoss closed and latched the door. "I'm going to go and see Fury," said Cat. "I haven't seen him since right after breakfast.

"We'll all go and see him," said Hoss. "Why don't you go and get a lead rope out of the tack room? Then we can put Fury and Lady into their stall for the night and feed them."

"I don't need a lead rope for Fury. He follows me everywhere."

"Yes I know Punkin, but we need one for Lady. She ain't like Fury & won't follow unless she's got a lead rope on."


	66. Chapter 66

Cat got the lead rope and the four of them walked out to the pasture where they found Bob and Dave starting to take the mares and foals into the barn. Dave looked at Cat and said, "I guess you'd like to take that little black colt into the house, wouldn't you?"

Cat giggled. "Yes I would. I wish Pa would let me. I wonder if I could teach him how to climb trees. Then he could come into my bedroom through the window."

"Well Cat, I've been around quite a while and I've never seen a horse climb a tree. Pete says you plan on teaching that young fellow to fly when he grows up. You might want to wait until he can fly before trying to sneak him into your bedroom."

Cat sighed. "I guess you're right. I just wish I didn't have to wait that long."

"I understand. Now, since he's right here, if you'll give me that lead rope, I'll catch his mama while you're paying attention to him."

"Thanks Dave." While Cat was waiting for Dave to get Lady, she hugged Fury and said, "Let's go for a quick run while we're waiting on your mama."

"Not until tomorrow," said all of her brothers together.

Cat sighed. "Can't you just close your eyes and pretend you don't know?"

"Sorry Cat," said Joe. "Pa would skin us alive if we did that. It won't kill you to wait until tomorrow. Then you and Fury can run around the pasture until neither one of you can stand up. And no, we won't help you sneak him into the house. I couldn't bring Cochise into the house when he was Fury's size so Fury will have to stay in the barn too."

"You're no fun," replied Cat, causing everyone in the pasture to laugh. "You just watch and see. I'm going to sneak Fury into the house after you're in bed and I'm going to let him sleep in your beds. He can have Adam's bed tonight."

"Come on Punkin," laughed Hoss. "Bring yore colt and his mama and let's get them into the barn. It's almost suppertime and I'm hungry. Ifn you don't hurry, I'm gonna hide that colt somewheres it will take ya a day to find him."

Ben, Abel, and Sam were sitting in the great room talking when Abel asked, "Ben, have you decided how many copies you want of the photographs I took today? I want to develop the negatives and make the prints tomorrow."

"I've been giving that some thought Abel. I think I'm going to need twelve. Including Hop Sing, there are six of us. Cat's uncles and my sister Victoria will want one so that makes nine. Her Godfathers will also each want those pictures so that makes twelve. Actually, I'm going to need fourteen. Roy Coffee and Paul Martin will also want one, so please make fourteen of them. Oh, Mark and Lucas McCain would never forgive me if I didn't send them a copy, so please make fifteen. I would also like you to take a photograph of Cat with her colt and puppies before you decide to move on."

Before Abel could reply, Sam chimed in, "I would also like a copy of each of those pictures. I really like Cat and I love her spirit, sense of adventure, and willingness to stand up for what she thinks is right, no matter what the consequences may be. I'm sure that if Hoss and Joe hadn't been there, Adam would have pulled Cat off the beaver dam, set her britches on fire, and blown up the dam and lodges. I'll write something up to go with the pictures and pay Dan at the Enterprise to print it for me."

"Thank you Sam," replied Ben. "I am going to enjoy reading what you write. Abel, I just thought of one other person who might like those pictures. Although Adam's grandfather has never met Catherine, I have written to him about her. I was just thinking that he might like to have copies of those photographs also. Maybe they, along with whatever Sam writes, will entice him to visit. I think he would see a lot of his daughter in Cat. Elizabeth was also free spirited and not afraid to stand up for what she thought was right. Captain Stoddard was not in favor of his daughter's intentions to marry me at first but she convinced him otherwise and he has a fine grandson because of her determination."

"That's fine Ben. I'll take some photographs of Cat, her colt and puppies. Then you can decide which one you want to send along with the others. I'll make sixteen copies of each photograph for you."

"Thank you Abel. I won't need as many of the family portrait. In fact, I don't see a need to do a family and individual portraits in dress and ranch clothes. Portraits in dress clothes will be fine. I'll only need copies of those for the six of us, my sister, Cat's uncles, Adam's grandfather, and Lucas, or should I say Mark because I know he'll keep them by his bed."

"I'll take the photographs of Cat and her puppies in the morning and I'll spend part of the day developing the negatives. Since everybody will be in dress clothes, I'll take the family portraits after church on Sunday."

"On second thought, just make thirteen prints of the photographs you took today and the one you're going to take of Cat with her colt and puppies. I've changed my mind about sending copies to her Godfathers. It's a long story but they are the reason Cat is living here with me and not with her parents. I allowed them on the Ponderosa for her mother's funeral because she would have wondered why they weren't here. However, that is the last time any of them will step foot on this ranch and if I have my way, it is the last time they will see Catherine. They have hurt her more than enough and I won't let them do it again. Also, I do not like some of the things I have been hearing about two of them."

"What will you tell Cat if she asks why they're not here at Christmas?" asked Sam.

"I'll tell her the truth. They're not part of our family. They were her father's friends, so they're spending Christmas with their families. She'll understand that."

Once the fish were put in the smokehouse and Lady and Fury were back in the barn, Cat headed for the house only to be stopped by Joe. "Not so fast Cat. You've got to wash up first."

"No I don't. I'm not dirty."

"Sorry Squirt. You've been cleaning fish and playing with Fury and your puppies. It's almost suppertime so you need to wash up. Hop Sing and Pa will never let you near the table as dirty as your hands and face are." He put his hands on her shoulders and propelled her toward the bathhouse. Adam and Hoss were already there waiting for Joe to bring Cat. They stepped aside and Adam held the door open for Cat.

Cat did a quick job washing up and said, "There. I'm clean. Are you happy now?"

"Sorry Squirt," said Joe.

"You need to stand closer to the soap and water," said Adam.

"It won't kill ya to do a good job washin' up," said Hoss. "Ifn ya go into the house lookin' like that, Pa'll just make ya come back out and wash up again."

Cat looked at her brothers and frowned. "I don't think I like having three big brothers."

"Why not?" asked Adam.

"'Cause you're all too bossy," came the reply, causing all three brothers to laugh.

Once all of them had washed and left the bathhouse, Adam picked Cat up and said, "Here Joe, catch."

He put Cat in Joe's outstretched arms who hugged her and said, "Hey Hoss, catch, and handed her to his brother.

They played with Cat for a while until Hop Sing came outside and said, "Suppel almost leady. Mr. Adam and Mr. Joe set table."

"Awwwww Hop Sing," complained Hoss. "We was having fun playin' catch and usin' little sister as the ball."

"Hop Sing no care. Play with little sister tomorrow. Set table for suppel now. Suppel almost leady and table need to be set. You come now or I get wooden spoon."

"Alright Hop Sing," said Adam. "You don't need to get your spoon. We're coming."

"Yeah Hop Sing," said Joe. "Adam and I are coming. You don't need your spoon."

Cat and Hoss laughed at their brothers being threatened by Hop Sing. He looked at them and said, "Missy Cat and Mr. Hoss bling food to table when suppel leady or Hop Sing use wooden spoon on them."

"I'll help," said Cat, "But I don't know if it's safe to let Hoss near the food before everybody else gets it. He might eat it all between the kitchen and the dining room."

"If number two son try to eat food befole it on table, Hop Sing pop him with spoon."

"Don' you worry Hop Sing," said Hoss. "I done felt that spoon too many times. I won't try and eat the food before it's on the table."

"Vely good. Number two son finally learning."

"Hop Sing?" asked Cat.

"Yes Missy Cat?

"Can we have flapjacks for breakfast tomorrow? I'll help make them."

"Missy Cat help, we have flapjacks. Now go in house and bring food to table when I say."

Since Hoss still had Cat in his arms, he put her over his shoulder and carried her into the house. Ben saw his middle son carrying his little sister and asked, "Hoss, why do you have your sister over your shoulder like that?"

"'Cause Me and Adam and Joe were playin' catch with her as the ball. I just caught her when Hop Sing came out and told Adam and Joe to set the table. Since I still had her, I figured I'd just carry her this way. I've got one hand free to swat or tickle her whenever I want to." He reached up, gave Cat a very light swat and started tickling her.

"Son, do I need to remind you of what happens when you tickle your "ball" too much? You had better take her back outside for a few minutes."

"That's right. I plum fergot what happens when she gets tickled too much. Yore right, I'd better take her outside for a little bit."

When they came back inside, Ben said, "Here, let me have her for a little while. You've had her all day, so it's my turn now." Hoss handed Cat to their father who hugged her and said, "Now tell me all about those fish you caught. How did you and Hoss catch so many without your brothers to help?"

"Well, we didn't catch all of them."

"Oh. If you didn't catch them, who did?"

"The beavers did. The fish weren't biting at Lake Tahoe so we went back to the lake with the beavers. When we threw our hooks in the water, the beavers stared throwing fish up on the shore."

Adam and Joe walked back into the great room just as Cat started telling her story. They, along with Ben, Sam, and Abel had a hard time to keep from laughing at her tale.

"Did you get to see what the beavers look like?"

"No I didn't. They were throwing so many fish on the shore, I had to hurry and throw the little ones back in so they wouldn't die."

"I am very proud of you for throwing all of the little fish back in the water. That was a very good thing to do. I hope you thanked the beavers for catching the fish for you."

Cat giggled. "Yes I did. Pa, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can Kitten. What's on your mind?"

"Do I really have to have three big brothers?"

"Why don't you want three big brothers?"

"'Cause they're all bossy."

Ben laughed. "How many big brothers do you want?"

"None. John and Robert Tanner are almost as bossy as Adam, Hoss, and Joe are. Can't I have sisters instead? Rebecca and the other girls weren't bossy like the boys."

"What should I do with your brothers?"

"Trade them to somebody else for sisters. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls will trade Laura and Mary for one of them. They eat more than Mary and Laura do and they can help Mr. Ingalls on his farm so it would be an even trade."

Abel and Sam gave each other amused looks and tried their best not to laugh. Adam, Hoss, and Joe were also amused by the fact that Cat had only been home for three weeks and already wanted to trade them for sisters. They had figured it would eventually happen but they didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Before the conversation could continue, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and announced, "Supper leady. Everybody go sit at table. Missy Cat and Mr. Hoss help bling food to table."

After supper, Abel said, "Hop Sing, that meal was wonderful. I can't remember the last time I had a meal that good. I know that I am a guest here, but if Sam will help me, I will clear the table so that you may serve dessert. Please do not say no. I have traveled through many cities and towns in my lifetime and I have never been treated so well. I usually sleep in my wagon and catch and eat my own food. However, today was different. Ben invited me into his home and has treated me like family. Please allow me to show my appreciation by helping to clear the table."

"Vely well. Mr. Sam and Mr. Abel clear table."

Once dessert had been finished, the men took their coffee into the great room and talked while Cat lay on the floor in front of the fireplace, reading a book. After a while Adam noticed that Cat was almost asleep. He walked over, picked her up off the floor and said, "Come on sleepy head. It's high time you were in bed."

"I'm not sleepy," protested Cat as she yawned.

"Of course you're not," replied Adam. "And I ride a green horse. Let's go Squirt. I need to get you to the outhouse and then to bed." When Adam carried Cat back into the great room, he said, "Say goodnight to everybody. You'll see them in the morning."

Abel and Sam said goodnight to Cat and wished her sweet dreams. Hoss and Joe hugged their sister goodnight and kissed her on her cheek. "I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in," said Ben.

Adam carried Cat upstairs and helped his very sleepy sister change into her night clothes. Before getting her under the covers, he hugged and kissed her and said, "Good night little sister. I love you." Then he helped her get into bed, put her puppies next to her, turned the lamp down and walked out of her room.

Ben walked upstairs a few minutes later. He looked at the sleeping child and her puppies, smiled and shook his head. He never thought he'd see the day when he would allow not just one, but two dogs to live in his house and sleep in bed with one of his children. But he wasn't about to take them away from her and make them sleep in the barn. She had been through too much in her short life and he wasn't about to traumatize her further. He bent down, kissed Cat on the forehead, whispered that he loved her, patted each puppy and pulled the covers up over all three sleeping figures. Then he blew out the lamp, walked out of the room, leaving the door open slightly so he could hear if she had another nightmare and walked downstairs to his guests. The men talked for a little while longer when Abel excused himself saying it had been a long day, he was tired and was going to bed. Sam excused himself so he could write the story about Cat and the beavers and take it to town in the morning so Dan DeQuille would print it for him.

Once their guests had gone upstairs, Hoss said, "I'm gonna get Hop Sing and then we needs to talk about little sister and what she's feelin'. Ya ain't gonna like what I got to say but it's got to be said." He walked into the kitchen, knocked on Hop Sing's door and said, "I know it's late and yore tired Hop Sing, but we gotta have a family meeting about Cat and you need to be there 'cause yore family too."

"Alright Mr. Hoss. Hop Sing be thele in a minute."

"Ok Hop Sing. See ya in a minute." Hoss returned to the great room and Hop Sing joined the rest of the family a few minutes later. "Now that we're all here, I got somethin' to say and Adam, I don't want ya sayin' anything until I said what I gotta say. Ya gotta take it easy on little sister. She thinks ya hate her and I don't blame her the way ya acted toward her today." Adam started to reply but Hoss said, "I done told ya not to say anythin' until I was done and I ain't done yet. First ya got mad when she got up on that beaver dam sos ya couldn't blow it and the beavers up. I got news for ya brother. I weren't about to let ya kill them beavers, little sister just beat me to it. Then ya threatened to pull her off the dam and set her britches on fire when she wasn't doing nothing wrong and ya know Pa don't want us spankin' her yet. If she was in danger on that beaver dam, I woulda pulled her off it myself, given her a good swat and brought her home to Pa. Ya also said she was a nuisance and a pest. That really hurt her 'cause she ain't used to bein' talked to like that. Then, instead of askin' Pa ifn she was allowed to put her feet in the water, ya decided to pull her away from the lake without knowin' if she was doin' something' wrong or not. Sos when we was fishin' she asked me why you hate her. Ever since before the trial, Pa's been doin' his best not to treat her like she's Joe sos ya gotta quit bein' so bossy before she decides to try and go to Dodge on her own. The Apaches taught her how to hide her horse's tracks and I won't even be able to track her if she decides to take off on her own. Now I don't know about you, but Joe and I ain't ready to lose our little sister, sos ya gotta back off and quit being yore old bossy Yankee Granite Head self. She ain't even been here a month and yore makin' her feel like she ain't wanted here."

"Adam!" exclaimed Ben. "You called your sister a pest and a nuisance? I can't believe you did that, especially after what she's been through in the last three months."

"I've been calling Joe that for years and it hasn't seemed to bother him."

"That's because you've been saying that about me ever since I learned how to walk," replied Joe. "I've gotten used to it and know you don't really mean it. Or at least you don't any more. You did when I was three."

"That's because you were in my way when I was trying to do my barn chores. Believe me, I paid dearly for putting you on that nail."

"That is very true," said Ben. "However, Hoss' point is that Catherine isn't used to having any siblings at all, let alone older brothers to boss her around. The closest thing she's had to siblings were Mark McCain and the Tanner children, but she wasn't with them every day. Things may have been different if Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan hadn't convinced Michael to rejoin the Army. However, the past cannot be changed but what we do today can shape the future. With the events of the past week, I find myself wondering if I did the right thing by taking her away from everything she's known all of her life and bringing her here. She had a lot of freedom in Dodge but was well protected. She won't have nearly as much freedom here and I couldn't even keep her safe at church last Sunday. Catherine has to know that she is loved and will be protected from harm as much as possible and it is up to all of us to ensure that she knows it. That means not losing your temper with her when she gets in the way of your plans the way she did today.

That brings me to another point. The three of you are not allowed to spank your sister yet. If she does something wrong and she knows it's wrong, give her a swat and bring her to me or Hop Sing. If neither of us is around, put her in a corner or send her to her room and she can tell us what she did wrong we return home. I want her to get used to having older brothers looking after her before allowing you to spank her. Remember, she has only been here three weeks and is still trying to figure out where she fits in. However, make sure she knows that what she did was wrong before administering any kind of punishment."

Before the conversation could go any farther, they heard Cat cry out, " **No!** **Mamma Wake Up** …" They rushed upstairs and into her bedroom. Joe lit the lamp while Ben cradled his daughter in his arms, talking softly and trying to sooth her."

When Ben was finally able to calm Cat down, Adam reached for her and said, "I'll take her. Pa's right. I've got to start showing her that I'm someone she can depend on to take care of her if it ever becomes necessary and not just an older brother who is going to boss her around all the time. Please put her pillow and favorite blanket on my bed. She can sleep there tonight."

When they returned to the house, they found everyone, including Sam and Abel, in the great room sipping hot cocoa. Hop Sing handed a cup to Adam and another one to Cat. "I put little bit of herb to help Missy Cat sleep in her cup. Not a lot but enough to help."

"Thank you Hop Sing," said Ben. "I wish you had an herb to keep the nightmares from happening. Hers are worse than Joe's were when he was little."

"Time only cure for nightmares. Missy Cat need time to deal with loss of mother."

"I know Hop Sing. I don't like it but you are right. It's going to take time. Boys after church on Sunday, I would like you to follow through with your plans that were disrupted last Sunday. There's no guarantee they'll work, but they certainly can't hurt. Cat, you need to finish your hot cocoa and let Adam take you back up to bed."

"I'm not sleepy. Can't I just stay up with everyone else?"

Everyone laughed at the young girl struggling to keep her eyes open. "Sorry Kitten. It's long past your bedtime and you need your sleep. Tomorrow will be another busy day and we've got the dance tomorrow night. You don't want to be too tired to dance, now do you?"

"No, but I still want to stay up with everyone else."

"Sorry Kitten. Maybe some other night, but not tonight. Now finish your hot cocoa and let Adam take you back up to bed."

Cat finished her hot cocoa and started for the stairs followed by Adam. When she stumbled on the first step, he picked her up and said, "Silly girl. You're so tired, you can't even walk up the stairs but you wanted Pa to let you stay up later. I need to get you and your puppies back in bed." He carried Cat upstairs to his room and put her and her puppies in his bed. After taking his nightgown, robe and slippers out of the wardrobe, he turned the lamp down low and said, "I'll be back upstairs in a little while. I'll change in your room before coming to bed. You've got your pillow and favorite blanket as well as your puppies, so you'll be fine here alone for a bit. I promise I won't be long."

He put his night clothes in Cat's room and walked back downstairs where everyone was discussing Cat's nightmare. "I know at the trial you said that Cat was having nightmares because of what happened to her mother," said Sam. "But I never dreamed they were that bad."

"The nightmares were worse last night and tonight than they were before the trial," replied Ben.

"Please enlighten me," said Abel. "Why is Catherine having nightmares and what trial is Sam talking about?" Ben told Abel about Cat's mother being murdered and how Mrs. Warren had attacked her after church. "That poor child," replied Abel. "No wonder she is having nightmares. I wish, as I'm sure you do, that there was a way to prevent them from happening."

"The doctor and the minister advised my sons to take their sister out to her mother's grave. She hasn't been there since the funeral and it is hoped that giving her a chance to grieve will lessen the nightmares. They were supposed to take Catherine out there after church on Sunday but she was attacked and injured. Adam, Hoss, Joe, I would like you to take your sister to her mother's grave after church."

"No wait until Sunday," said Hop Sing. "Mr. Cartlight say Sunday family day. Spend day fishing and swimming at Lake Tahoe. Sons take Missy Cat to mother's grave tomorrow."

"You're right Hop Sing. Thank you for reminding me of the planned family day. I had other plans for tomorrow, but this is more important. Boys, please take your sister out to her mother's grave after breakfast tomorrow. Now, I suggest we all get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another busy day."

The next morning, Cat remembered she was now allowed to run and she had promised to help Hop Sing make flapjacks for breakfast. After dressing, she walked out into the hall and seeing it empty, ran to the stairs. Instead of walking down the stairs, she climbed onto the banister and slid down. Ben saw his daughter and asked, "Catherine Michael, are you allowed to slide down the banister?"

"I dunno. Uncle Matt didn't have one. It was fun though."

"The answer is only on very special occasions such as when you are allowed to run after not being able to for a week and on your tenth birthday. So, from now until your tenth birthday, you walk down the stairs like everyone else does."

"It was fun. Can I do it again?"

"Didn't you listen to what I just said? You will be allowed to do it again on your tenth birthday, not before. Now, Hop Sing told me that you promised to help make flapjacks for breakfast so go, use the outhouse and then help Hop Sing."

Cat sighed and did as she was told. The last time she helped Hop Sing make flapjacks, he had the batter already mixed up. This time he showed her how to make it. Once the batter was made, Hop Sing carried the bowl over to the stove, put a ladle in it, and set a platter on the counter next to the stove. "Missy Cat bling stool to stand on and make flapjacks like before. Remember use towel to hold handle of pan so not to get burned."

"Ok Hop Sing. I'll remember. Thanks for not letting me get burned last time."

Hop Sing patted the child on the head and said, "You little girl still and not know better. My job to teach you. Now you make flapjacks while Hop Sing make scrambled eggs and bacon. Maybe next time I teach you how to make scrambled eggs. You know how to catch and cook food, you nevel go hungly."

"That would be swell Hop Sing. I would like to learn how to make scrambled eggs. You make the best eggs I've ever eaten."

While he was making the eggs and bacon, Hop Sing watched Cat making the flapjacks. "Missy Cat doing vely good job. Almost as good as Hop Sing. No flapjacks burned. Tell Hop Sing when batter gone."

"Gee thanks Hop Sing. You're the best cook ever. I've used all of the batter."

"Vely good. When flapjacks finished, you carry eggs to table. I carry flapjacks and bacon."

While Cat was helping Hop Sing make breakfast, everyone else was in the great room. They all laughed when Ben told them about Cat sliding down the banister. His story caused Adam to start thinking and reflecting on things they had done in the past. He was deep in thought when Sam said, "Ben, I've been thinking about what you said last night about Cat's Godparents. I think I know who they are but that's not important. I disagree with your decision to cut them out of her life right now. Does she know that they were responsible for her father leaving his wife and infant daughter to fight in the war?"

"No she doesn't. She's too young to understand right now and the family decided that they should be the ones to tell her."

"I'm not trying to tell you how to raise Cat or run your life. I'm just trying to get you to think about the potential consequences of your decision. However if you cut them out of her life at this point in time, you're going to have to tell her why she's not allowed to see them. I have a feeling that once Cat learns what two of her Godfathers are doing, she will not want anything to do with them, but I think that should be her decision. Besides that, there may come a time when you will need their help with something."

"You're right Sam. In fact, I started thinking about my decision when I went to bed and came to the same conclusion you did. I'm going to send the pictures and your article to Catherine's Godfathers."

Just then Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Bleakfast ready. Everybody go to table." Everyone sat down while Cat and Hop Sing carried the food to the table. She put the eggs on the table and sat down. Hop Sing put the rest of the food down and said, "Missy Cat make flapjacks. Do vely good job. Not burn any. She good girl and learn quick."

Everybody helped themselves to the food and praised Cat for the flapjacks. "Little sister," said Hoss, "I declare these flapjacks are almost as good as Hop Sing makes. They're real tasty. Ya done a real good job on them."

"Thanks Hoss. I'm glad you like them."

"Like them? Little sister, I love them. In fact, I think I'll try and talk Pa out of makin' ya go to school sos ya can just stay home and make flapjacks for me all day long."

"Sorry son," said Ben. "Your sister needs to go to school just as you and your brothers did."

"Missy Cat no spend all day making flapjacks for Mr. Hoss," said Hop Sing. "She need learn othel things too. Mr. Hoss get fat if all he eat is flapjacks. Need meat and vegetables too."

Before the discussion could continue, Adam said, "Pa, I've been thinking and Cat should be allowed to slide down the banister one more time today."

Cat and the rest of the family were surprised at Adam's comments. "I admit, I am surprised to hear you of all people say that son. Please explain your reasoning to me," said Ben.

"I started thinking about when we first built this house. It was late summer when I returned from college. It took me a while to draw up the plans and we had to prepare for the winter, so it was spring before the house was finally finished. If you remember, the morning after we spent our first night here, all of us, including you and Hop Sing slid down the banister twice as a way to celebrate having just spent our first night in our new house. We did the same thing a few months later on the morning of Joe's tenth birthday as a way of celebrating the first birthday in our new house. Of course, we had no way of knowing that we would be celebrating another birthday that same night. Since Cat is now living here permanently, I feel that she should be allowed to slide down the banister one more time after breakfast and then twice on her tenth birthday so she will have done the same thing the rest of us have already done."

"I can see that you have put a lot of thought into your suggestion. Hoss, Joe, Hop Sing, do you agree with Adam?" When they replied that they did, Ben said, "Very well. Catherine, after breakfast, you may slide down the banister one more time and that will be the last time until your tenth birthday."

"Thanks Pa. It was fun. I wish I could spend all day doing that."

"Sorry Kitten. Just one more time and not again until your tenth birthday unless Hop Sing or I give you permission to do it again."

"Ok Pa. I'll just do it one more time."

"Cat," said Joe. "After breakfast, you need to spend some time with Fury and then you're going to ride out with Adam, Hoss, and me. We're going to be taking you somewhere special. You're going to need to learn how to get there and back by yourself so pay close attention to the way we go and come back."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there. That's all I'm going to tell you so don't ask any more questions."

"Adam, Hoss, Joe, your father has asked me to take some photographs of your sister with her colt and puppies," said Abel. "I would appreciate it if you could delay your departure by about thirty minutes."

"That's fine Abel," said Adam. "Take all of the pictures you need to. We'll leave when you're finished."

After breakfast, Ben told Cat she could slide down the banister one more time. She started to run toward the stairs when his voice stopped her. "Catherine, is the house on fire?"

"No sir."

"Is it falling down around you?"

"No sir."

"Is somebody sick or injured and you're in a hurry to get the doctor?"

"No sir."

"Then why are you running in the house?"

"'Cause I'm in a hurry. I haven't been able to run in a week and I want to run everywhere."

Ben sighed. "The rule about running in the house hasn't changed. I'm letting you off with a warning this time but there will be consequences if it happens again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now walk up the stairs, slide down the banister and then go spend some time with your colt. Abel is going to take some pictures of you, Fury, and your puppies. Then you will be going someplace special with your brothers. You can run outside but not in the house."

Cat did as she was told. After going outside and closing the door behind her, she looked at her puppies and said, "I'm tired of everybody bossing me around. I should be able to run in the house and slide down the banister if I want to. They should know I won't get hurt. I never get hurt. If Uncle Matt hadn't yelled at us and sent Festus up to get us, me, Pete, and Mike would have climbed all the way to the top of the water tower in Dodge and maybe gone swimming in it. Grownups are dumb for always thinking that kids are going to get hurt doing stuff. I guess they were never kids."


	67. Chapter 67

**a/n:** Flame: to insult or criticize angrily in an online post or comment. Troll = flame = comments deleted. THIS IS AU, NOT FOLLOWING CANON, AND IS MY OWN CREATION. If you don't like the story, don't read it. There are thousands of Bonanza stories here and other places on the internet. Go read them and stop telling me how to write my story. Adam Cartwright was not a god. He was a human being who argued with his father and fought with his brothers. He fought with Joe over which side was right in the Civil War. He accidentally shot and almost killed Joe when they were hunting a wolf. He belittled Joe when he was playing with a sword. He kissed his brother's fiancée and Hoss nearly beat him to death because of it. He was bossy and hard headed. He made Laura Dayton feel like she wasn't capable of running her own ranch. Joe called him Mr. Bossy Boots and Yankee Granite head. So, wake up and smell the cappuccino. This story is fiction about a family that never existed except on television. From now on, any guest review that tells me how to write my story will be deleted. Go and write your own stories.

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Joshua heard Cat talking to her puppies and laughed. "Good morning Cat. Judging from the conversation you were having with your puppies, I'm guessing your Pa told you something you didn't like."

"Yeah. He scolded me because I was running in the house. He keeps sayin' stuff like I could get hurt. I never get hurt."

"Well, you got hurt the day Thaddeus and I found you."

"I wish you would have just left me there. It's my fault that my mama got killed."

"I believe you were on your way to see Fury. Let's talk while we walk to the pasture. I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say. It is **_not_** your fault that your mother was killed. Your uncle told Thaddeus and I that your mother was just pretending to try and get you to go to Australia. She was talking to a lawyer and was going to divorce her husband because he did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. I know that your uncle has told you the same thing. Has your uncle ever lied to you?"

"No."

"Ok then. What happened to your mother was not your fault. Everything happens for a reason and we don't always know what that reason is. Sometimes we never know what that reason is. Someday, you may know why your mother died that day but then again, you may never know why. What is important is that you realize what happened was not your fault. Just keep reminding yourself of that and you will come to realize that it is true. Now, I have a few minutes and want to see what Fury will do for you before I have to go and do some work."

"I wish my mother had never come back. Then I'd still be in Dodge where I was happy instead of here."

"I thought you loved the Ponderosa."

"I do but nobody lets me do anything or go anywhere by myself. I'm almost grown up and don't need somebody to hold my hand everywhere I go. I had three jobs in Dodge and didn't need anyone with me when I went places."

"Hold on just a minute little girl. First of all, you are only nine years old and that is not almost grown up. Second, the reason you aren't allowed to go places alone right now is because you have only been here for three weeks and don't know your way around yet. I'm sure that you had to be taught how to get places in Dodge before being allowed to go there on your own. Those two boys you used to get into mischief with, did they live in town?"

"No, their farm is about thirty minutes outside of town."

"Did you always know how to get to their house or did your uncle have to show you?"

"Uncle Matt showed me."

"Ok. And how old were you before you were allowed to ride out there alone? How old were they before they were allowed to go into town alone."

"We were almost seven."

"Alright then, stop feeling sorry for yourself and pay attention when you're out riding with your family. That way you'll learn how to get places and back home again. When your Pa feels that you're ready to go places alone, he'll let you but you have to show him you can do it safely. Now, show me what you've taught that colt to do. I have work to do." Cat started to climb the pasture gate when she felt Joshua's hand on her shoulder. "Oh no you don't. That's not safe. Thaddeus and I didn't save your life only to stand by while you do things that could get you hurt. Open the gate and walk into the pasture." Cat sighed loudly. "You've got your choice Cat. You can do it the right way or I can take you up to the house where you can tell your Pa what you were going to do. I know you think you can't get hurt. I used to think the same thing when I was your age and so did Thaddeus. We both did foolish things and got hurt. I'll tell you the stories sometime but I ended up with a broken leg and Thaddeus ended up with a serious head injury. So as you can see, I am just trying to keep you from doing something foolish and getting hurt in the process. Look at it this way. You've just spent almost a week not being able to run because somebody hurt you. If you fall off that gate and break a leg or an arm, it will be two or more months before you will be allowed to run. You also will not be allowed to ride any horse until you are completely healed. It's up to you. What are you going to do?"

"Can I climb through the gate?"

Joshua laughed. "Yes, you can climb through the gate as long as you don't try and do it between the top two boards." Cat climbed through the bottom two boards on the gate and Joshua said, "See, you were still able to do it your way and stay safe. Nobody's trying to keep you from having fun. We just want to keep you from getting hurt. Now show me what that colt will do for you so I can go to work."

Cat pulled a carrot out of her back pocket, broke it in half and put one of the halves between her teeth. Fury gently took the piece of carrot and ate it. Then Cat picked her puppies up, put them on the colt's back and walked around the pasture with Fury's chin on her shoulder. Joshua laughed long and loud. "If that doesn't beat all. I've never seen a dog riding a horse before. What are you going to do when they're too big for you to pick up?"

"I'm not sure. I think they'll be full grown before Fury is so even if he lays down, they could be too heavy for him."

"You're right and I am very proud of you for thinking of your colt's health. Even though you don't weigh very much, you won't be able to ride him until he's two years old. You are doing a very good job of raising him and I'm sure that you're anxious to be allowed to ride him."

"Yes I am. He's going to be the fastest horse in the world and I'm going to teach him how to fly. I wish he was already two."

"I understand. Well, I've got to go to work. Thank you for showing me what you've taught Fury to do. Remember, adults aren't being mean when they tell you not to do things. They're just doing it because they care about you and don't want you to get hurt."

Ben and Abel walked up just as Joshua was starting to walk off. "Good morning Joshua," said Ben. "Abel, this is Joshua. He's one of the two young men who saved Cat's life. "Josh, this is Abel Goss. He's the photographer who was out at the lake yesterday. He's going to take some pictures of Cat, her puppies and colt. Abel, why don't you go on into the pasture and meet Fury? I'll be along in a minute."

After Abel entered the pasture, Joshua told Ben about his conversation with Cat about her mother. Ben thanked him and said that Adam, Hoss, and Joe were taking her out to her mother's grave and he hoped that would resolve some of her feelings. Ben walked into the pasture where Abel had already taken a picture of Cat and Fury with the puppies on his back. Abel took several more pictures of Cat, Fury and the puppies then packed up his camera equipment. Ben opened the gate for him and said, "Cat, your brothers want to leave in fifteen minutes, so if you're going to run around the pasture with your colt, you had better do it now. Your rib is healed now so there's no reason you can't saddle your own horse today."

Cat ran around the pasture with Fury, climbed back through the gate and ran to the barn where she found her brothers had already saddled their horses and were waiting for her. She saddled Beauty, led the horse out of the barn, put her puppies in the saddle bags and started to mount. "Hold it just a minute Cat. You're not getting on that horse until I check and make sure the cinch is tight. I know that you used to saddle your pony by yourself, but a pony is a lot different than a horse. The last thing any of us wants is for you to get hurt because your cinch wasn't tight. Adam checked the cinch, tightened it and said, "Alright, it's tight now. You did a good job, but the cinch was a little loose. Mount up and let's go. Remember what Joe said at breakfast. Pay attention to how we get to where we are going. It is important that you learn how to get there and back on your own."

Cat rode with her brothers and watched for landmarks to show her how to find her way to where they were going again. They rode for about forty five minutes and as they approached the little cove on the shore of Lake Tahoe, Cat realized that her brothers were taking her to her mother's grave. " **No! I don't want to go there! I hate my mother! If she hadn't come back, it wouldn't be my fault that she's dead!** "

"Come on Cat," said Joe. "You have to go there. It's important. You'll keep having nightmares if you don't." Cat tried to turn Beauty around and ride away but Joe grabbed Cat's reins and led the horse toward the graves. He stopped when they got close, dismounted, tied both horses to a small bush and helped Cat down from her saddle."

"Please don't make me go there Joe," cried Cat. "I can't go there. I hate my mother for leaving me alone all those years and then coming back. She didn't even write to me. It's all my fault my mama is dead. She would still be alive if I had gone to Australia with her."

Cat tried to run off only to have Adam pick her up and sit down on the bench Ben had put there. He held his sister in his lap and let her cry. "It is not your fault that your mother is dead. Remember what Matt told you? She was just pretending to try and get you to go with her. She was not going to go back there with the man Grandfather made her marry. She was talking to the lawyer and the judge about divorcing him so she could move back here with you. Even if you had gone to Australia with them, you might not be alive today. It takes several months to get to Australia. Ships are very crowded with poor sanitary conditions. Many of them don't even have a doctor on board. If the ship ran into bad weather, it could have become damaged and sunk, killing everyone on board. That's why your mother didn't take you with her when she went there after she married that man. She didn't want to risk having anything bad happen to you. Pa used to be a sailor. Ask him and see if what I'm saying is true or not."

"Cat," said Hoss. "All three of us have lost mothers. That's why we're here with ya now because we understand how yore feeelin'. Adam here has lost three mothers. His ma died not long after he was born. My ma was killed in an Indian attack when we was on our way here with the wagon train. And Joe's ma was killed in a riding accident when he was just five. It's ok to be sad that yore parents are dead and it's ok to cry. But ya gotta stop blamin' yourself for your ma getting' killed. It weren't yore fault no more than it was any of our or Pa's fault our mothers died."

"You don't hate your mother Cat," said Joe. You are angry with her for leaving you the way she did, and we understand that, but like Adam said, she did it to keep you safe. Nobody knows why she didn't write to you all those years. It's possible she did and the letters either got lost or were never sent. Remember, Matt said that her husband was not a nice man and he could have destroyed her letters. We'll probably never know. But one thing we do know is that your mother loved you very much. She wrote Pa a letter before she got to Dodge. Pa let us read it. She said how much she loved and missed you and that she couldn't wait to see you again. She also said that she had no intention of taking you back to Australia. Your mother said what you have already been told. She wanted to divorce her husband and move back here with you. We got the letter the same day we got the telegram from Matt saying she was dead and you were seriously hurt. If we would have gotten it sooner, Pa would have gone to Dodge and brought both of you back here."

"The important thing is that you're here with us like she wanted," added Adam. "You are part of our family now and we all love you very much. Hop Sing acts like you're his daughter and the three of us love having a little sister to spoil. If we scold or punish you, it's because we do love you, are trying to keep you safe and teach you a lesson. One day you will grow up and have children of your own and you will teach them the same lessons Pa taught us and we will teach you." Cat had been sobbing the entire time so Joe took the canteen off of his saddle, opened it and handed it to Adam. "Come on sis. You need to stop crying. It's not good for you to cry so much. Here, take a small drink and see if that helps." Hoss handed his handkerchief to Adam who wet it and started wiping his sister's face with it. "Are you feeling better now?"

Cat nodded her head but continued crying. "Come on Punkin," said Hoss. "Ya gotta quit cryin'. Adam's right. I just ain't good for ya to cry so much. You'll make yourself sick ifn ya don't quit cryin' and then ya won't be able to go to the dance tonight."

"That's right," added Joe. "I seem to remember that you promised Mitch you'd dance with him. You don't want to disappoint him now do you?"

"No."

"Ok then. Take slow deep breaths and you'll be alright."

It took a long time but Adam, Hoss, and Joe finally got their sister calmed down. They talked to her about her parents and told her how much she was like her mother. They told her about the plans her parents had and how devastated her mother was when her father went off to war and was killed. Joe said that even though he was only eleven at the time, he remembered how Ben tried to convince his sister not to go to St. Louis and how he begged her to stay on the Ponderosa. Several hours later, Cat finally stopped saying she hated her mother and wishing she'd never come back, but nothing Adam, Hoss, or Joe said could convince her that she was not responsible for her mother being killed. They hoped that the time they had spent with Cat at her mother's grave would at least help her nightmares lessen and eventually stop.

As they prepared to ride back to the house, Joe hugged Cat and said, "I know that you aren't going to want to come back here soon, but you need to. It's very important. Watch the way we go home so you will eventually be able to come up here by yourself. I come up here all the time when I want to be alone. It's a nice quiet place to just sit and think. I've spent more than one night sleeping on my mother's grave."

"Really? Why did you do that when you have a bed at the house?"

"I did it several times when I was growing up. I was mad at Pa and Adam and I wanted to hurt them, so I ran away and ended up here. Other times, I just needed to be by myself and think. You may want to do the same thing as you're growing up. I'm not talking about running away, just coming up here to be by yourself and think. Right now, we need to head home. Dinner will be ready in a little more than an hour and Hop Sing will be upset if we're late."

Cat was so exhausted from all of her crying, when she unsaddled Beauty, she didn't have the strength to hold the saddle and collapsed under its weight, causing her to start crying again. Her brothers rushed to her aid. Hoss picked the saddle up and said he'd finish grooming Beauty. Joe picked Cat up and asked his brothers to take care of Cochise so he could take Cat into the house. Ben looked up from his book when Joe walked in and rushed over to see what was wrong with his daughter. "She's exhausted Pa. It was very hard on her and she cried almost the entire time we were at Kate's grave. I'm going to take her upstairs and sit with her until she falls asleep. If she doesn't rest now, she won't make it to the dance tonight and that will upset her even more."

"That's a good idea son. I can see how exhausted your sister is. We'll let her sleep for a while. If she doesn't wake up for dinner, I'll ask Hop Sing to keep some in the warmer for her. I don't think she should sleep more than two or three hours otherwise she won't sleep tonight and may fall asleep in church tomorrow." Cat slept for three hours and said she was hungry when she got downstairs. "I asked Hop Sing to keep your dinner in the warmer. We're eating supper early tonight because of the dance so just eat the one plateful. I would like you to take a bath before supper because it will be past your bedtime when we get home from the dance. I don't want you falling asleep in church tomorrow."

"But I can't go to church. Mrs. Warren…"

"Don't you remember what the judge said? Mrs. Warren is in jail and can't go to church for three weeks. When she does get out of jail, she is not allowed to go anywhere near you. She has to go into the church after we do, leave before we do, and she's not allowed to sit anywhere near you."

"I know that's what the judge said, but what if she doesn't listen?"

"If she doesn't listen, Roy will put her back in jail until the judge decides what to do. She will never be allowed to hurt you again. Now, have you decided which dress to wear to the dance tonight?"

"No, not really. I wore the blue dress on Thursday at the trial and don't want to wear it again ever."

"Why don't you wear that pretty green one that you wore for the dance when we were in Dodge? Since your shoes aren't broken in yet, I know that you'll be wearing your moccasins. Starting Monday, I would like you to wear your shoes around the house for fifteen minutes every day until they're broken in. Then you'll be able to wear them to dances. At fifteen minutes a day, it shouldn't take more than a week."

"Alright. I'll wear the green dress tonight and the yellow one tomorrow and I'll start wearing my shoes for fifteen minutes every day. I don't want them hurting my feet."

"That's my girl. After you're used to wearing them, I want you to tell me if they start feeling too tight or your big toe feels like it's all scrunched up. That will mean it's time to get you a new pair. Now, go, eat the plate of food Hop Sing has for you and lay your things out for the dance. I want you bathed and your hair braided again before supper." Cat came downstairs to supper dressed for the dance and her brothers pretended to argue over who was going to hold her chair. Ben settled the discussion by doing it himself.

Before leaving for the dance, Ben said, "Cat, your puppies need to stay home tonight."

"Why Pa?"

"Because, the room is going to be very crowded and they could get stepped on or hurt. If you remember, when we were in Dodge, You did not bring Silver Chief to the dance or your friend's mother's wedding."

"Oh. Ok. I remember. Uncle Matt made me leave Silver Chief in his office for the dance and Julie's ma's wedding. I do wish I could bring them with me."

"I know you do but they wouldn't be happy. They'll be much happier keeping Hop Sing company. Now go, use the outhouse and meet us at the buggy."

When everyone was settled in the buggy, Cat asked, "Can I drive?"

"No Kitten. Not now. It's getting late and you're not experienced enough to drive a buggy full of people." Cat started to pout and Ben scolded her. "Catherine Michael! If you are going to pout because I told you no, you can stay home with Hop Sing. We've had this discussion before about your attitude when you're told no. This is your last warning. The next time you pout when you are told no, there will be consequences. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now just sit back and relax. Your brothers weren't allowed to drive a buggy full of people or a wagon full of supplies when they were your age either. You will be allowed to do those things when I decide you are experienced and old enough to handle the team if they should get startled."

Cat wanted to argue that she could handle the horses even if they got startled because she was good with horses, but didn't want to stay home and suffer the consequences for arguing, so she didn't say anything. When they arrived at the dance, Mike Devlin was anxiously watching for them. Before anyone could help Cat out of the buggy, he was trying to pull her out. "Yea, you're here. I was afraid you weren't going to come. Hurry up, I want to introduce you to someone."

Before he could pull on Cat more, he felt a strong swat on his bottom. He turned around and saw his brother standing there. "Mike, be glad I'm standing here and not Pa. You know how he feels about you being rude. You owe me one little brother because if it had been Pa instead of me, you would be taking a trip into the alley and returning with a very sore bottom. Be polite, say hello to the Cartwrights and give them a chance to get out of the buggy." Ben helped Cat out of the buggy and Mike asked permission to take her into the dance. Receiving permission, he grabbed her hand and the two children ran into the hall, leaving the adults laughing at their eagerness to go inside.

Mike ran up to a boy who was about his age. "Jas, I've got someone you really need to meet. Cat, this is my best friend, Jasper King. Jas, this is Cat Cartwright. She was Little Joe's cousin but Mr. Cartwright adopted her and now she's his sister. She's really nice and fun to be with. She likes to fish and isn't afraid to bait her hook or take the fish off. She's Laura's best friend too. Wait until you see her puppies. Where are your puppies Cat?"

"Hi Jasper. Pa made me leave my puppies at home. He said it was going to be too crowded here and they might get stepped on and hurt."

"Hi Cat. It's nice to meet you. Call me Jas. All my friends do. Maybe you, me, Laura, and Mike can all go fishing one day. I'd love to meet your puppies. Will you be allowed to bring them to school?"

"No," replied Cat sadly. "Pa says I can't take them to school with me. He says we'll spend more time playing with them than doing our schoolwork. Grownups just don't understand. School is boring. Puppies are not."

"I agree," said both boys together, causing all three children to laugh.

"Cat, do you like to dance?" asked Jasper.

"Yes, I love to dance."

"Do you know the Virginia Reel?"

"Yes. The Virginia Reel and Cotton Eyed Joe are my favorite dances."

"Will you dance the Virginia Reel with me?"

"Sure Jasper. That would be swell. Thanks for asking."

"Will you dance the Cotton Eyed Joe with me?" asked Mike.

"I was hoping you'd ask. Just remember, I can't dance all of the dances with both of you. I promised Mitch a dance and I have to dance with my Pa and brothers. I just hope Hoss doesn't step on my toes."

Both boys laughed. "Yeah, that would be pretty painful," said Jasper. "Say Mike, is Mitch Harris coming tonight?"

"No he's not. He got into really big trouble in town two weeks ago. Among other things, he pushed a bunch of people, including Cat and several ladies, into the street he threw two rocks and broke a window at the hotel and another at the gun shop. He's restricted to the ranch until forever or at least until a long time after school starts. He's not allowed to go anywhere unless his Pa is with him. I wasn't there but Laura was and she said that Mitch and Cat got into a fight and Cat won."

Before the conversation could continue, the man calling the sets got up on the stage and told everyone to get their partners. The boys were about to ask Cat to dance with them when Joe walked up and said, "Sorry boys, but I get the first dance with my little sister. I might let you each have one later if you're lucky."

Cat danced with her family, Mitch, Mike, Jasper and several other boys. The only time she sat down was when the band took a break. She had a lot of fun and by the time the dance ended, she was exhausted. Jasper and Mike insisted on escorting her to the Cartwright's buggy. "When do you want to go fishing again," asked Mike.

Before Cat could answer, Mr. Devlin said, you children can talk about that after church tomorrow. Right now, it's past your bedtime and I won't have you falling asleep in church. Now say goodnight to everybody and join your mother and brother in our buggy."

After Mike said goodnight, Adam helped Cat into the buggy. She was asleep, curled up in the front seat with her head in his lap before they were half way to the Ponderosa. Ben looked at his daughter and laughed at the little girl who wanted to stay up all night and watch the moon set. When they reached the house, he carried her upstairs and put her to bed, hoping and praying she would not have a nightmare. His prayers were answered and Cat slept through the night.

Before church started the next morning, Laura, Cat, Mike, and Jasper talked for a few minutes and decided to ask permission to go fishing on Tuesday. At the beginning of the service, Reverend Long informed the congregation that he two announcements for the children. "The school board met recently and they decided that you will have a new teacher this term. Miss Susan Winter will be your new teacher. She is Mr. Winter's sister and I know you will give her the respect she deserves. Also, the school building needs many repairs so instead of the new school term starting a week from tomorrow, it will begin two weeks from tomorrow. That means you will have to work extra hard to make up for the lost week. I will be checking on your progress with Miss Winter and will be very disappointed with any student who is not working up to their full potential." After the service ended, the four children asked their fathers for permission to spend Tuesday fishing. The fathers talked and gave the children permission to go fishing in Lake Tahoe. Ben said that Laura and the boys could eat supper at the Ponderosa and he would ensure they got home safely.

When the Cartwrights arrived home, Abel took a family portrait and said he was going to spend the rest of the day developing negatives and starting to make prints from them. Sam had decided to spend the day in town. After the portrait had been taken, everyone changed clothes and the family, including Hop Sing set out to spend the afternoon fishing and swimming in Lake Tahoe. Cat decided to test her boundaries and started to swim out past the tree only to be stopped by Joe who took her to Ben. He gave her a very hard swat and made her sit against a tree for fifteen minutes with a warning that the next time would result in her not being able to sit down comfortably or allowed back in the water. Cat thought she was being unfairly punished because she was a good swimmer and sat under the tree pouting. Ben saw her and said, "I think that you and I need to have a long talk about your attitude. I have told you that it is dangerous to go past that tree but you tried to anyway. This business of pouting every time you are told no or corrected for doing something wrong is going to stop. Now you have a choice. You can change your attitude and go back in the water in ten minutes or you can sit there and pout. Then we can go behind some bushes had have a necessary discussion and you can sit there for the rest of the day."

Hoss saw his sister pouting and his father talking to her. "Don' be too hard on her Pa. I think she's jus' kinda tuckered out from yesterday. Going to her ma's grave was real hard on her and she cried the whole time we was there. She only got a few hours nap and it was way past her bedtime when we got home from the dance. Then she had to get up early for church this mornin'. That trial was jus' as hard on her as goin' to her mama's grave. Also, last night was the first night Cat didn't have a nightmare since you and Adam brung her home and the last two was real bad. I think pouting is her way of showin' how tuckered out she is 'cause she won't never tell us that she is. Little sister is too much like little brother was when he was tuckered out. Ifn ya let her sleep in tomorrow morning' I'll do her chores. She might jus' feel better ifn she sleeps all night and don' have ta get up early."

"You may be right son. I'll let her go back in the water and depend on you to keep her out of trouble. Catherine, you may go back in the water now but if you try and go out past the tree again, you'll be out for the rest of the day."

"Ok Pa. I won't go past the tree but I still think I could swim across the whole lake."

Ben laughed. "You won't be doing that today."

"Why not?"

"There are several reasons and the main one right now is that there isn't enough time. You won't even get a quarter of the way across before it gets dark. We'll talk about the other reasons another time. Now go and swim with your brothers and Hop Sing because we'll be eating dinner soon. I'll bet you a cookie that I can be in the water before you." Cat beat Ben to the water by several feet, earning her an extra cookie when they ate dinner. The family spent the afternoon fishing, swimming, and relaxing. When they returned to the house, Hop Sing told Cat and Adam to pick vegetables and everyone else to clean the fish.

Sam returned to the house before supper and handed Ben the article he had written to go with the pictures of Cat on the beaver dam. Ben read the article, laughed and said, "The family is going to love this Sam. You did a great job with it. How much do I owe you for all of these copies?"

"You don't owe me anything Ben. Dan only charged me a dollar to make sixteen copies. He wasn't even going to charge me anything but I insisted on giving him something for the paper and ink. He enjoyed reading it and wants to see the picture when Abel gets them printed. He said he wished he would have been here to see it for himself. He thought the idea of sending a pretend newspaper article along with the picture to your family was a nice idea."

After supper, Abel said he had developed all of the negatives and started making prints from them. He handed fifteen copies of the picture of Cat on the beaver dam to Ben and one to Sam. Everybody was very impressed with Abel's work. "Can I have one?" asked Cat.

"I'm going to get a frame for it and the other pictures so you can keep them in your bedroom," said Ben. "You can keep them on your chest of drawers or we can hang them on the wall by the pictures of your parents."

"Oh. Ok. Are you going to do that with the pictures of Uncle Luke and Mark too?"

"Yes I am and I will be sending copies of the pictures Abel took to Lucas and Mark too."

"Gee thanks Pa. That's swell."

"You're welcome. Now it's time for you to get ready for bed. Use the outhouse, say goodnight to everyone and get ready for bed. You and Joe have time to read at least one chapter in King Arthur before you need to go to sleep."

"But I'm not tired."

Ben laughed. "You sound like all three of your brothers did when they were your age. Believe me, you are more tired than you think you are. Now scoot."


	68. Chapter 68

a/n: To my Guest reviewer who wrote, "So glad you posted another chapter." Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad that you are enjoying my story. I wish you would create an account or use a name or nickname so I could reply to you personally.

To my readers: Adamsbabygirl did not write that very critical review to my story. It was written by someone she trusted to help her with her account. She has apologized to me and reported the person to the site moderators.

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After reading with Cat, Joe came back downstairs laughing. "She said she wasn't tired but she barely stayed awake long enough to finish reading one chapter."

The days flew by. Although they didn't completely go away, Cat's nightmares became less severe and frequent. Cat spent time working the ranch with her father and brothers who started teaching how to find her way around. They rode out to Silver Hawk's village where she was adopted and given four new sets of buckskins and two new pair of moccasins. She spent several days fishing and swimming with Laura, Mike, and Jasper. The Millers came out to the Ponderosa and Cat met Sally and Richard. The three children became fast friends and Sally promised to introduce Cat to some of the girls at school. Mr. Miller gave her a package and when she opened it, she found two large leather pouches that looked like the two halves of a set of saddle bags. The tops of each pouch consisted of several layers that had been sewn together and had a hole large enough to fit over a saddle horn. Like her saddle bags, each pouch had the Ponderosa brand and her name burned into it. "Gee thank you Mr. Miller. These are great. Now Lassie and Silver Chief can keep coming with me when I'm riding. Too bad I can't take them to school with me."

"You're welcome Cat. They were Julia's idea and she insisted on having those flaps so if it starts to rain, your puppies can still stay dry. I know you would like to take your puppies to school with you. I'm quite certain that every child in the school would like it. However, you are in school to learn and won't get much done if your puppies are there."

"You sound like Pa."

Mr. Miller laughed. "That's because I am a father and all fathers think alike."

Cat sighed. Before she could say anything else, Ben said, "Before you say anything, even if you were in Dodge, Matt would not allow you to take your puppies to school either."

"The world has too many grownups in it," said Cat, causing all of the adults to laugh. Sally and Richard agreed with Cat.

Before long, the dreaded first day of school had arrived. Cat tried her hardest but just couldn't think of a way to get out of it so after breakfast, she picked up her dinner pail and saddle bags containing her marbles and school supplies, hugged Lassie, Silver Chief, and Fury and reluctantly rode toward town with her father.

Ben laughed as Cat kept turning around to look back toward the ranch. He had been through this twice before. Adam loved school but Hoss and Joe hated it and Cat felt the same as his two younger sons did. "You won't have to leave as early tomorrow morning Kitten. Today I have to get you enrolled and I may have to buy new books for you."

"I wish Fury would come running up the road after me. Then I'd have to turn around and take him back home. By the time I did that, it would be too late to go to school."

"I hate to break the news to you Sweetheart, but even if Fury did follow us, you would still have to go to school. I would simply put a rope on him and take him back home after I got you enrolled in school. It won't be that bad. You already have some friends and you have met your teacher. You're a sweet girl and I'm sure you'll make even more friends."

They arrived at the school and Ben showed Cat where to put her horse while she was in school. "Unsaddle Beauty and put him in the corral with the other horses. After school, you can ask one of the boys or whoever picks you up to check your cinch. Now, bring your saddle bags and let's go talk to Miss Winter."

They walked into the school and Miss Winter greeted them. "Good morning Mr. Cartwright. Catherine, it is nice to see you again. Mr. Cartwright, I'm guessing you're here early to get Catherine enrolled."

"Good morning Miss Winter. Yes, I am here to get Catherine enrolled. Also, I need to know if I have to go and buy new books for her. Here are her grades from last term and a letter from her teacher in Dodge."

Susan looked at Cat's grades and read the letter from Miss Jackson. "These grades are very good Catherine and Miss Jackson speaks very highly of you and says she will miss you. I need to give you a short test so I know exactly what grade to place you in." She picked a book up off her desk, opened it and asked Cat to read the page she pointed to. Cat read it easily so Miss Winter selected a harder passage, which Cat also read easily. She continued having Cat read harder passages until she started to struggle. "That was excellent. You are reading between a sixth and seventh grade level. Now I would like to see your penmanship. Would you please copy the first three sentences of the passage you just read onto your slate?" Cat surprised both Ben and Miss Winter when she wrote with her left hand. "Oh, I see that you write with your left hand…"

"Is there a problem with that?" asked Ben, starting to get upset. Little Joe was also left handed and Ben had been forced to have many discussions with Abigail Jones about her attitude toward his youngest son being left handed.

"No, of course not. I'll just give her an outside seat so she can write without worrying about interfering with her seat mate. Catherine, your penmanship is good and will improve with time and practice. Now I need to test your arithmetic skills." She wrote several problems on Cat's slate and watched as Cat counted on her fingers to solve them. "Thank you. I see that we are going to have to work on your arithmetic. Now, may I please see the books you brought with you?" Cat took her books out of her saddle bags and handed them to Susan who looked at them and said, "These are the third grade books. Catherine will need the fourth grade books for everything except reading. I would like her to have the seventh grade reader. It will challenge her and keep her from becoming bored during reading class. I have looked at the class roster and there is only one other fourth grade student, so Catherine will be sitting with Laura Ingalls."

"That is excellent. Cat and Laura have been friends ever since Cat started spending school vacations here when she was five."

"Catherine, there is no need for you to remain inside the school until I ring the bell. You may go outside and play with the other children. Mr. Cartwright, what do you want to do with her old books?"

"I'll leave them here for children whose parents cannot afford them. Well, I had better go and buy new books for Cat. I can't have her starting the first day of school unprepared."

"Before you leave, there is one thing I wanted to discuss with you. I would like to start a lending library here in the school for the children. Not every child is as blessed as Catherine to have a family willing to buy them all of the books they can read. With the lending library, every child can take books home to read and return when they are finished."

"That is a wonderful idea Susan. The children are lucky to have such a caring teacher. I will bring it up at the next school board meeting and push for your idea to be approved."

Cat walked outside and met with her friends who began introducing her to some of the other children. Mary and Sally pointed out a tall girl with curly brown hair. "That's Annabel White," said Sally. "She'll probably want to be friends with you because you're Ben Cartwright's daughter. She only wants to be friends with kids who have rich parents."

"Be careful around her," added Mary. "She is very spoiled and if you have something she wants, she will steal it and her mother lets her. I don't know if her Pa knows or not. I'm sure that she'll want your saddle bags. She doesn't like animals but once she sees your puppies, she'll want them just because they're yours. She'll want your colt too."

Mike and Jasper pointed out two boys who were around twelve. "That's Tommy Roberts and Billy Davis," said Jasper. "Stay away from them. They're nothing but trouble. They don't always come to school but when they do, they make trouble for everyone else."

"They do stuff in school and find a way to get someone else in trouble for what they do," added Mike. "They're real sneaky. Last year, Tommy pulled Jennifer's hair and crawled away, making it look like Mitch Harris had done it. Tommy and Billy laughed about it after school. If Jas and I hadn't heard them and told Mr. Harris about it, Mitch would have gotten a whipping with a razor strop."

"They make kids do stuff they don't want to by threatening to do something bad to them or their family," continued Jasper. "Last year little Jeff Michaels almost got killed because they threatened to rip up his school books if he didn't ride one of their horses. Jeff was only six and Billy put a burr under his horse's saddle before putting Jeff on it. Miss Smith thought it was funny. Miss Jones always used to send notes home with them but they'd bring the notes back, signed by their fathers and never got in any trouble for what they did."

Cat's friends continued telling her about the other children. They were still talking when Ben returned with Cat's new books. After putting them in her saddle bags, he hugged and kissed her, told her he loved her, and after stopping to see Roy and Paul, rode back to the ranch. Miss Winter rang the bell and the children entered the school. Reverend Long was there, introduced Susan to her students and began the new school term with a prayer and a blessing. Laura was thrilled to learn that she and Cat would be seat mates. Miss Winter introduced Cat and the youngest children who were just starting school to the rest of the students and then began each lesson by reviewing what the students should have already learned and then started teaching new material. At recess, some of the children started teasing Cat because she was wearing buckskins and not a dress but her friends stood by her and the teasing stopped. By the end of the day, Cat was certain she was going to hate arithmetic even worse than she already did. Having to learn all of the multiplication tables in third grade was bad enough but having to multiply two numbers by two numbers with that carrying business was just too much and why did the second row of numbers start under the second number and not the first. She didn't see any reason why she had to learn it. When school was dismissed for the day, Cat started putting her things into her saddle bags when Mitch Harris grabbed her slate, smashed it on the floor and stomped on it, breaking it and the pencil. Before Cat could do anything, Miss Winter grabbed the boy by his shirt collar, bent him over the stool and paddled him. When Cat's friends saw her broken slate, they asked what happened and she told them about Mitch Harris breaking it. Mike and Jasper became very angry at their friend and decided to take care of him as soon as possible.

When Mr. Harris arrived at the school to get his son, he became very angry when Miss Winter told him what Mitch had done to Cat's slate. He ordered his son outside where Mike and Jasper pounced on him and started hitting him. "Why in tarnation did you do that to Cat?" demanded Mike. "She never did anything to you."

"It's her fault I got in trouble with Sheriff Coffee and my Pa."

"You idiot. It's your own fault. I was in town that day. You caused a lot of trouble and Cat wouldn't have sat on you if you hadn't pushed her into the street. In fact, if she hadn't caught you, I would have. One of the ladies you pushed into the street was my mother and those windows you broke cost a lot of money. You're lucky Ma wasn't hurt. Don't you think that Sheriff Coffee would have ridden out to your ranch and told your Pa what you were doing? You were supposed to get off restriction in two weeks. Now you're going to get another whipping and probably be restricted for another month. You're twelve now and Cat's only nine. When are you going to grow up?"

"Cat's our friend," added Jasper. "We may be smaller and a year younger than you, but if you ever do anything to hurt her again, we're going to hurt you worse."

While Mike and Jasper were talking to Mitch Harris, Annabel was trying to make friends with Cat. "I'm Annabel White, do you want to come over to my house? It's really big and nice."

"I'm Cat Cartwright. I don't know. I have to ask my Pa. Can Mary, Laura, Carrie, Sally, and Richard come too? They're my friends."

Annabelle wrinkled up her nose like she had smelled something bad and said, "I don't think my mother would like that. We don't associate with people like that."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Well you know, being a Cartwright and all."

"No, I don't know."

"They don't have any money. You know, they're poor and my mother won't let me associate with people like that."

"They're my friends. If you don't want to be around them then I don't want to be around you." Cat walked off, leaving Annabel standing with her mouth open. Nobody had ever talked to her like that before and she was going to get even one way or another. She saw Cat's saddle bags and decided that they were going to be hers.

Ben rode into the yard and was surprised to see Mitch Harris with a bloody nose with his friends and Cat standing nearby. Mr. Harris walked out of the school, greeted Ben and handed him some money. "Ben, I'm sorry, but my son decided it was your daughter's fault he got into trouble two weeks ago and broke her slate and pencil. This should take cover the cost of a new one and it seems like my son and I need to have another necessary discussion in the barn when we get home. Cat, I'm sorry that Mitchell broke your slate and pencil. I don't know what's gotten into him. He never used to be like that."

"It's your fault," said Mitch angrily. "Yours and Ma's. Ever since Teddy was born, all you ever thought and talked about was him. You gave him my bedroom and made me move into that little room at the back of the house where there was barely enough light to read by. It was like I didn't even exist unless you needed work done on the ranch or I did something wrong. You treated me like a hired hand instead of your son. You didn't even say anything when Miss Jones gave me an award for having the highest grades in my class. All you cared about was Teddy and you blamed me because he died. I wasn't allowed to hold him or go in his room, but you and Ma blamed me when he died. I wasn't even home the night he got sick but you blamed me because the bedroom window was open and his blankets weren't on him. He's been dead almost a year now and you still don't treat me like your son unless I do something wrong. You can whip me but I'm not staying on your ranch any more. I'm almost thirteen and that's old enough to get a job. I'm strong and I can get a job on any ranch or farm. Mr. Cartwright, will you give me a job on the Ponderosa? I'm strong and I'm a hard worker."

"I'm sorry Mitchell, but not right now. You and your parents have some things you need to work out."

Mr. Harris stood there in shock with his mouth open. He couldn't believe the words his son was saying. "Well Ted," said Ben. "It seems like you have some soul searching to do and you and Sally need to have a talk with your son that doesn't involve the palm of your hand, a belt or razor strop. I have three sons and never neglected the older ones when the younger ones were born. The only time I neglected my family, and I freely admit I was wrong, was after Marie died. Thank God Adam and Hop Sing were there to take care of Hoss and Joe because I was lost in my grief. Take your son home and talk with him. He has a lot of anger built up and the three of you need to work through it. Now, I need to go, buy my daughter a new slate and pencil and get her home. Come on Cat, let's get Beauty saddled and go over to the store."

They walked into the store and Mr. McLeod greeted them. Hello Ben, Cat. How was your first day of school?"

"It was awful! Pa wouldn't let me take my puppies, Miss Winter says my grammar needs improvin', I have to do these yucky arithmetic problems, Annabel White only wants to be my friend 'cause Pa is rich, and Mitch Harris broke my slate and pencil. The only good things were that Laura is my seat mate and I'm in the seventh grade reading class. I'm gonna have to find someplace to live where I don't have to go to school. School is dumb and boring. It's worse than when I was in third grade. I don't know what's wrong with my grammar. I talk like Hoss does and nobody fusses at him."

Both men laughed. "I understand how you feel," said Mr. McLeod. "I didn't like school either but if I hadn't gone to school, I wouldn't own this store now. Pick out a new slate and get two pencils for it. That way if one breaks or gets lost, you'll have another one. I'm glad you're here Ben. I got a new shipment of children's boots in today. Maybe Cat will find a pair she likes that fit her. I'll ask James to bring them in."

"Thank you Gerald. She's been wearing an old pair of Joe's and they're so big, she has to wear her moccasins inside them with newspaper in the toes. Oh, please add two licorice sticks and a penny bag of candy to my bill."

"The licorice and candy are on me. Poor child has had a hard day. I don't know how you could be so cruel as to make her leave her puppies at home. Everyone knows that children would much rather play with puppies than attend to their studies."

Both men laughed at Gerald's statement. "Cat, Mr. McLeod got a new shipment of children's boots in today. Maybe we'll find a pair you like that fit you. Get yourself another eraser for your slate, two tablets and some regular pencils too. That way we won't have to get any for a little while."

Cat brought her school supplies up to the counter and Mr. Miller said, "Why don't you go and get your arithmetic book and show me those problems you're having trouble with? Maybe I can explain them to you." Cat got her arithmetic book and opened it to the page she worked on in class. "Alright then. Copy this problem onto your slate and I'll help you with it. Seventy five times twenty five." Cat copied the problem and Mr. Miller asked, "Do you remember your place values?"

"Yes sir. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands…"

"Very good. Now to multiply two digits by two digits, start with the ones column. How much is five times five?"

"Twenty five."

"That's right. Do you remember what you're supposed to do next?"

"Write down the five under the two fives and write the two above the seven."

"Excellent. Go ahead and do that. Now what are you supposed to do?"

"Multiply five times seven, which is thirty five."

"You're doing fine. Now what are you supposed to do with that two you wrote above the seven?"

"I think I'm supposed to multiply thirty five by two."

"No, that's not quite right. You need to add the two to the thirty five. Write that answer next to the five in the ones column. What is the next step?"

"Multiply two times five and that's ten." Cat wrote the zero under the five in the first line of her answer.

"No Cat, because you are now multiplying by the number in the tens column, you need to put the zero under the seven in the first answer row. Something that helped me when I was your age was to write a zero or an x under the answer in the ones column so I would remember to start writing my answer in the tens column. Didn't Miss Winter explain this to you?"

"She did but before she could have us practice, four of the little boys got into a fight. When she finally got them sorted out, she forgot that she didn't practice with us. Laura figured it out right away because she used to watch Mary do her work. I don't know how I'm going to do this. I had all kinds of help in Dodge but there's nobody here to help me."

"That's nonsense Cat. Your Pa and brothers can help you. Adam went to college and is very good at arithmetic."

"Nobody will have time because they'll always be busy with the ranch."

Ben was going to say something but stopped when Gerald shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that you're mistaken because I remember Little Joe complaining about not liking it that Adam had to help him with his schoolwork, especially when there was too much snow for him to get to school. However, if there does come a time when nobody can help you, come to town early the next day and either James or I will help you. Now, let's finish this problem so you can try on boots." Cat finished the problem and was praised by Ben and Mr. Miller.

"What was the fight all about?" asked Ben.

"Two sets of brothers that just started school today were mad 'cause Miss Winter wouldn't let them sit with their brothers. One boy said his seat mate kicked him and his brother got up and hit the other boy. Then the other boy's brother got up and hit the boy who hit his brother."

"What did Miss Winter do to the boys?"

"She hit them hard twice with the paddle, made them stand in the corner and wrote notes to their fathers. Their fathers were really mad when they picked them up and swatted each boy hard twice."

"I'm glad she took care of the problem," said Mr. Miller. "However, I am sorry she forgot that she didn't have you and Laura practice what you learned in arithmetic class. Now, here is James with the crate of boots. Why don't you go with him and see if there are any you like that fit you?" After Cat walked off with James, Gerald looked at Ben and said, "The reason I didn't want you saying anything to Cat when she said that there wouldn't be anybody on the ranch to help her with her schoolwork is because sometimes it's better if they hear that they may be mistaken from somebody else. You notice that she didn't argue when I told her about Joe complaining about Adam having to help him. She doesn't know yet that you and the boys would drop everything you're doing to help her. She may not believe you if you tell her, but she will believe it if you show her."

Just then James walked up and said, "Mr. Cartwright, Cat isn't wearing any socks. She needs to wear socks so she knows how the boots will fit."

"Thank you James. Cat, why aren't you wearing any socks?"

"I never wear socks. I am an Apache warrior and Apaches never wear socks."

"Well little girl, from now on, I want you to wear socks even when you're wearing your moccasins. They'll help protect your feet and keep them warm when it gets cold outside. Get two pair of socks and put one on before you try on boots." He turned back to Gerald and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She refuses to wear a dress anywhere except church and dances, she only wears shoes to church and changes back into her moccasins as soon as we're back in the buggy, and now I find out that she doesn't wear socks."

"You're forgetting that she was raised differently than we raised our sons. I'm sure that nobody thought much about children running around Dodge with no socks on. It probably never crossed her uncle's mind. Considering the circumstances she was raised in, her uncle did a very good job. She's well behaved, well mannered, and helpful. The last time the two of you were here, you left her here while you went to talk to Roy and Paul. She looked at the toys and a lot of other things, but the only things she touched were the books. Julia Miller came in and bought so many things she dropped several of her packages. Cat picked them up and carried them to the Miller house for Julia. Julia said she tried to pay Cat but the only thing she would accept was one cookie and half a glass of milk. Most other children would have taken the money. She's also got Adam's book smarts. I know she's struggling with arithmetic, we all did at one point or another but she's in the fourth grade and using the seventh grade reader. Now that's something to brag about."

"You're right of course. I don't even think Adam's reading level was that advanced. Of course, he didn't start attending school regularly until we settled here. I taught him as best as I could while we were traveling west. Inger taught him a lot and he got his love of learning from her."

"It seems to me that Cat is a combination of all three of your sons. She loves to read like Adam, she loves animals just as much as Hoss, and like Joe, she hates to be cooped up and made to sit still."

Before Ben could answer, Cat walked up to him, carrying a pair of boots. "Can I get these Pa? I really like them. They look like the ones Joe is letting me wear but they're a little different."

"Do they fit you?"

"Yes they do, don't they James?"

"Yes Mr. Cartwright, the boots do fit Cat. There's enough room in them for her to grow some without having to get new boots right away."

"Thank you James. Yes Cat, you may get those boots. Now we need to start for home before Hop Sing and your brothers think I've let Paul or Roy kidnap you and your puppies think I've lost you. When we get home, you need to do your chores and then get your homework done." Cat frowned at the mention of homework. "Don't frown Kitten. It's unbecoming."

"Then stop saying bad words like homework. My uncles said I had to go to school but they didn't say anything about having to do homework."

Ben laughed and gave one of her braids a playful tug. "Sorry Kitten but homework is part of going to school. If you don't do your homework, you won't get good grades and if you don't get good grades, you won't be spending your summer with Rip, Lucas, and Matt."

"That's not fair."

Ben laughed harder. "I'm sorry Kitten, but life isn't fair. Adults make the rules and children have to live by them." After Cat put her school supplies in her saddle bags, Ben handed her a licorice stick and the bag of candy. "You may have the licorice and four pieces of candy now. If you have room after supper, you may have more candy and I'll tell Hop Sing to put two pieces in your dinner pail tomorrow. Who is going to ride in with you tomorrow?"

"Someone who won't make me go to school."

Ben laughed long and loud. "Who is that? I'd like to know."

"Carrie Ingalls."

Ben continued laughing. "Oh, that is precious. We'll stop at the Ingalls on the way home and tell Charles and Caroline what you said. I'm sure they'll enjoy the laugh. Come on silly girl. Let's go before I laugh so hard I won't be able to stay in the saddle."

They stopped at the Ingalls where Ben told the family what Cat had said and everyone enjoyed a good laugh. "Cat, Laura told me you were struggling with your arithmetic lesson today," said Caroline. "I'm sorry that you didn't get a chance to practice in class because those boys got into a fight. If you ever need help and nobody is home to help you, come over here and I will help you. I don't want you falling behind because you don't understand the lesson. How is your reading?"

"Cat's in the seventh grade reading class," answered Laura. "Even Mary isn't that good."

"That's excellent Cat," said Charles. "I'm sure that your Uncle Matt will be very pleased when you write and tell him."

"Laura," said Cat. "Do you need another book to read? Joe and I are almost done with King Arthur and I've read Robin Hood before. I think Pa and I are going to start Gulliver's Travels next."

"I think we still have four or five chapters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland left," answered Laura.

"Ok, When you finish it, come and get another one."

"That reminds me," said Ben. "When I enrolled Cat this morning, Miss Winter said that she'd like to start a lending library at the school. Some parents can barely afford to buy school books for their children and certainly can't afford to buy them any other books."

"What a wonderful idea," said Caroline.

"I agree," added Charles. "I'll attend the next school board meeting and add my voice in support of the idea."

"Thank you Charles. Now I'd better get this one home before her brothers and Hop Sing start thinking I let Roy or Paul steal her. I'm sure that by now, her puppies think I've lost her."

When they reached the Ponderosa, Joe was out in the yard. He helped Cat down off of Beauty, hugged her and said, "Hi Squirt. How was the first day of school."

He laughed when Cat replied, "Terrible!" and proceeded to tell him everything she had told Gerald McLeod. Before Cat could say anything else, she was attacked by two bundles of fur and energy. She laughed, got down on the ground, hugged her puppies and was rewarded with wet, sloppy puppy kisses. After taking care of Beauty and filling the kitchen wood box, Cat grabbed a brush and ran out to the pasture to see Fury.

About five minutes later Ben walked out to the barn looking for Cat. He walked up to Joe and asked, "Where is your sister? I told her to come in the house and do her homework after she finished with her chores."

"She's out in the pasture with Fury. Since she's training him, I would think that would be part of her chores. After all, that colt won't train himself. I said I'd give her half an hour before getting her. She said all she had to do for homework was ten arithmetic problems and Gerald McLeod already helped her with one."

Ben chuckled. "Thank you son. You're right. Since Cat is training Fury, that would be considered part of her chores. It would save us a lot of time if the horses could train themselves."

"Yes it would. Then I would have more time to spend with the pretty girls."

"Joseph, there is more to life than pretty girls."

"Well, there's horses too, but the girls are more fun to be with."

Ben sighed and shook his head, hoping that his youngest son would grow up and settle down before too long. "Let's go out to the pasture and see what your sister is doing with that colt."

They walked out to the pasture where they found Cat putting her puppies on the colt's back. "You two are starting to get too heavy for me to pick up. I guess it won't be much longer until you're too big to ride on Fury's back until he's all grown up. I sure wish there was a way to make him grow up faster. I don't want to wait two whole years before I can ride him. Come on Fury, let's walk around the pasture before I have to go in the house and do yucky arithmetic. I'd almost rather eat carrots and vegetables that start with r than do arithmetic. Sometimes I'm not sure which one is worse 'cause they're both real awful."

"Hurry up Cat," called Ben. "You still have homework to do." Cat ignored her father and kept walking around the pasture with her colt and puppies. When they got back to the gate, Ben said, "Alright Catherine, that's enough. You have homework to do. Say goodbye to Fury and go into the house."

"But we haven't run yet and I only have nine more arithmetic problems to do. I almost always went fishing after school and did most of my homework while I was fishing. Uncle Matt didn't care just as long as it was right and I got it done before bedtime so why should I have to do it right now?"

Ben sighed. This was a battle he wasn't prepared to fight. "You're not in Dodge any more. The rule in this house is you come home from school, do your chores, and then do your homework. Now go and do your homework. There will be consequences if you continue to argue with me!"

Cat looked at Fury with tears in her eyes and said, "I can't wait until you're old enough to travel 'cause as soon as you are, you, me, Lassie, and Silver Chief are going to Dodge where we belong. I'm tired of being yelled at because of dumb rules that don't make sense. It shouldn't matter when I do my homework just as long as I do it and it's right. That's what Uncle Matt always said, so why should it be different here?"

Ben heard what Cat said to her colt and started to open the pasture gate. "Pa," said Joe. "You just sprung a new rule on her. How did you think she was going to react? What happened to telling her about new rules before expecting her to follow them? When we were in the barn, I told her she had thirty minutes to spend with Fury and then she needed to do her homework. She didn't argue with me. She just said ok, grabbed a brush and ran out here with her puppies. I know she's not good at knowing how much time has gone by so I told her I'd come and get her when it was time. She's making the same argument I used to. It shouldn't matter when her homework gets done as long as it gets done and it's right."

"Alright son, you take care of your sister. We'll talk about this as a family this evening."

After Ben walked away, Joe looked at his watch and said, "You've only got ten minutes left Cat, so if you and Fury are going to run around the pasture, you had better do it now."


	69. Chapter 69

Cat ran around the pasture with Fury and when she was done, Joe walked back to the barn with her so she could put the brush away and get her saddle bags. When they reached the barn, Adam and Hoss walked out. Hoss picked Cat up, hugged her and then tossed her to Adam who hugged her and tossed her to Joe. "We ain't played ball like this in a long time," laughed Hoss.

"No, not since baby brother got too big to toss around," replied Adam.

"Well I'm glad I did. I got tired of the two of you tossing me around like a half empty sack of grain."

They had been playing with Cat for about ten minutes when Ben walked outside to see why his daughter wasn't in the house doing her homework yet. He laughed at the sight of his grown sons tossing their little sister around like a ball. They played for another five minutes, then Joe set Cat on her feet and told her to get her saddle bags. Adam asked her what she had to do for homework and she replied, "Yucky arithmetic" causing all three of her brothers to laugh.

"Once you finish it, if you bring it downstairs, I'll check it for you," said Adam. "That way I'll know what you need help with." Cat finished her arithmetic and took it to Adam so he could check it. "This is very good Cat. You only got two wrong out of ten. You need to be careful to write the numbers right under the ones above them. Otherwise your answers won't be correct."

During supper, Hoss asked, "How was school today Punkin?"

"Awful! Terrible!" Cat proceeded to tell Hoss and Adam everything that had happened at school. Then she said, "If I have to go to school, I should at least be able to bring my puppies. It's not fair that I have to leave them at home. They should be able to go everywhere with me, especially to school."

"I'm sorry Cat," said Ben. "But you are not going to take your puppies to school with you and that decision is not up for discussion. Do not argue with me about it because you will not like the consequences."

"It's not fair. School wouldn't be so boring if my puppies were there."

"Life isn't fair little sister," replied Adam. "Hoss, Joe, and I don't want to have to get up early and spend all day working out in the hot sun, but we do because that's what it takes to keep this ranch running. We would much rather sleep late and spend the day fishing but we work because it's necessary just like it's necessary for you to go to school."

"Puppies stay with Hop Sing and keep labbits out of garden," added Hop Sing. "If puppies in school with you, labbits eat vegetables."

Cat sighed. She knew she couldn't win the argument but she kept thinking of ways to be allowed to take her puppies to school. Once Cat had gone to bed, the family discussed her not wanting to do her homework right after she finished her chores. "What was Matt's rule?" asked Hoss.

"Her homework had to be done correctly before bedtime," replied Ben.

"With Matt's job, she probably didn't have a regular suppertime," said Joe. "Why not tell her that she has to have her homework done before supper and see what she does?"

"Believe it or not," said Adam. "I actually agree with Joe. With the exception of arithmetic, Cat's grades for last term were very good and her arithmetic grade wasn't all that bad, so why not tell her that the homework has to be done before supper? If it isn't, you can always tell her it has to be done right after she does her chores."

"Did ya ask her when she did it?" asked Hoss. "I bet she did most of it when she was fishin'."

"That's exactly what she said," replied Ben. "It seems she did everything she could while she was fishing and then got help with the rest when she was done fishing."

"I don' see no problem with lettin' her act like she did in Dodge. Like Adam said, ifn she don't do the homework before supper, ya can always tell her she has to do it right after she does her chores."

At breakfast the next morning, Ben told Cat what they had decided about her homework. He also told her that if she needed help with anything and nobody was around to help her, she could leave a note on the armoire and go over to the Ingalls.

The school week drug on for Cat. She struggled with the arithmetic and started getting frustrated. To make matters worse, Mitch Harris kept teasing her and doing things to annoy her. Miss Winter noticed that Cat was struggling and decided to allow Cat and Laura to work together on arithmetic and reading. Her hope was that with Cat's help, Laura would progress to the seventh grade reader and with Laura's help, Cat would not struggle so much with arithmetic. When Charles and Joe picked the girls up after school on Wednesday, Miss Winter told them what she had decided about Cat and Laura. Charles was happy that Laura and Cat were going to be able to help each other. He was very pleased that Laura had the potential to read at the seventh grade level. Joe said he would tell his father. After filling Hop Sing's wood box, taking care of Beauty, and putting food in Lady and Fury's stall, Cat took her saddle bags with her whenever she went out to the pasture to work with Fury. After she finished working with the colt, she would take her schoolbooks out of the saddle bags and begin doing her homework. She did her arithmetic, hoping it was right. Then she did her history and grammar assignments. Once those were done, she read to her puppies and colt.

Everytime Mitch Harris annoyed Cat or one of the other students acted up, Miss Winter would remind them of the school rules and the consequences of breaking them, but that didn't stop Mitch from continuing to annoy Cat. She did her best to ignore him but things came to a head and Cat's patience ran out after school on Friday. While they were waiting to be picked up, Mitch pushed Cat into the water trough. Miss Winter decided it was time Mitch learned a lesson, sat on the school steps and watched what happened next. Cat lost her temper and tackled Mitch. The two of them rolled around on the ground, attempting to hit the other. Ben and Mr. Harris arrived at the school just as Cat was climbing out of the trough and started to run toward their children when Miss Winter stopped them. "Mitchell has been bedeviling Catherine all week and she has done her best to ignore him. When he pushed her into the trough, I decided it was time Catherine was allowed to teach him a lesson. This isn't the first time I've experienced a problem like this."

"Please explain," said Ben.

"When I was around Catherine's age, there was a boy in my school who acted toward me the way Mitchell has been acting toward Catherine. He pulled my hair, pushed my books off my desk, tried to steal my marbles, and finally he pushed me down the school steps one day. That was the last straw. I lit into him for all it was worth. When I was finished with him, he had two black eyes, sore shins, a fat lip, and a bloody nose. He apologized to me and started protecting me from the bigger boys."

"What happened to that boy?" asked Mr. Harris.

"He's in San Francisco right now and is planning to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas here. We are to be married next spring, after the school term ends."

Both men laughed and the three adults stayed by the school steps watching the two children fight. When it was finished, Mitch had a bloody nose, a fat lip and would have a black eye before long. He stood up, helped Cat up and apologized to her for everything he had done. Then he put her saddle bags on Beauty and checked the cinch before leading his own horse out of the corral. Before the two children reached their fathers, Miss Winter said, "Mr. Harris, I don't normally interfere between parents and their children, however, I am going to ask you not to punish Mitchell for that fight. Catherine has taught him a far greater lesson than your belt ever will. She has taught him that women and girls are to be respected no matter who they are or what they are wearing. I have a feeling that the two of them are going to be friends now."

When the two children walked up to their fathers, Mr. Harris looked at his son and asked, "Well son, did you learn anything?"

"Yes! She fights like a wild cat! I'm not ever going to be mean to her again."

"That's very good Mitchell," said Ben. "I think you'll find that my little Wild Cat will be a good friend to have. She likes to fish and isn't afraid to bait her own hook. She also knows how to clean and cook fish. Cat also likes to hunt and knows how to clean and cook what she kills. Talk to Jasper King, Michael Devlin, and Laura Ingalls. They've all been fishing with her. Now if the three of you will excuse me, I need to take Cat over to the general store and buy her some dry clothes. I can't have her riding all the way to the Ponderosa in wet clothing." Mitch told Ben he would find a way to repay him the money he was going to have to spend on new clothes for Cat.

Ben and Cat walked their horses over to the general store and walked in. Mr. McLeod looked up from the customer he was helping and said, "James, go get your mother and have her bring some towels. Cat is soaking wet and needs to be dried off. We'll also need to find some clothes to fit her. Ben, I'll be with you as soon as I finish with Mrs. White. Mary should be here in a minute."

Mrs. McLeod walked into the store carrying a large towel, looked at Cat, wrapped her in the towel and asked, "What happened to you Cat? Why are you all wet? We need to get you dried off," and took Cat to the house.

"Mitch Harris pushed me into the trough at school."

"That was a terrible thing to do. I hope his father gave him a good thrashing."

"I already did. We had a fight and I won. He's got a black eye, a fat lip, and a bloody nose. He apologized to me and we're going to be friends now."

"Well, I'm glad that you and Mitchell are going to be friend. Right now I want you to take your wet clothes off and sit here by the fire so you'll stay warm. Here's a blanket to wrap up in. I want you to take your moccasins and socks off too." Cat did as she was told and sat by the fireplace wrapped in a blanket. Mary took the wet clothes outside and wrung as much water out of them as she could and put them by the fireplace to dry. Then she walked out into the store to help Ben pick out new clothes for Cat.

Ben had already put socks, underclothes and a boy's shirt on the counter and was looking at dungarees when Mary walked in. "I'm not sure if these will fit Cat or not."

"I think they will. I'll take the clothes into her and let you know once she tries the pants on. I've got her wet things drying by the fire but I don't think anything will be dry before you're ready to go home. She can either ride double with you or you can buy a second pair of boots for her."

James walked up to Ben and said, "I'm a little smaller than Joe and may have an old pair of boots Cat can have. They'll be too big for her but we can put newspaper in the toes to help. At least that way, she won't have to ride home double with you or in just socks."

"Thank you James. If you have an old pair of boots Cat can wear, that would be wonderful. If not, I'll have to buy another pair for her because I'm sure she won't want to ride home double with me. I know she will if she has to, but she won't like it." Mary returned to the store and told Ben that the dungarees fit Cat but were just a little long and she would fix them. Then she suggested that Ben buy a second pair in case Cat liked them and wanted to wear them for ranch work. James found his old boots and stuffed newspaper into the toes so Cat could wear them. Since her wet clothes weren't dry yet, Mary wrapped them in an oil cloth so Ben could take them home without getting the insides of his saddle bags wet. Ben bought two pieces of licorice and a penny bag of candy and Cat thanked everyone for their help and promised to bring James' boots back the next time they were in town.

On the ride home, Ben asked Cat how school was. "Awful. The only good part is that I get to sit with Laura and we get to work together on reading and arithmetic. Miss Winter is starting to make kids solve arithmetic problems on the board in front of everybody. I can't do that. I never could. Miss Jackson stopped making me do it when I was in second grade and I won't do it now! The last time I had to do it, a boy laughed at me and I gave him a black eye and a bloody nose."

"Catherine, I do not want you starting fights, even if someone laughs at you."

"No! If someone laughs at me because I make a mistake, I'm going to pound the stuffing out of them and I don't care how much trouble I get into!"

"I am serious Catherine. If you start a fight, you will be severely punished."

"Then I'll just go back to Dodge. Uncle Matt didn't punish me when I hit that boy because he laughed at me. I'll leave in the morning. If I ride as long as I can, I'll be at Uncle Rip's fort in two days. He'll take me back to Uncle Matt."

"You are not leaving for Arizona in the morning. You are my daughter now and the Ponderosa is your home. Running away isn't going to solve your problems. You need to learn to control your temper and find ways of solving your problems that don't include fighting. Why didn't you tell me that Mitchell was bothering you? I would have spoken to his father about it."

"I'm not a tell tale! I don't need grownups to make someone stop picking on me or laughing at me. I can do it myself. I told Mitch if he didn't quit picking on me I was going to pound the stuffing out of him so when he pushed me into the trough, that's just what I did. Now he's not going to pick on me any more and we're going to be friends now. Besides that, Miss Winter knew what he was doing and punished him but he kept doing it, so I made him stop. If I have to do arithmetic problems on the board and someone laughs at me, I'll make them stop too!"

"Matt told me that he did not allow you to start fights and punished you when you did. I meant what I said, you are **_not_** allowed to start fights. You **_will not_** like the consequences if you do start one. This is not the first time we have talked about you and fighting and this is your last warning. I do not want to punish you but I will if you disobey me on this." Cat gave her father an angry look but didn't say anything. They rode toward the house in silence. Half way to the ranch, Ben asked, "What do you have for homework?"

"Arithmetic, history and reading."

"I want you to do your homework today. Then you'll be able to do whatever you want this weekend without having to worry about it."

"Ok."

"I know you're angry with me because of what I said about starting fights, but you need to learn that there are other ways of solving problems besides fighting. I did not allow your brothers to start fights and I will not allow you to start them either. Talk to Miss Winter on Monday and explain your difficulty with solving arithmetic problems on the board. Since you and Laura are the only two fourth grade students, maybe she'll let the two of you solve them on your slates instead."

"Ok. I'll ask her."

"That's my girl. Now we need to get home so you can do your chores and get your homework done before supper. I'll bet two cookies that I can get to the road leading to the house before you do." Although Buck was taller than Beauty, Cat easily won the race because she was so much lighter than Ben. "That does it!" he teased. "This is the third time you've beaten me in a race. From now on, when we race, you have to fill your pockets and saddle bags full of rocks. And you have to ride facing backwards. Also, starting with supper tonight, you have to eat as much as Hoss does. I can't have my nine year old daughter beating me everytime we race. I'll never hear the end of it from Paul and Roy."

Cat giggled. "Just wait until Fury is big enough to ride. I'm going to teach him how to fly and then we'll always win races."

"I absolutely forbid you to teach that colt to fly. I will not have you beating me everytime we race. In fact, I think I'm going to find a pony for you to ride so I know I will win our races."

"I'll hide Buck under my bed. Then you'll have to ride the pony."

"Well then little girl. I'm just going to have to eat that bag of candy all by myself."

Cat laughed. "If you do, you'll get a tummy ache and I'll tell Hop Sing why you are too sick to eat supper. Then he'll yell at you and maybe use his wooden spoon on you."

"You little scamp. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"It would be funny."

"I'm quite sure that you and your brothers would enjoy that. Alright scamp. We're home. You've got chores and homework to do before supper. When you finish your arithmetic, Adam or I will check it for you."

"When do I get my cookies? I won the race and you said whoever wins the race gets two cookies."

"Cookies? I don't remember saying anything about cookies. You need to clean your ears out. I said carrots, not cookies."

Cat started getting angry and said, "I'm telling Hop Sing and he'll use his spoon on you. You said whoever won the race got two cookies and I'm going to get them!" She tied Beauty to the hitching rail, walked into the kitchen and said, "Hop Sing, Me and Pa had a race on the way home from school. He said whoever won the race would get two cookies. Now he says he never said that. He said I had to have carrots not cookies."

"Missy Cat win race, Missy Cat have cookies. Hop Sing take cale of father. Sit down at table and I bling you cookies and milk."

"Thank you Hop Sing. You make the best cookies." Cat sat down at the table and Hop Sing brought her a plate with four cookies on it and a glass of milk.

"Missy Cat welcome. Now eat cookies and drink milk. Then do choles and homework." Hop Sing walked out to the barn where Ben was taking care of Buck. "Why you tell Missy Cat she no get cookies but get carrots instead? You no be mean to Missy Cat like that. Missy Cat win lace, Missy Cat get cookies!" He hit Ben in the bottom with his wooden spoon.

"OW! Hop Sing stop. I was only teasing Cat. I wasn't really going to make her have carrots instead of cookies."

"You no tease Missy Cat like that. She no used to being teased. You tease Missy Cat, Hop Sing go back to China and take Missy Cat too!"

"Alright Hop Sing. Stop hitting me with your spoon. I promise I won't tease Cat like that again."

Cat finished her milk and cookies, did her chores, grabbed a brush and her saddle bags and walked out to see Fury with her puppies running circles around her. After brushing Fury and running around the pasture with him and her puppies, Cat sat down against a fence post, opened one side of her saddle bags and took out her arithmetic book, tablet and a pencil. The puppies and colt wanted to see what she was doing and kept getting in the way of what she was trying to do. "Come on you three. I have to do this arithmetic. Then I can read to you. I hate arithmetic and Uncle Matt always says to do what I don't like first so's I don't have ta worry about it later."

Several hours after returning home, Ben became worried about Cat because he hadn't seen her in a long time. Before he could get up, there was a knock at the door. He opened it and Dave was standing there laughing. "Mr. Cartwright, you need to come and see this. I've never seen anything like it. You should bring Hop Sing also. I think he'll like what he sees."

Ben walked outside just as his sons rode into the yard. "Where are ya goin' with Hop Sing and Dave, Pa?" asked Hoss.

"Dave says he has something Hop Sing and I need to see."

"The three of you should come too," said Dave. "I've never seen anything so cute before."

They walked out to the pasture where the mares and foals were and found Cat sitting against a fence post with her reader in her hands, surrounded on three sides by her puppies, colt, and several other foals. A few of the mares were also standing close by. She was so busy reading to her audience that she didn't even notice her family and Dave standing at the fence. Cat had trouble pronouncing a word and after attempting to sound it out, turned to Silver Chief, pointed to the word and asked, "What is that word Chief?"

The puppy looked at the word, sniffed the page and said, "Woof."

"Woof. Thanks Chief." The next time she had trouble pronouncing a word, she asked Lassie and received the same reply. Her human audience could no longer contain their laughter.

Cat thought they were laughing at her and started getting angry but Joe said, "We're not laughing at you Cat. We're laughing at your audience and the help you're getting with pronouncing words. I wish I would have had a puppy to help me with my reading when I was your age although I'm not so sure that Miss Jones would have been happy when I told her that a word was woof."

"No she wouldn't have son. Let's hope that Miss Winter has a better sense of humor."

"Suppel almost leady," said Hop Sing. "Missy Cat finish reading to puppies and colts and come in house."

"Ok Hop Sing. I only have two pages left to read."

"Have you done your arithmetic and history?" asked Ben.

"Yes. I did the arithmetic first 'cause Uncle Matt always says to what I don't like first so's I don't have to worry about it later."

"That's very good advice and I'm glad you listened to it. Why don't you give me your tablet? Adam can check your arithmetic and you can correct your mistakes after supper."

"Show me those words you were having trouble with after supper and I'll help you pronounce them," added Adam. "I'm not sure if Miss Winter would approve of you saying woof instead of the actual word."

"I'll tell her that's what Lassie and Silver Chief said they were. She'll believe me."

"Silly girl. Miss Winter may believe that's what your puppies said, but if you can't pronounce the words correctly everyone in the school will laugh at you. I know you don't want that to happen, so why don't you let me teach you how to pronounce them?"

"It don't matter how I say the words. I'll pound the stuffing out of anyone who laughs at me. I've done it before and I'll do it again!"

"We discussed that on the way home Catherine. I **_do not_** want you starting fights. I can assure you that you **_will not_** like the consequences."

"Then I'll take Fury and my puppies and go to Uncle Rip. He'll get me back to Uncle Matt. I don't want to go to school here anyways."

Before Ben could reply, Joe said, "Let me talk to her Pa. She might just listen to me. Remember, I've been in her shoes."

"Alright son. See what you can do with her. I don't want her starting fights." The family walked back toward the house and Cat finished reading to her four legged audience.

When Joe went up to read with Cat at her bedtime, he talked to her about not starting fights at school. "You can't start fights in school Cat. If you do, you'll be in a whole lot of trouble with Pa. I know because I started a lot of fights when I was in school and got in big trouble with Pa when I got home. I've felt that big strap in the barn on my bare bottom too many times because I started fights in school and I don't want the same thing to happen to you. Also, you've got to quit saying you're going to go back to Dodge when things aren't going your way."

"Why not? Nobody here wants me anyway and I got a bunch of dumb rules to follow that I didn't have to in Dodge. I started lots of fights in Dodge and Uncle Matt didn't get mad at me because I was prevacked. When I was in second grade, I got a arithmetic problem wrong on the board and Mark Nelson laughed at me and he threw a book at me. I beat the stuffing out of him and he never laughed at me again. Uncle Matt didn't get mad at me for fighting with Mark. I used to do a lot of stuff after school all the time but now I can't. I didn't have a bunch of dumb chores to do in Dodge either but now I do. Uncle Matt used to pay me ten cents to sweep out his office before Festus scrubbed the floor, and I got paid to catch fish for the hotel restaurant, and I got paid to run telegrams to farms and ranches out of town, and Mr. Quint paid me to help him with the horses in his shop but I can't do none of that stuff here."

"First of all, everybody here does want you. I don't know what rules you had in Dodge, but I'll bet that a lot of them are the same ones you have here. The word you wanted to use is provoked. You didn't get in trouble for fighting with that boy because he threw a book at you. Pa won't punish you for defending yourself but you can't start a fight with someone just because they laughed at you. Everybody on this ranch has work to do and you're no exception. Pa believes in everybody pulling their weight."

"You and Hoss and Hop Sing might want me but Adam and Pa don't. And everybody but me gets paid for what they do. I still need eighteen dollars for Uncle Matt's birthday present and I still have to buy him a Christmas present but I don't have any money or any way to get some."

"Adam and Pa love you. Why are you saying that they don't?"

"'Cause Pa's always yellin' at me about stuff I didn't know about and Adam says I'm a pest and a nuisance."

"Pa sometimes forgets that you haven't always lived here and don't know his rules. I'm nineteen and Adam still says that I'm a pest and a nuisance but that doesn't mean he doesn't love me or want me here. You've only been here a little more than a month and that's not enough time to get used to the way we do things here. Pa has already changed one rule for you. After school, Hoss and I had to do our chores and then come in the house and do our homework right away. You have a desk in your room but Hoss and I had to sit at the table and do our homework with Pa or Adam watching us. You are allowed to do your homework anywhere on the ranch as long as it is finished before supper and nobody will watch you do it. This is Friday and your weekend homework is done. That means except for church on Sunday, you can pretty much do whatever you want to. You can work with us, you can go fishing, you can go to the Ingalls', Devlin's or the King's and play with your friends because you don't have to worry about doing your homework. Think about what I said and talk to Hoss about fighting in school. He was very good about keeping me out of trouble and not getting into fights no matter how much he was teased. Don't forget, he was bigger than all of his classmates, even when he was only nine, so he can help you figure out ways to control your temper. In fact, he's probably the best person to ask for help in controlling the famous Cartwright temper. He's always tying to keep Adam and I from getting into fights with each other and he tries to keep me from starting fights in the saloon. I'll talk to Pa about some ways you can earn money for Matt's gifts. Adam and Hoss may have some ideas too. Now let's read our chapter so you can get some sleep. Pa will kill me if you stay awake too late."

After reading with Cat, Joe walked back downstairs and told the family what he and Cat had talked about. "Shore Joe. I'll help little sister learn to control her temper," said Hoss. "I've been doin' it with you for years now so's there's no reason I can't help our little Wild Cat too. Pa, I've got an idea about how she can earn some money. Hows about payin' her to get the mail and newspaper after school every day? Ifn you pay her twenty five cents a day, she'll make a dollar twenty five every week. I know it ain't much, but it will save one of us from having to spend four hours riding to and from town just for that. That'll also give her an extra reason for goin' to school every morning'."

"That's an excellent idea son. I will do that. If Hop Sing agrees, I'll also pay her fifty cents to help him weed the garden and I'll pay her again the next time she helps me clean tack. If you three want to pay her to help you with something, that's fine. Just make sure it's something she's capable of doing without getting hurt. Hoss, thank you for agreeing to help teach your sister how to control her temper. I had hoped she would inherit her father's temper, but it seems that she did not."

The next morning, while Cat was taking care of Beauty, Lady and Fury, Hoss started talking to her about how to keep her temper under control. "Here's two things ya can do to help ya when ya want to hit someone. Take a deep breath, let it out real slow and count to ten. Do it as much as ya need to until ya calm down. Ifn ya really gotta hit somethin' make a fist and hit the palm of yore other hand. That's lots better than hittin' someone else unless they hit ya first. Then ya can defend yourself." He said they'd talk more about it later once breakfast was over.

At breakfast, Cat was happy to learn that she would be able to earn some money. Even though it wouldn't be as much as she earned in Dodge, she would be able to save toward getting Matt something for Christmas and to put more money toward the saddle she wanted to get him for his birthday. The she asked, "Can I go to Laura and Mary's or Mike's or Jas' and see if they can play today?"

"It's May I and yes you may. Just be sure you're home in time to do your evening chores."

"That's not fair. I'm only nine and I have to take care of three horses but everyone else only has to take care of one."

"Which three horses are you taking care of?"

"Lady, Fury, and Beauty and it's not fair."

"Who said you have to take care of all three of them?"

"Adam did. Hoss and Joe agreed with him. They said I have to take care of Beauty because I ride him and I have to take care of Fury because he's mine and I have to take care of Lady because she's Fury's mama."

"How do you take care of them?"

"I have to get up before everyone else so I can get the eggs, fill Hop Sing's wood box, muck out two stalls, feed, curry, and brush three horses. Fury isn't letting me clean his feet yet. After I get up before everyone else to do all that, I still have to go to school all day. Then I have to come home and do everything except get eggs. Then I have to do my homework."

"I didn't realize that Fury was already eating grain. When did Fury start letting you curry him?"

"He started two weeks ago. When I was feeding Lady one day, I spilled some grain on the stall floor and he ate it. He started letting me use the curry comb on Wednesday. He likes it because it scratches his itches."

"I see." Ben glared at his three sons. "I agree with you Kitten. That is entirely too much for a nine year old who is still in school, to do. From now until I tell you differently, continue doing everything you are already doing for Beauty. You are riding him, so you are responsible for his care. Since you are training Fury, continue using the curry comb and brush on him after school and once a day on weekends. Measuring out oats doesn't take very long, so go ahead and give all three horses their grain. Someone else will groom Lady, fill the manger with hay, and muck out the stall. On second thought, until you get a little stronger, I would prefer it if you didn't use the pitchfork to fill Beauty's manger with hay. Your brothers can do it when they feed their horses. Since you will be riding Beauty to and from school, you can muck his stall out after school. I don't want you having to get up earlier than everyone else to do your chores before breakfast. Your education is important and I do not want you falling asleep in school. Now, is that more fair?"

"Yes it is. I've got a great idea. I'll still take care of all three horses if I don't have to go to school."

"Scamp. You already know the answer to that. Now finish your breakfast and go, see if your friends can play. Just remember to be home in time to do your chores before supper."


	70. Chapter 70

**a/n:** To Freewrite8, Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like my story and are enjoying Cat's schemes to get around the rules. She will probably keep testing her boundaries until her wedding day.

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On Sunday, the children noticed that Reverend Long's sermons were starting to get long and he said the same thing different ways several times. Some of the boys tried to talk about it after church but there were too many adults present so they decided to wait until recess on Monday. They talked about the problem at morning recess on Monday and decided to wait several weeks to see if the problem got better just in case he was just having a bad day.

The school week drug on for Cat. Working with Laura made it a little more tolerable but she still hated being cooped up inside and made to sit still. With Laura's help, her arithmetic began to improve until Miss Winter introduced multiplying three digits by three digits. While doing her homework, Cat became frustrated and threw her arithmetic book out of the pasture. Joe walked out to check on her, saw the book lying in the grass outside the pasture and guessed that his sister was having problems with her arithmetic. He picked the book up, walked into the pasture, sat down next to Cat and said, "Hi Squirt. It looks like you're having some trouble with your arithmetic."

"Yes. It's awful. I can't do it. Nothing comes out right."

"Have you finished the rest of your homework yet?"

"Yeah. I just finished reading. Pa's gonna be mad at me 'cause my arithmetic isn't done and it's almost suppertime."

"Let's go in the house and I'll help you with it. Pa won't be angry that it's not done as long as you're getting help."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Let's go and I'll help you."

"Why can't we do it right here?"

"Because it's almost suppertime and Pa wants you in the house.

"Oh."

"I told you not to worry. Pa won't be angry that your arithmetic isn't done yet because you're getting help with it. You're not the only family member who hates arithmetic. I hated it too when I was in school and so did Hoss, but Pa and Adam helped us and I managed to graduate with a passing grade." When they walked into the house, the table was set for supper, so Joe put Cat's book down on the table in the great room and sat on the floor next to her. "Give me your tablet so I can see what you've done & what your problem is." Cat handed her tablet to Joe who looked at it and said, "I see what your problem is. You need to keep your numbers under each other. I know what will help you. Copy that first problem onto another page and I'll be right back."

Joe walked over to his father's desk and asked him for a ruler. "I take it that your sister is having the same problem you did with arithmetic."

"Yes. Her problems are wrong because she's not keeping the numbers where they belong. I'm going to show her the trick Adam showed me and I'll see if I still have my ruler to give her."

"Thank you for taking care of your sister son. I'm sure she appreciates it. I know that I do."

Joe walked back over and sat down next to his sister and told her to solve the first part of the problem. Then he took her tablet and using the ruler, drew lines down the page between each number. "It's not that you can't do the work Squirt. The problem is that your numbers aren't under each other. Now solve the second part of the problem and put the numbers between the lines I just drew." Once she did that, Joe had her solve the third part of the problem and add all of the columns together. "Ok. You did a good job with that one. Now do the next one the same way. If you don't keep your numbers lined up when you're doing multiplication, you're going to have a real hard time when you start doing long division."

"What's long division?"

"Don't worry about it right now. You'll find out when the time comes. Right now, we need to get the rest of these multiplication problems done." He sat with Cat as she worked each problem, offering encouragement and pointing out her mistakes.

When Hop Sing called everyone to the table, Ben asked, "Joe, how many problems does your sister have left?"

"Just two."

"How many did she start with?"

Joe looked at Cat's paper and said, "She started with twelve."

"That's excellent. Cat, you can finish those last two problems after supper. I am very proud of you for getting help when you needed it. Go wash up for supper and join us at the table."

After Cat walked out to the bathhouse to wash up, Adam said, "I thought she was supposed to have her homework finished before supper."

"Yes she is, however, she had trouble with her arithmetic. Joe decided to help her and since all of her problems were wrong, she had to start all over again. She has been working steadily for the past hour and asking for help and getting the problems done correctly are more important than getting everything done before supper."

When Cat joined her family at the table, she said, "I didn't really ask for help. I got mad and threw my arithmetic book out of the pasture. Joe found it and said he'd help me."

Ben laughed. "I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to do that same thing with my books. Maybe I'll try that the next time I get frustrated with them and then maybe somebody else will do them for me. In fact, I may even do it tonight."

"You have to do arithmetic?"

"Yes I do Kitten. Running a ranch this size requires a lot of arithmetic. After you finish those last two problems, I'll show you a little bit of what I have to do. You're eventually going to have to learn how to do the books too because someday this ranch will be yours. Of course, it will be quite a while before you have to learn how to do the ranch books, but looking at them might help you understand why I insisted that your brothers graduate from school and why I am insisting that you do too."

"But Hoss didn't graduate."

"Well Punkin' that's 'cause I had a real hard time keepin' up with the other kids. Adam and Pa helped me as much as they could but I still couldn't keep up but Pa still made me stay in school until I was fifteen."

"Oh," said Cat dejectedly, causing the rest of the family to laugh. "I know. I'll just find a nice boy and get married. Then I'll never have to go to school again."

"Sorry Kitten," laughed Ben. "You are forgetting one very important thing. As your father, I have to give my permission for you to marry and that won't happen until after you graduate and turn eighteen."

"That's not fair."

"Sorry Squirt," laughed Adam. "But as we've told you before, life isn't fair."

"It should be."

"You won't get an argument about that from any of us," laughed Ben. "Right now, you need to finish your supper so you can get those last two arithmetic problems done before bedtime."

On Wednesday, Mike noticed that Mrs. Warren had been released from jail. He talked with Jasper and Mitch and together with some of their other friends, made plans to extract vengeance for what she had done to Cat. "Be careful not to get caught," said Jasper. "If you do, we're all going to be in huge trouble. I don't want my father using his razor strop on my bare bottom and restricting me to the ranch until I'm eighteen."

"Whatever you do, **_do not_** let Cat know what we are doing," said Mike. "As soon as we start using our slingshots on the old witch, Sheriff Coffee will go out to the Ponderosa and ask Mr. Cartwright if Cat knows anything. If she knows anything and doesn't tell, she'll get a whipping and so will we. Also, don't tell your older brothers. They might tell Little Joe and he might tell his Pa and the sheriff. If that happens, none of us will be able to sit down comfortably for a long time."

"Don't bring your slingshot to school," added Mitch. "Hide it somewhere away from the school. When word of what we're doing get out, if Miss Winter sees one of us with a slingshot at the school, she'll figure out it's us and tell the sheriff. Like Jas said, if our Pa's find out, they'll be using razor strops on our bare bottoms and God only knows how long we'll be restricted for."

"When do you want to start?" asked George.

"How about tomorrow?" answered Mike.

"Tomorrow is too soon," said Dave. "I've got an idea that might help keep us out of trouble. There's always the chance that a hidden slingshot could be found and most of us have our initials on ours. We should make new slingshots with no initials and hide them around town. That way if one gets found, Sheriff Coffee won't know who it belongs to. We'll have to be careful not to get caught making new ones."

The boys agreed with Dave and they all decided to make new slingshots before using them on Mrs. Warren. Since it was already Wednesday and it would take several days to make new weapons without being caught, they decided to put their plan into action on Saturday. Mitch and George said since they lived closest to town, they would attack on Saturday. The boys decided not to do anything on Sundays because it would be hard to get away from their families and the risk of getting caught was too great. They also decided not to attack Mrs. Warren every day so there was less chance of getting caught. Miss Winter rang the school bell and the six boys joined the rest of their schoolmates in the classroom.

After school, Annabel walked up to Cat and said, "I want your saddle bags. Give them to me."

"No. They were a present to me and I'm not giving them to anybody. Ask your parents to buy some for you."

"I want yours. Give them to me."

"I said no. I don't want to be friends with you and I'm not giving you my saddle bags. Now go away and don't bother me. I've got to get home so I can do my chores and homework before supper." Cat walked toward the corral to get Beauty.

"I want those saddle bags and I'm going to get them. You just wait and see. I always get what I want. My mother said that I can have anything I want and I want your saddle bags."

Cat ignored Annabel and asked Mike Devlin to check to see if she got her cinch tight enough. Mike tightened it and teased, "You're going to have to strengthen those arm muscles. I think you should pick Hoss up and carry him around for a while. You'll get plenty strong then."

Cat stuck her tongue out at her friend and said, "I'll pick Hoss up right after you do. If you can do it, then I can too. I've got to get the mail. Then I'll race you home."

"We'd better not race all the way. Your Pa feels the same way about long races as mine does. If we get caught racing all the way home, we'll both have trouble sitting down & will have to ride double to school with someone for a while. Believe me, there's nothing worse than being laughed at because you have to ride double with an adult. You're a Cartwright and I know about the famous Cartwright temper. Mitch told me about Joe attacking kids who laughed at him when he had to ride double with Adam or your Pa. He said that Joe lit into the kids who were laughing at him like a cyclone. Miss Jones paddled him hard and sent a note home to your Pa and Joe got into even more trouble. The same thing will happen to you too. Your Pa and mine get mad when their kids getting in trouble in school. Even though Mitch warned me, I learned the hard way that if I get in trouble in school, I get in even worse trouble when Pa finds out."

"Grownups are no fun."

"I agree. But unless we can figure out how to get them to go somewhere else, we're stuck with them."

"Ok. I don't want a sore bottom and I sure don't want to ride double to school tomorrow. We can race when we get close to the road that leads to your house."

"Yeah, that's a good plan. It's not that far so we shouldn't get in trouble for racing. We can race to my house and maybe Ma will have some lemonade and cookies for us."

The two children got the mail and rode toward the Devlin ranch. They began their race when they reached the road leading to the ranch. Mr. Devlin was in the yard when they rode in, laughed and declared the race a tie. "Go in the house you two. I believe that your mother has some lemonade and fresh cookies for you. I am curious, what did you wager on your race?"

"The winner got to go first the next time we play marbles," answered Cat.

"Well, I think that is a very fair wager. Now go and get your snack. Cat needs to get home before her family starts to worry about her."

Adam was cutting wood when Cat rode into the Ponderosa yard. He looked at his sister and said, "You should have been home a while ago. I suppose you got in trouble and were kept after school just like Joe used to be."

"No I didn't get kept after school. Mike and I raced to his house and his Ma gave us lemonade and ginger cookies."

"You'd better let Pa know you're home and then start on your chores."

"I'm not a baby. I don't need you telling me what to do."

Ben walked out of the house just as Cat was talking back to Adam.

"Catherine Michael! You need to watch your tone of voice. I will not tolerate you being rude to anyone, including your brothers."

"Then tell Adam to stop treating me like a baby. He sounded like he was glad I was a little late coming home because I might have gotten in trouble in school. And he doesn't need to tell me what to do. I'm not a baby and nobody tells me what to do."

"We'll talk about that later. Why are you late getting home?"

"Mike and I raced to his house and his Ma gave us lemonade and cookies."

"Alright. I'm glad you weren't kept after school."

"If it's ok with Adam, I'm going to do my chores and homework." Cat led Beauty into the barn before Ben could say anything.

"You'd better do something about her attitude. She's starting to sound like Joe used to when he was nine."

"I'll deal with your sister's attitude but you had better deal with you own. Did you ask her why she was late or did you just assume she got in trouble in school?"

"I assumed she got in trouble just like Joe used to."

"For almost two months, you and your brothers have been reminding me that Catherine is not Joe and I should stop assuming she is doing things because she's so much like him. Now you are doing exactly what you have been reminding me not to do. Also, why did your sister say that you sounded happy that she might have gotten in trouble in school? You used to take that same attitude when Joe was a boy and got in trouble. I realize you always thought that I spoiled him and maybe I did, but, as we have discussed before, I did not have to be as hard on him as I was on you because by the time he was born, we were settled here and not on the trail. I will discuss your sister's attitude with her but you need to think about your own. Also, she was only fifteen minutes later than normal so there was no need to question her about her whereabouts or assume she got in trouble. There were many times over the years when you or your brothers were a little late getting home and I did not accuse you of getting into trouble. I just figured you had lost track of time or had stopped to talk with a friend."

Ben walked into the barn and heard Cat talking to Beauty and her puppies. "See, I told Hoss and Joe that Adam didn't love me or want me here but they said I was wrong. I wasn't wrong, they were. You heard him. He was happy when he thought I had gotten in trouble in school and he keeps saying I'm a pest and a nuisance. Nobody every called me a pest except when I was five and kept begging Uncle Matt to buy me some candy. But he didn't do it all the time, just that once when I wouldn't stop begging him to buy me candy. If being part of a family means being called a pest and a nuisance and someone being happy 'cause I might have gotten in trouble in school, then I don't want to be part of a family. Fury is still a baby and can't travel fast, but if we leave tomorrow, we should be at Uncle Rip's fort on Saturday or Sunday. I'll send Lady back when Fury doesn't need her any more and Beauty, I'll send you back when Fury is old enough for me to ride."

"Why are you talking about leaving?"

"'Cause Adam doesn't want me here and neither do you. Hoss and Joe are the only ones who want me. They don't treat me like a baby and they don't always say I'm a pest and a nuisance and they're not happy when I get in trouble or they think I did something wrong and they don't hope I'm gonna get in trouble."

Ben put his arm around Cat, guided her over to a hay bale and said, "Let's sit down and talk about this. First of all I love you and I want you. So does Adam. How often does he call you a pest and a nuisance?"

"All the time. Ever since I sat on that beaver dam. Even if I ask him to make sure my cinch is tight."

"I'll have a talk with him about that. He should not be talking to you like that. I didn't want him talking to Joe like that and I don't want him talking to you like that. However, you need to watch your attitude. I will not have you being rude to anyone and that includes your brothers."

"But Adam was rude to me. He acted like I was a baby."

"That's no excuse. You are not to be rude to anybody."

"It's ok for Adam to be rude and mean to me but I can't be rude and mean to him. That's not fair. I knew you didn't really love me or want me here." Cat ran over to Beauty's stall and started saddling him again.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to get my money from Uncle Roy and send telegrams to Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip. I spent lots of time at the Tanners and they were never mean or rude to each other. So I'm going back to Dodge where I belong."

"Come here and sit down. We're not done talking yet."

"We are too. You said that Adam could be mean and rude to me but I had to be nice to him. I don't want to live where someone can be mean to me but I have to be nice to them. You don't love me and neither does Adam. If you did, you wouldn't have let that nasty lady attack me and you wouldn't say I had to be nice to Adam but it was ok for him to be mean to me."

Ben sighed. He wasn't used to having a child whose feelings were easily hurt, around the house. "Catherine, you misunderstood what I said. I never said that it was alright for Adam to be mean and rude to you. What I said is that you have to be polite, even if he is mean or rude to you. It is never alright for anyone, including myself, to be mean or rude to anybody, even a family member. I'm going to have a talk with Adam too and remind him of the same things I just told you. He is much older than you and shouldn't need to be reminded of the rules about being polite. Also, you have got to stop talking about going back to Dodge whenever you get upset. Running away has never solved any problems. You need to learn to work your problems out and with whoever has upset you. Now I believe you have some work to finish so you had better get it done. Because if you don't get it done before supper, I am going to tickle you until you wet your pants."

"Adam doesn't want to talk to me because he thinks I'm a baby. I won't have a problem if I go back to Dodge. Nobody there treats me like I'm a baby."

"Sweetheart, nobody is treating you like a baby."

"Adam is. He acted like I was too dumb to know I had to do my chores and homework. Uncle Matt stopped telling me to do my homework before I was five and a half."

"Alright. You and I need to just sit down together and talk about a few things. Why don't you go ahead and fill Hop Sing's wood box for him and then we'll sit and talk for a bit? Don't worry if your homework isn't finished before supper. You can finish it before bedtime. It's more important for us to talk some things out than for you to do your homework right away."

Cat walked out of the barn to fill the kitchen wood box and Ben mucked out Beauty's stall and started grooming him. "I was going to do that," said Cat walking back into the barn.

"I know but I thought I'd do it for you. You don't mind me helping you out a little, do you?"

"No. I just didn't want you getting mad at me 'cause I didn't do it."

"That's something we're going to talk about. Right now, I want to let you know what a good job I think you're doing taking care of this horse. He was a little dusty from your ride to and from school and a little bit of dirt in his hooves, which is normal, but other than that, he's in excellent condition. In fact, I think you're doing a better job taking care of Beauty than Joe did his horse when he was nine. Now, why don't you put some grain in the stall for Lady and Fury and give Beauty some while I fill their mangers with hay? Then all you'll have left to do is take care of Fury and play with him. Then you can start on your homework. Now, let's sit down and talk a bit."

They sat down on a hay bale and Ben put his arm around Cat and hugged her. "Now little one, there are some things you need to understand. First of all, everybody in this family including Adam loves you very much. Just because someone teases you or accuses you of doing something Joe used to do doesn't mean they don't love you or want you here and if someone tells you to do something you already know you need to do doesn't mean they're treating you like a baby. We all have some adjustments to make. You haven't even been here two months and haven't completely adjusted to the fact that things here are a lot different than they were in Dodge and that is understandable. You spent most of your life there and living here is a big change from what you are used to. On the other hand, having you living here is a big change from what we're used to. It has been a long time since we had a young child living here. Just like you have to get used to the way we do things, we have to get used to the way you do things.

Right now, you don't have a lot of freedom like you did in Dodge, but the longer you are here and the older you get, that will change. You currently have more freedom than you did when Adam and I first brought you home from Dodge and as I said, you will be getting more but first we have to teach you how to get around the ranch. We live too far from town for me to allow you to have jobs there. That is why I am paying you to get the mail and newspaper after school each day and to help Hop Sing weed his garden and I will pay you again the next time you help me clean tack. Your brothers have been told that if they want you to help them with their chores, they cannot ask you to do something dangerous or too hard and they have to pay you.

We have to remember that you have never lived in a family before and are not used to being teased or told what to do. I will talk to Adam and make sure he knows I don't want him treating you the way he treated Joe. I didn't like him calling Joe a pest and a nuisance and I did not like it when he was happy that Joe got in trouble. At the same time, I do not want you to keep threatening to go back to Dodge whenever you don't get your own way, someone teases you, or you think someone is treating you like a baby. You are nine years old now and need to learn how to work out your differences with your family members, including Adam. He is my oldest son and if anything ever happens to me, he will take care of you and raise you. You aren't always going to agree on things. Nobody always agrees on everything. I know that you and Matt had disagreements but you worked them out. You need to learn to do that here.

Another thing you need to learn is that you will not get in trouble if someone else decides to do all of some of your chores for you unless you have been kept after school or are being punished. That's what being part of a family is all about. Hoss didn't think I knew what he was doing, but he used to do Joe's chores a lot so that I wouldn't know he was late getting home. I let them keep their secret unless I walked out to the barn and saw that Joe wasn't home. Then Hoss got scolded for doing Joe's chores and Joe got in trouble for getting home late. Hoss knew not to do Joe's chores if he got kept after school because then I would know that he had been doing his brother's chores.

Don't be afraid to ask for help with anything whether it's doing your homework, chores, making sure your saddle cinch is tight, or anything else. Families are supposed to help each other out. If you come home from school and there's no wood cut for Hop Sing's wood box, don't try and cut some yourself. You are much too small to use the axe and could get hurt or worse. Try and find an adult to do it for you and believe me, whoever was supposed to cut wood is going to be in big trouble. The same thing goes with hay. When you are finally strong enough to use the pitchfork and fill your horse's manger with hay, if there are no hay bales on the barn floor, do not go into the hayloft. Find an adult to do it for you. I don't want you in the loft without an adult. It isn't safe. If you fell out of it, you could be seriously injured and nobody wants that to happen. The next time we fill the loft, I will take you up there so you can see how it's done, but I do not want you up there alone. If I catch you up there alone for any reason, you will be in a lot of trouble. Now, your chores are done so go and see that colt of yours before he thinks you don't love him. I'll send one of your brothers out to get you when supper is almost ready. Remember, even though you don't always think we do, we all love you and want you here. I will talk with your brothers about how much they tease you and I will let Adam know that he is not to call you a pest and a nuisance. I thought I had made that clear to him when Joe was little. Now scoot before I decide to make you clean and paint the whole barn before supper."

Cat grabbed a curry comb, a brush and her saddle bags and ran out to the pasture to see Fury. Ben decided to visit the Ingalls the next morning to see if it was normal for a little girl to have her feelings hurt easily. After Cat went to bed, Ben talked to his sons about not teasing their sister. He reminded them that although they were used to teasing each other, Cat was not used to being teased and was getting hurt feelings because of it. He also strongly recommended that Adam spend some time alone with her. The next morning Ben rode over to the Ingalls' house and was told that little girls do indeed have their feelings easily hurt. They told him that while Cat and her friends in Dodge may have engaged in some teasing, it was most likely lighthearted and nothing like what she was experiencing at the hands of her brothers. Caroline said that it was alright to tease and say things like, 'My horse is faster than yours,' or 'I'm going to catch the biggest fish in the lake,' but things like calling Cat a pest and a nuisance were undermining efforts to help her feel comfortable being part of the family. Charles said that if most of the teasing didn't stop immediately, they would wake up one morning to find that Cat had left in the middle of the night. "I'm serious Ben. If the hurtful teasing doesn't stop immediately, you are going to lose that child. I'm not talking about things such as when you tell her she has to eat as much as Hoss so you won't lose any more horse races. I'm talking about the things that hurt such as one of her brothers calling her a pest and a nuisance. Talk to your son and ask him how he would feel if he was in Cat's place. I'm sure that her uncle may have told her to stop being a pest when she was younger and kept begging for something. I know I did with my girls, but that's not the same as what her brother is saying to her. Cat needs to be absolutely certain that she can depend on all three of her brothers to take care of her if the need arises. Right now, she doesn't even feel like she's part of your family." Ben thanked Charles and Caroline for their help and decided to talk with his sons again that night.

Friday finally arrived and six boys gathered at the edge of the school yard before the school day began. All of them had finished making new slingshots and started discussing where to hide them around town. They finally decided on six good hiding spots and six more in case a slingshot was found. Then they decided who was going to attack on what days. Finally George looked at his friends and said, "Operation Slingshot begins tomorrow. We need to make Mrs. Warren move away from Virginia City. Just remember, don't tell anyone including Cat, what we are doing." Just then Miss Winter rang the bell and all of the children entered the school to begin another school day.

Adam was waiting for Cat when she rode into the yard after school. "Hi Squirt. How was school?" he asked as he helped her down from her horse.

"I hate school. I hate being cooped up inside and being made to sit still and I hate arithmetic even more."

Adam laughed. "I think I'm the only member of this family who actually liked school. I've given you a head start on your chores and already mucked Beauty's stall out for you."

Cat eyed him suspiciously, wondering why he was being so nice to her all of a sudden. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Cat grew even more suspicious when Adam led Beauty into the barn. She filled the kitchen wood box and walked out to the barn. Adam had already unsaddled Beauty and was filling the manger with hay. While Cat was brushing Beauty, Adam asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll see if Laura, Mike, and Jas want to go fishing."

"How would you like to go hunting with me instead? I want to go hunting and I know you haven't been in a while so I thought I'd ask if you wanted to go with me. But you have to promise not to shoot me in the bottom with one of your arrows."

Cat had been wanting to go hunting for a while but wasn't allowed to go alone. Ben had explained that nobody was allowed to go hunting alone because if they got hurt, nobody else would know that they were hurt or where to find them. "Sure, I'll go hunting with you tomorrow, but I'm not going to promise that I won't shoot you in the bottom with an arrow. It might be fun."

"Scamp! Go and take care of that black colt before I decide to feed you to him."


	71. Chapter 71

**a/n:** To Freewrite8, Thank you for your kind comments. I'm glad you are enjoying my little story. As she gets older and used to being part of a family, Cat's first reaction to difficulties will change. Right now, running away is the only thing she knows how to do. Her reaction to her brothers being left in charge and needing to punish her for misbehaving will depend on which brother is in charge and what her punishment is. Hoss and Joe will probably go easy on their sister while Adam will act more like his father would. Whether or not she gets in trouble with Ben will also depend on what she did and who is left in charge. What will happen if Cat decides to go into the hayloft alone also depends on if she gets caught and who catches her. When they get bigger, her puppies may have their own ideas about their little girl going into the hayloft alone. A nip on the bottom from one or both dogs may be more incentive to stay on the ground than the threat of a spanking from a family member.

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The next morning as Adam and Cat were riding toward a good hunting spot, Mitch Harris snuck into town, found one of the hidden slingshots and hid near Mrs. Warren's house. She exited her house about fifteen minutes later and using the slingshot, Mitch hit her with two small stones. She cried out in pain and hurried in the direction she thought the stones had come from. By the time she reached the spot where Mitch had been hiding, he was already gone. A few hours later, George retrieved another hidden slingshot from its location and hit Mrs. Warren with two acorns. She took the acorns and stones from earlier to Roy's office and demanded that he arrest Cat. "How do you know that Catherine Cartwright is the one hitting you with those objects? I haven't seen any of the Cartwrights in town today."

"I know that foul creature is responsible just like it was responsible for the judge sending me to jail. That thing doesn't belong here in our town with respectable people. It should have died when it was born."

"Mrs. Warren! I am not going to waste my time sitting here and listening to you attack Ben Cartwright's daughter. It is your own fault that you had to go to court and the judge sentenced you to jail time. I seriously doubt that she knows anything about the attacks on you but I will ride out to the Ponderosa and talk to the family to see if they know anything about it."

"That thing will probably lie just like it did in court. I am going to go out to the Ponderosa and take care of it myself. When I finish with that creature, it will wish it had never been born."

" **Mrs. Warren!** **That is enough from you!** If you go out to the Ponderosa, you will be in violation of the judge's orders and I will put you back in jail. If you even so much as harm one hair on that child's head again, the judge will send you to prison and you will be dead within a month. I said I would look into the attacks on you and I will. Now go about your business and let me do my job!"

Mrs. Warren left Roy's office in a huff, slamming the door behind her and almost knocking Clem off the steps as he walked up to the boardwalk in front of the sheriff's office. "What put the bee in her bonnet this morning?"

Roy showed him the acorns and stones. "She was hit by these this morning and swears that Cat Cartwright is responsible."

"I doubt that. I haven't seen any of the Cartwrights in town this morning and if they were, Cat would be with her family, not running around attacking Mrs. Warren with stones and acorns."

"I agree, but I am going to ride out to the Ponderosa and see if Cat knows anything about the attacks. I know that babysitting Millicent Warren isn't really part of your job description but I need you to keep an eye on her while I'm gone. She threatened to ride out to the Ponderosa and deal with Cat herself and I don't need to tell you what would happen if she did."

"Knowing the Cartwrights, if Millicent Warren even attempted to hurt Cat again, there would be a war. If there were, I would side with the Cartwrights."

Roy laughed. "Between you, me, and this desk, so would I."

Clem laughed at Roy. "Sure Roy, I'll keep an eye on Mrs. Warren. What do you want me to do if she starts heading for the Ponderosa?"

"Bring her back here, put her in a cell and tell the judge. I'm going to stop and talk to him before heading out to see the Cartwrights."

Before riding out to the Ponderosa, Roy stopped at the courthouse to see if the judge was in. He wasn't in his office so Roy walked over to his house and knocked on the door. The judge answered and invited Roy in. Roy told him about the attacks on Mrs. Warren and her threat toward Cat. He said that he was going to ride out to the Ponderosa to see if Cat knew anything about the attacks on Mrs. Warren and that Clem was going to keep an eye on the woman.

When Cat and Adam reached a good location to begin their hunt, they dismounted and ground tied their horses. Cat took Lassie out of the pouch Mr. Miller had made for her while Adam took Silver Chief out of his. The two puppies ran off in search of adventure and anything they could catch. After they had walked a little ways into the woods, Adam pointed off to the left and said, I am going to go that way and see if I can get a deer. I want you to go the other way so that there won't be any danger of my accidentally shooting you like I did Joe a few years ago. Knowing that I had almost killed my brother was the worst day of my life and I don't ever want to go through that again, especially with you. We'll meet by the horses in two hours."

"How will I know when two hours are up?"

"Oh that's right. You don't know how to tell time by the sun yet. Why don't I take one of your puppies with me and then I can send him or her to get you when it's time?"

"Ok. You can take Lassie. She'll listen to you." Cat called her puppies to her and sent Lassie with Adam while she and Silver Chief went off in the other direction to hunt rabbits. About two hours later, Lassie ran up to Cat and tugged on one of her pants legs and then ran back toward the horses where Adam was waiting.

Silver Chief started to run after Lassie when Cat stopped him. "You caught some of these rabbits so you should carry one too. I'm sure that Adam made Lassie carry one and you wouldn't want them to think that you're too lazy to carry one, do you?" The puppy picked up a rabbit and ran off. Cat picked up the rest and joined Adam under a large tree where he had spread out a blanket and had put the sack containing their dinner on it.

"Put your rabbits with the others, come sit down and let's see what Hop Sing fixed us for dinner."

Cat sat down next to Adam, opened the sack and started pulling things out and unwrapping them. "Fried chicken, biscuits and fresh lemonade. Yummy. Let's eat. I'm hungry."

Adam laughed at his sister, handed her a cup and said, "Here, hold your cup and I'll pour some lemonade for you." After they finished eating, Adam put his arm around Cat, pulled her close, hugged her and said, "You and I need to talk about some things. I want you to know that I am very sorry I have been calling you a pest and a nuisance. I was wrong when I did that to Joe and I was wrong for doing it to you. Joe always ignored me when I did that and I thought you would too. Instead, I hurt your feelings and for that I am very sorry. I never wanted to hurt your feelings or make you feel like I didn't love you or want you around. I do love you and I do want you to stay on the Ponderosa. You were born here and I wish your mother never would have taken you away. The two of us are going to have to spend more time together so we can get to know each other better. There will be times in the future when Pa is gone and he will leave me in charge. When that happens, I will be telling you what to do. That doesn't mean I'm treating you like a baby. It just means that there are things that you will need to do and it will be my job to tell you what to do and ensure that you do it. That's the way it was and still is with Hoss and Joe. If Pa leaves me in charge, it's my job to tell them what they need to do and ensure it gets done."

"Did you say you're sorry because Pa told you to or because you wanted to?"

Adam hugged her. "I said I was sorry because I wanted to. I hurt you and I didn't mean to. Will you please forgive me?"

"Ok. I forgive you."

"Thank you, Cat. That means a lot to me. I meant what I said. You are my little sister now and I love you and want you to stay on the Ponderosa. You were born here and you belong here. We're not always going to agree on everything and there will probably be times I will have to punish you for doing something wrong, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. It will take time, but you will learn how to resolve differences with people without threatening to run away." When Cat looked at him funny, Adam said, "You learned how to work out your differences with those two boys in Dodge, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Depending on what they did, I either ignored or yelled at them. Then they stopped being dumb."

Adam laughed. "Well little sister, I can tell you that ignoring me won't work because I'll just tickle you and yelling at me will just get you in trouble with me and Pa. Joe found out the hard way that yelling at an adult is guaranteed to end up with the yeller receiving a spanking. Now, do we have enough rabbits for supper tonight?"

"I don't think so. We have eight and Hoss will probably eat all of them."

"No, he won't eat all eight rabbits. He'll probably only eat six of them," teased Adam. "That will leave two for the rest of us to share. I think we should spend more time hunting. I want to get another deer and if Hop Sing decides to make a stew with the rabbits, we can put the rest in the smoke house and keep them for another day. Don't worry, you're not going to have to clean all of them yourself. I'll help and I'll make sure that Hoss and Joe do too. Who knows, Pa may even decide to help us also. In fact, Hop Sing may insist that he help, especially because I am also going to have to take care of at least one deer. Have you ever skinned a deer before?"

"No. My Apache father and grandfather said I was too young the last time I was there but they did let me watch."

"I can understand that, but if I can get our brothers to take care of the rabbits, I'll start showing you how. Of course, you won't be expected to take care of an entire deer by yourself until you're older, but it can't hurt for you to start learning how. I promise I won't get upset with you if you make a mistake. It takes time to learn how to skin a deer properly and everybody makes mistakes when they're first learning. It's just about one o'clock now so let's hunt for about another hour and a half. That will give us enough time to get home and take care of the rabbits so they'll be ready when Hop Sing wants to start cooking supper. I'll take Lassie with me again and send her to you when it's time for us to leave."

When Cat rejoined Adam, they had two deer and twenty rabbits. "Are you sure Hoss won't eat all of these? He eats an awful lot."

"No silly girl," laughed Adam. "Hoss may eat a lot but even he can't eat twenty rabbits."

"Ok. If you're sure."

"I'm sure Squirt. Now help me get this pack horse loaded."

While Adam and Cat were hunting, Roy was making the long ride out to the Ponderosa. He knocked on the door and Ben answered. "Well hello Roy. It's good to see you. What brings you out here on a Saturday?"

"I need to talk with Cat. Is she around?"

"No, she and Adam left to go hunting right after breakfast. Why do you need her? She hasn't done anything wrong has she?"

"Someone hit Mrs. Warren with some stones and acorns earlier, most likely with a slingshot."

"Surely you don't think that Catherine had anything to do with that, do you? As far as I know, unless Joe gave her his old one, she doesn't even have a slingshot. Also, even if she did have one, Adam would not allow her to ride into town alone. She meets up with Michael Devlin and rides to school with him in the mornings."

"No, I don't but Millicent does. I was hoping that Cat would have some idea who did it. It has to be kids. Millicent isn't very well liked, but I can't picture an adult doing that to her."

"Neither can I. However, when Catherine and Adam return home, I will ask her if she knows anything about the attacks. Dinner is ready. Why don't you have something to eat before heading back to town?"

"Thank you. I was hoping you'd ask. I think I had better warn you that Millicent threatened to come out here and deal with Cat herself even though she has no proof that Cat is the one who attacked her. She's blaming Cat for the judge putting her in jail so I wouldn't put it past her to come riding out here and try to hurt Cat. She's not interested in the truth, just in hurting Cat. I could find a hundred people who would swear on a Bible that Cat had nothing to do with the attacks and Millicent would still blame her. I kind of wish the judge would have sent her to prison instead of just putting her in my jail for a couple of weeks. That woman complains more than anyone I know."

"I'm warning you now Roy. If that woman comes out here and tries to hurt my daughter, the results will not be good for her. With the exception of one, there isn't a man on this ranch who wouldn't do whatever they have to in order to keep Cat from getting hurt again. Millicent won't be badly hurt but she will be returned to town trussed up like a Christmas goose. I do not want that woman on the Ponderosa for any reason at all. It's a good thing Catherine isn't here right now because I don't want her to hear what I'm about to tell you. I don't know who is attacking Millicent Warren but I hope you don't try too hard to find them. That woman deserves everything she gets. Attacking an innocent child and then blaming that same child for her misfortune… ** _outrageous_**! She needs a caretaker."

"I understand how you feel Ben. However, I have a job to do and it includes protecting Millicent Warren. I have been attempting to contact her family. So far, I haven't been able to find anyone who is willing to take her. I'm not giving up. Hopefully I will find a relative who will take her, preferably very far away from here."

"From your lips to God's ears."

"Well, thanks for dinner. Hop Sing. That was outstanding as usual. I declare, when I decide to retire, I'm going to move in here just so I can eat your cooking every day. I've got to get back to town before the good people decide to replace me with my deputy. If they do that, I'll have to learn how to become a ranch hand so I can move in here and eat Hop Sing's cooking all the time."

Ben and Hop Sing laughed at Roy. "You do that Roy. If you can learn how to be a ranch hand, I'll hire you. I'll talk to Cat when she and Adam return home but I don't think she knows anything."

"Thanks Ben. I know she's not responsible for the attacks. If she were, she would be using her bow and arrows, not a slingshot."

"You're probably right Roy. I hope it never comes to that, but I won't stop my daughter from defending herself. Don't worry, I won't let Cat start anything. I don't think she would anyway. Joe said he had a long talk with her about taking revenge on someone who hurt you."

"I'm not worried about the littlest Cartwright. She may be wild but she ain't the type to hurt someone on purpose unless they hurt her first. Now if she goes and starts a fight in the Bucket of Blood next week, I will begin to worry. I'll see you in church tomorrow."

Adam and Cat returned home from hunting several hours after Roy left. Hop Sing looked at the results of their hunt and decided to make a stew with the rabbits. He told them to bring half of the rabbits into the kitchen after they were cleaned and to put the rest in the smokehouse. Then he went into the great room and told Hoss and Joe to go and help Adam and Cat. They complained loudly about how hard they had worked all day and since their brother and sister had done the hunting, it was up to them to take care of their catch. Hop Sing stormed into the kitchen, returned with his wooden spoon and said, "Mr. Hoss, Mr. Joe no help clean rabbits and deer, they no eat suppel tonight!"

"Awww Hop Sing," complained Hoss. "Me and Joe done been mendin' fences all day. Adam and Cat ain't been doing nothin' but huntin'. They can clean what they killed."

Hop Sing smacked Hoss on the leg with his spoon. "No help Missy Cat and Mr. Adam, no eat suppel!"

Ben decided to intervene before Hop Sing got angry. "Hoss, Joseph, go and help your sister and brother. They have a lot of game to clean and if they don't get help, supper will be delayed by at least an hour. Remember, your sister isn't used to cleaning enough food to feed six people."

Not knowing his father and Hop Sing were right behind him, Joe looked at all of the rabbits and said, "I don't know why Hoss and I have to help do this when we spent the day mending fences and all the two of you did was hunt. Why did you get so many rabbits? There's only six of us and Hoss isn't going to eat that many." Cat burst into tears and ran into her father who scooped her up in his arms and hugged her while Hop Sing hit Joe in the bottom with his spoon five times. " **Owwww!** Hop Sing stop. What did you do that for?"

"Little Joe bad boy. Make Missy Cat cry. Hop Sing use wooden spoon on Little Joe bottom. Pop, pop, pop!"

"Joseph, how many times did you provide a meal for this family when you were nine years old?" demanded Ben. "I'll tell you how many. Absolutely none. You didn't provide any because you weren't allowed to handle a weapon until you were twelve. Your brother and sister didn't have to bring home enough meat to feed the family. They could have just gotten enough to fix their own meal but they decided to get enough for everybody and instead of thanking her, you have the nerve to scold your nine year old sister for providing enough meat to feed the entire family. Because you are so ungrateful and whined about having to help your little sister, you and Hoss can take care of all twenty rabbits, including stretching the skins so they dry properly. You need to ask Hop Sing how many he wants to cook tonight and then put the rest in the smokehouse. Joseph, because you decided to upset your sister, beginning tomorrow, you can do her chores, including mucking out Beauty's stall, feeding and grooming him for the next two weeks. I had planned on helping with the rabbits but I'm going to help Adam with the deer instead. I highly recommend the pair of you get busy. I do not want supper served late tonight because of you. Come on Cat. Let's go and tell Adam that he's skinning the deer all wrong."

Ben carried Cat over to where Adam was starting to skin one of the deer and set her down. She watched him for a minute and said, "Pa said to tell you that you're doing that all wrong."

"Oh, I am, am I? Well Scamp. I'll show you just what I do with a Wild Cat." He put his knife down, picked up the sheath, grabbed hold of Cat, put her on the ground and pretended to skin her. "You start down here at the feet. First you pull the moccasins of and tickle the feet. Once you do that, you start removing the hide at the ankles. Then when you get up to the middle, you tickle it some more. When you get up to the armpits, you tickle it even more." He followed his words by tickling his sister. Then he said, "Here you go Pa. One perfectly skinned Wild Cat."

"No son. I'm afraid you didn't do a thorough job. This skinned Cat needs to be tickled more. You work on the deer and I'll work on tickling the Cat."

After a few minutes of being tickled by her brother and father, Cat cried out. "Stop Please! I'm going to wet my pants."

Adam stuck his tongue out at his sister and teased, "Well Pa. What do you think? Should we let the Cat go or keep tickling it to see if it wets its pants?"

"I would say to keep tickling it but I don't want to feel Hop Sing's spoon because I caused it to wet its pants."

"I suppose you're right. That spoon sure does hurt. Go on Squirt. Run to the outhouse and then get your knife. You're supposed to be learning how to do this." Once the deer were ready to be put in the smokehouse, Adam said, "Come on Squirt. You can hold the smokehouse door open while I put this deer in it and then you can hold it open again when I put the other one in."

"Ok. I'll close the door and lock you in the smokehouse. That would be fun."

"You know Squirt, it would be just as easy for me to put you on a shelf in there and leave you to cook for a while as it is for me to put these two deer in there. In fact I may just do that for a while and since it's Saturday and you have to take a bath anyway, I'm going to throw you in the trough after I let you cook a while."

"You had better let me see if Hop Sing has enough hot water ready for your sister's bath before you put her in the trough," said Ben. I don't want her sitting at the table in soaking wet clothes and she should have a bath before putting clean ones on."

"Alright Pa, I'll let you check with Hop Sing before little sister goes in the trough but I am going to let her cook in the smokehouse for a little while."

"Alright son but not for too long. We don't want our Wild Cat to get overcooked."

Adam carried Cat into the smokehouse, sat her down on a shelf and said, "Now just sit there and cook while I get the deer in here." He walked out of the smokehouse, making sure the door was propped open. Once the deer were hung in the smokehouse, he put more wood on the fire, picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder, exited the smokehouse, and closed and locked the door with Cat giggling the entire time. Ben was waiting for them when they left the smokehouse and Adam said, "The Cat is cooked but it's a little too hot. I need to cool it down before we eat it."

Ben laughed. "Go ahead son. When you're finished, take your Cat into the bathhouse. She can take her bath before supper. I'll put clean clothes in there momentarily."

After supper, Ben carried his gun over to the table in the great room to clean it. Cat watched him take it apart and asked, "Why are you doing that?"

"I have to take it apart to clean it. A dirty gun is very dangerous. They have been known to explode and kill the person using it."

"Oh. I wish you didn't use a gun. I wish nobody did. Then my mamma and daddy would still be alive."

"I know Kitten. I wish nobody used guns either but out here, they are necessary. A rattlesnake bite can kill a human or animal before help arrives. Cougars will not only attack other animals, they will also attack humans. Unless a wolf is mad or starving, it won't normally attack a human, but coyotes will attack children and wounded animals. Also, you wouldn't want a horse or cow with a broken leg to suffer, would you?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. If a horse or cow breaks a leg, we have to use a gun to keep it from suffering. Another thing we need guns for is to protect our livestock and property from rustlers and thieves. Rustlers and thieves are too lazy to work for what they want, so they steal from others and will try to kill anyone who tries to stop them. If everybody would live by God's laws, we would only need guns to protect ourselves from wild animals and to keep animals from suffering."

"I still don't like guns."

"I know Sweetheart and that's ok. However, I am going to teach you how to use a rifle. I know you don't like guns and have your bow and arrows and when they get bigger, your puppies will defend you, but there may come a time when you need a weapon in a hurry and a gun is closer than your bow and arrows. You don't have to carry it with you the way your brothers and I do, but I want you to know how to use it if you have to. Even Hop Sing knows how to use a rifle."

"He does?"

"Yes he does. When you live as far away from town as we do, it's important that everyone knows how to defend themselves. In fact, I may start teaching you about the rifle after church tomorrow. Don't worry, you won't be firing it for some time yet. There are safety rules you will need to learn and you will also need to learn how to properly care for it before you will fire it."

"Oh, ok."

"I almost forgot. Roy Coffee was out here earlier. It seems that one or more children are using slingshots to attack Mrs. Warren. Do you know who could be doing that?"

"That's great. I wish I did. I would thank them and hug them for doing that because you won't let me do anything to her. She is a mean, nasty old witch and deserves to have bad things happen to her."

"You shouldn't talk that way about people. Do you remember what Reverend Long said to you?"

"I don't care. She is mean and nasty. She threatened me with her whip yesterday when I was getting the mail. If Mike and some grownups hadn't been there, I think she would have got out of her buggy and hit me with it again."

"Why didn't you tell me about that yesterday? I would have said something about it to Roy."

"Because Adam was busy being mean to me and I was mad at him then and didn't think about Mrs. Warren."

"From now on, I want you to tell me when anybody, especially an adult, threatens you. When I see Roy at church tomorrow, I'll tell him about what Mrs. Warren did on Friday."

When he went upstairs to read with Cat before she went to bed, Joe apologized for making her cry earlier. She forgave him and he reminded her that she would not have to do her chores until two weeks from Monday.

After church the next day, Ben told Roy what Cat had told him about Mrs. Warren on Friday. Roy said he would do his best to keep an eye on the woman when Cat was in town. Then he had a chance to talk with Susan Winter about Cat's arithmetic. "I wanted to talk with you about Catherine. She tells me that you are starting to make the students solve arithmetic problems on the board. She is very self conscious about that and told me that she started several fights with students who teased her about making a mistake. I was hoping you could make an exception for her and allow her to solve problems on her slate instead of on the board."

"I'm sorry Ben, but I can't make an exception for one student. If I did, then the rest of the students would expect the same treatment. However, since there are only two fourth grade students, I can have both Laura and Cat solve problems on the board at the same time. That should help her to feel less self conscious. I know exactly which students will laugh at her for making a mistake because I have already punished them several times for laughing at other students younger than themselves. When I have the girls solve arithmetic problems on the board, I will be standing by those students' desks and they will not laugh at either Laura or Cat if I am standing right by them."

"Thank you. I know that will help to relieve some of her anxiety."

"You are welcome. Cat is a very good student. Allowing her and Laura to work together is helping both of them. Cat's arithmetic skills are improving and Laura will be ready for the fifth grade reader before Halloween."

After dinner, Ben took two rifles out of the gun cabinet and after making sure they were unloaded, handed them to Cat. "Which one do you think you are going to learn to use?"

She held up the full sized rifle and said, "This one because it's too big and a hundred times too heavy for me to use so I won't have to learn how to use it."

"Nice try little one. As I told you last night, I want you to know how to use one if the need ever arises. It is important that you know how to defend yourself if you ever have to." He reloaded the full sized rifle and put both of them away. "Come and sit down with me and let's talk about some safety rules. The first rule about handling any gun is to always assume it's loaded. You already know that every gun in this house is always loaded unless it's being cleaned. If you find a gun lying around somewhere and assume it's loaded, you will be much more careful with it than you would be if you acted like it was unloaded. Before I tell you what the second rule is, I want to ask you something. Have you ever pointed your bow and an arrow at someone?"

"No, but I thought about it a bunch of times."

"Oh? Would you please tell me about those times?

"Sometimes when I was mad at Mark Hansen for being so mean, I would lay in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to shoot him in the bottom with an arrow. I even dreamed about it sometimes too. In my dreams, when I was finished, he looked like a big old tom turkey with his tail feathers open."

The entire family laughed at Cat's answer. "Well, there's nothing wrong with wondering what it would be like as long as you don't actually shoot him. That brings us to rule number two. Never, ever point a gun at someone unless you intend to use it. You already know that guns are not toys and what they can do. If you point a gun at someone without intending to use it, you are just playing with it and someone could get hurt or killed. Don't use it unless you absolutely have to but you must be prepared to use it if you have to. Your life and the lives of others may depend on it. Now what is rule number one?"

"Always pretend a gun is loaded."

"No Cat, not pretend. Assume, presume, think…Actually I think suppose would be a good word for you to use. If you see a gun lying around just think to yourself, that gun is loaded. Why should you do that?"

"'Cause ifn you act like it's not loaded, you could use it like a toy and someone could get hurt or killed."

"That's right but I wish you would use correct grammar. Why should you keep your gun clean?"

"Dirty guns are dangerous. They could x'lode and whoever is using it could get hurt or killed."

"Very good but the word is explode. What is rule number two?"

"Don't point a gun at anyone unless ya plan on using' it."

Ben rolled his eyes and sighed. "Miss Winter is definitely going to have to work on your grammar. Your answer is correct. Why do we have that rule?"

"' Cause ifn ya point a gun at someone without plannin' ta use it, you're just playin' around and ya could accidentally shoot it and hurt someone."

"That is correct. Should you always shoot a gun if you're pointing it at someone?"

"No. Ya could accidentally shoot someone who ain't got a gun and sometimes just pointing a gun at someone will make them behave or go away."

"That is very good. That's enough for today. I know you're not happy about having to learn about guns but as I told you, it is important to learn how to use one in case you ever have to. I truly hope you never need to use a gun but I don't want you to get hurt if you ever have to. Now, if you think you can find some horses for us, we'll go for a ride."


	72. Chapter 72

Operation Slingshot continued with random attacks on Mrs. Warren occurring before and after school. She kept blaming Cat who wished she knew who was behind the attacks so she could thank them. Annabel White kept watching for her chance to steal Cat's saddle bags. She finally got the opportunity on Friday. Miss Winter called both Cat and Laura up to solve arithmetic problems on the board at the same time. Annabel took advantage of the fact that neither Laura nor Cat were at their desks and Miss Winter's attention was on them and the boys who would laugh at the girls for making mistakes. She lowered herself onto the floor and crawled to Cat and Laura's empty desks. Then she took Cat's saddlebags and put them under her seat. When school was dismissed, Cat was upset to find that her saddle bags were missing and started looking for them. Just then, Laura came back into the school and said, "Cat, Annabel has your saddle bags."

Before Miss Winter could do anything, Cat ran from the schoolhouse and caught up with Annabel. "Those are mine! You stole them! Give them back!"

"No. I wanted them so I took them and I'm not going to give them back. My mama said I can have anything I want, even if it belongs to someone else."

Cat reached for her saddle bags and Annabel shoved her backwards, making Cat very angry. It had rained the night before and there was a large puddle right behind her tormentor. Cat shoved Annabel as hard as she could and the older girl fell down into the puddle. Cat grabbed her saddle bags and turned around to find Miss Winter standing there. "Catherine, give those to me and then I want both of you girls inside the school, sitting at your desks until your fathers get here. Jeffrey, George, would you please see if Mr. White and Mr. Cartwright are in town and tell them I would like to see them?"

The boys ran off from the school toward the center of town. Jeffrey spotted Ben's horse tied up in front of Roy's office. He opened the door, went inside and said, "Mr. Cartwright, Miss Winter needs you to come over to the school right away." He ran out before Ben could ask him any questions.

Ben looked at Roy and said, "If that girl started a fight, she is going to have a very hard time sitting down for supper tonight."

"Now Ben, don't go getting yourself all riled up until you know why the teacher needs to see you. Cat might not have done anything wrong."

"You're right of course. I'm so used to Joe getting in trouble in school that I'm overreacting before I know what is going on. I'll go over to the school now and see why Miss Winter needs to see me." He walked over to the school and found Mr. White starting to walk up the stairs into the schoolhouse.

Both men walked into the school and found their daughters sitting in their seats. Annabel was wet and muddy. Miss Winter looked at them, held up the saddle bags with the back toward them, and said, "Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Your daughters had an altercation over these saddle bags. I know who they belong to but I wanted to question both girls in front of you to see which of them would tell the truth. Annabel, please describe these saddle bags for me."

"They're mine. They're just regular saddle bags made from light colored leather."

"Thank you. Catherine would you please describe them?"

"Yes ma'am. They're made out of light colored leather. The flaps have fringe on them and it's been dyed different colors. The Ponderosa brand and my name, Wild Cat, have been burned into them. My marbles and dinner pail are in the left side and there's dog hair in them because my puppies used to ride in them until they got too big. They were a birthday present from two of the soldiers guarding my Godfather." Miss Winter showed the front of the saddle bags to Mr. White before handing them to Cat.

"Who is your Godfather?" asked Mr. White.

"President Grant."

"You're lying," screamed Annabel and launched herself at Cat. "Those are my saddle bags and President Grant is not your Godfather!" A fight ensued with Annabel trying to use her size to pin Cat down and pummel her. However, Cat was smaller and lighter, used to fighting children larger than herself and was easily able to dodge Annabel's blows while landing several of her own.

The fight only lasted a few minutes before the girls were pulled apart by their fathers. Mr. White landed several hard smacks to his daughter's backside and demanded, "Why did you steal Catherine's saddle bags? You have no need of them. You do not have a horse."

"I wanted them and she wouldn't give them to me. Mama said I could have anything I want and if someone had something I wanted and wouldn't give it to me, it was alright for me to take it."

"Your mother told you it was alright to steal?"

"Yes. Mama said I could have anything I wanted. She also said I shouldn't associate with people unless they were rich."

"Young lady, you are in a lot of trouble. You are going to feel the sting of my belt on your bare bottom for stealing from Catherine and starting that fight as well as the one that landed you in a mud puddle. Furthermore, you are restricted to your room for a week. We are going to go through your bedroom and you will receive an extra day's restriction for everything I find in there that does not belong to you, even if it means you are restricted for a month. You will only be allowed to leave your room for meals, chores, school, and church. You will return everything you have stolen to its rightful owner and apologize to that person. During the time you are restricted, you will write an essay on why stealing and starting fights are wrong. I will also be discussing your stealing with your mother and if I find out you lied to me about what she said, you will be in even more trouble. The next time I catch you stealing, not only will your punishment be the same as it is now, you will be giving half of your toys to the orphanage in Carson City. Now apologize to Miss Winter, Mr. Cartwright and Catherine for the trouble you caused!"

"I'll apologize to Miss Winter and Mr. Cartwright but I ain't apologizing to that orphan. Mrs. Warren is right. She shouldn't be here with decent people. There's no telling where she came from or who her parents were."

Ben got angry. "Not that it is any of your business young lady, but Catherine is my younger sister's daughter. She was born on the Ponderosa. Her father was killed in the war and her mother was murdered in June. In the future, I suggest that you take a good long look at yourself in a mirror and count your blessings before belittling someone else. Children who have been orphaned are not to blame that their parents are dead. They are God's children and deserve love and compassion the same as everyone else."

"I'm sorry for the way my daughter has acted Ben," said Mr. White. "I fully intend to follow through with the promised punishment. If I find out that my wife did indeed tell our daughter that stealing was acceptable, she will suffer a fate similar to what Annabel will be receiving. Stealing is against the laws of God and man and I will not tolerate it from any member of my family. Nor will I tolerate an adult telling a child that it is alright to steal."

As Mr. White pulled Annabel toward the school door, she turned around and screamed at Cat, "This is all your fault. I'm not going to forget what you did and I will get even with you no matter how long it takes."

"Annabel," said Mr. White. "You just earned yourself two more licks with my belt for blaming Mr. Cartwright's daughter for your actions and for threatening her. At the rate you are going, you are not going to be able to sit down comfortably for at least a day. Now march yourself home, do your chores and go straight to your room. I will be up to deal with you shortly."

"I'm telling mama what you said you were going to do. You'll see. She won't let you punish me for anything. I am her little princess and can do anything I want to!" Mr. White delivered another strong smack to his daughter's bottom.

"I highly recommend you do as you were told before I bend you over a desk and give you a whipping right here and now. I have reached the end of my patience with you and will not tolerate any more disrespect toward me, Mr. Cartwright, Miss Winter, or Catherine. Now get yourself home unless you want a whipping right here and now!" He gave Annabel another strong smack to emphasize his point.

After the Whites had left the school, Miss Winter said, "Mr. Cartwright, Catherine is not in any trouble. She could have handled Annabel's stealing her saddle bags differently, but Annabel started the altercation in the schoolyard. Catherine was just defending herself. I must admit that I am curious. Is President Grant really Catherine's Godfather?"

"Yes he is. So are Generals Sheridan and Sherman. They were good friends with Cat's father when they were young. When Cat was born, they promised her parents if anything ever happened to them and no family member could take her, one of them would raise her as his own. Thank you for telling me that Cat is not in trouble and did not start the altercation in the yard. Come on Cat. Get your books and then get the mail and newspaper. If I do those things, you will not be paid for today. Meet me at Roy's office and we can ride home together. Who knows, maybe I'll let you beat me in a race."

Cat laughed. "Pa, you couldn't beat me in a race ifn I was ridin' backwards with my eyes closed."

Miss Winter laughed at Cat's statement. "Catherine, don't forget you have a grammar test on Monday that you need to study for. You need to stop talking like your brother Hoss. Polite young ladies use correct grammar."

"Thank you Miss Winter," said Ben. "I have been trying to get her to use correct grammar at home and I believe that Hoss also had a talk with her about that same thing. I want to get this wild one home before she decides to take the town apart one board at a time. Have a nice weekend"

"That sounds like fun Pa. I just need to borrow a hammer from someone."

Miss Winter laughed. "Good luck keeping her corralled. I'll see you in church on Sunday."

Ben sighed. "Come on Scamp. Go get the mail and newspaper and meet me at Roy's office." On the ride home, Ben asked Cat, "Have you ever stolen anything?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. Maybe when I was real little. You have to ask Uncle Matt."

"Well, if you stole something when you were very young, that's not important because very young children don't know any better and many times they're just curious and forget to put things back where they belong. But you haven't stolen anything since you were five, have you?"

"No sir! Uncle Matt woulda killed me if I had. I probably wouldn't have been able to sit down until I was twelve."

When Mr. White arrived at his home, he found his daughter complaining to her mother about the way her father had treated her at the school and his promised punishment for her stealing. "Annabel Marie! I distinctly remember telling you to do your chores and go to your room when you got home."

"Mama said I didn't have to go to my room."

Mr. White glared at his wife. "Your mother and I will be discussing this later. Your deliberate disobedience of my instructions has just earned you an extra week of restriction. Besides the essay I have already assigned you, I will also be assigning extra chores for you to do as well. Now get upstairs to your room. I will be there momentarily to deal with your stealing, lying and starting fights." He delivered another hard smack to his daughter's bottom as she slowly walked toward the stairs.

"See mama, I told you that Pa was being mean to me."

"Annabel, if you continue disobeying me, you will be on restriction until after Christmas. Is that what you want, to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in your bedroom with extra chores to do? That's not what I want but it's your choice. You already have two weeks restriction plus an additional day for every stolen item I find in your bedroom. If you want extra licks with my belt and your restriction to be even longer, continue talking back and disobeying me, because I guarantee that is exactly what will happen to you."

"Go upstairs and do your homework Princess," said Mrs. White. "I won't let your father punish you. After all, that girl should have given you her saddle bags when you told her to."

Annabel stuck her tongue out at her father and said, "See, I told you mama wouldn't let you punish me. I'm her little princess and I can do anything I want to."

Mr. White glared at his wife and said, "You and I are going to be discussing this later and I can guarantee that you will not like the discussion. Right now, I need to deal with our daughter. I am warning you, do not interfere with me on this. Annabel, I am sick and tired of your disrespect and disobedience. It's time you learned that I mean what I say." He picked his daughter up and carried her up to her bedroom where he delivered the promised whipping. Then he walked outside to the barn and returned with four crates. He entered his daughter's room and said, "Start taking your toys out. I want everything you have stolen in two crates and everything that is yours in the other two."

"Why do I have to put my toys in crates?"

"Because I told you to do it. If you want to stand there and argue with me, I can always make your bottom hurt worse than it does now and add more time to your restriction."

Once the toys had been sorted out, Mr. White had Annabel go through her clothing and other belongings. When everything had been sorted out, Annabel was told that she would be on restriction for a total of six weeks. Then he told her to put her clothes away, picked up the crates containing her toys and walked out of the room with them.

"Those are mine. Why are you taking them? You can't have them. I'm telling mama."

"You have lost the privilege of having these until your restriction is over. You are being punished and I will not have you sitting up here playing when you are supposed to be writing an essay and doing extra chores. If I catch you with any of them before your restriction is over, you will not get them back until after the new year."

"That's not fair. I'm going to tell mama and she'll give them back to me. You'll see. She lets me do anything I want to."

" **Annabel Marie!** You are dangerously close to going over my knees and getting a spanking on top of the whipping I just gave you! If the disrespect continues, not only will you get a spanking right now, your restriction will be extended until after Christmas. Start on your homework. I will have a list of chores you will be doing during your restriction after supper. Tomorrow we will return the things you stole and you will start on your extra chores. You will be expected to keep up with your schoolwork and keep your grades high even though you will have extra chores. Any chore that is not done correctly will result in you having to redo it and an additional day of restriction. Refusal to do any chore will result in a spanking and an additional day of restriction."

After supper, Mr. White handed Annabel's list of chores to her. She looked at the list and read, "Feed the chickens and gather the eggs, muck out the stalls every day and put fresh bedding down, clean the fireplace every Friday, dust and polish the furniture, sweep the entire house, beat the rugs, clean the hen house, put new nesting material in the boxes and rake the coop every Saturday, polish the banister and spindles, polish the silver, help your mother do the laundry, wash the windows, stack wood after it has been cut, fill the wood boxes after school and twice a day on weekends."

"I can't do all that."

"You can and you will. There is nothing on that list that is too hard for you. Children younger than you do many of those things every day. In fact, feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs will be part of your regular chores from now on. You're almost twelve years old and it's high time you started helping around here more. Since most of those chores will be done after school, I realize that some of them will take several days to complete. As long as I see you making progress on them, you will not be punished. Once you have done everything on the list, you will start the list again. These are things that your mother and I do every week. Doing the things on this list will help you understand what it takes to run a household. There are only three stalls so it won't take you too long to muck them out and put fresh bedding down. I truly hope that you will cooperate and do the things on this list without complaining. I do not enjoy punishing you and do it to teach you a lesson. I want you to grow up to be a lady whom people respect as being honest and helpful. Now go and help your mother in the kitchen. Then go up to your room and stay there until tomorrow morning when you will feed the chickens and gather the eggs before doing your usual morning chores. After breakfast, you and I will return everything you have stolen and you will apologize for stealing those things. When we return home, you can clean the hen house and rake the chicken coop. Then I will carry the rugs outside so you can beat them."

Once Annabel was asleep Mr. White took his wife out to the barn to have a talk with her. He yelled at her for telling their daughter it was alright to steal from people. He also yelled at her for telling their daughter she should only play with children whose parents had money and for undermining his authority with Annabel. He told his wife that except for meals, chores, school, and church, their daughter was restricted to her room for six weeks. He also said that he had taken her toys away and she was not to have them back until her restriction was over. When Mrs. White protested that Annabel was a princess, had done nothing wrong and people with money were the only ones worth associating with, her husband pulled her over his knees and gave her a sound spanking. Then he told her to read her Bible to see what it had to say about stealing and only associating with wealthy people. He also told her that she would receive another spanking if she interfered with Annabel's punishment. She was to show the girl how to do things and supervise, but she was not to do Annabel's chores for her.

After breakfast the next morning, he hitched a horse to the buggy, put everything Annabel had stolen in the back seat, put the top up because it was raining, and set off to have his daughter return everything to its rightful owner. Their second stop was the general store where Annabel had to return several toys she had stolen from Mr. McLeod. Mr. White stood behind his daughter and noticed that she had one hand behind her back with her fingers crossed while she was apologizing. He knew that to children having your fingers crossed behind your back meant you didn't really mean what you were saying and became very angry. He pulled Annabel's hand out from behind her back and held onto it. "George, may I please borrow your wood shed? I have a very disrespectful little girl to deal with.

Knowing exactly what Annabel was doing, Mr. McLeod replied, "Of course you may Fred. You are also welcome to use my storeroom if you'd like. Either one will suit your purposes."

"Thank you George. I won't be too long." He pulled his daughter out of the store and into the storeroom. After scolding her and telling her how disrespectful she was being to him and Mr. McLeod, he made Annabel bend over a crate and used his belt on her bare bottom. When he was finished, he informed her that her restriction had just been increased by another week. Then he escorted her back into the store where she made a proper apology to Mr. McLeod.

On Saturday, Adam, Hoss, and Joe rode out to check on the mines. Ben was about to tell Cat he would pay her if she helped him clean tack again when she ran down the stairs and outside into the pouring rain. He scolded her when she came back inside. "You are in big trouble little girl. Not only were you running in the house, you ran down the stairs. We have had this discussion too many times and you know what the consequences are for running in the house and down the stairs."

"I had to go real bad Pa. I waited as long as I could but it wouldn't stop raining. I had to run because I was going to wet my pants."

"Why didn't you ask me or Hop Sing for a chamber pot?"

"What's that?"

"You don't know?"

"No, I never heard of it."

"It's a special pot that you keep under your bed to use when you can't use the outhouse."

"Like the buckets Uncle Matt has in the cells in his office? I'm not going to use a bucket."

"It's not a bucket. It's a special pot and you will be using one this winter. It gets entirely too cold at night to use the outhouse."

"Not me. I'll just put clothes on and use the outhouse like I did when I was here for Christmas."

"We'll talk about that when the time comes. Because you had a legitimate reason for running in the house, I am not going to punish you for it this time."

"What does getimet mean"

Ben fought to keep from laughing at Cat's pronunciation of the word. "The word is legitimate and it means that you had a real reason this time, not just that you were in a hurry."

"Oh. Why isn't being in a hurry a getimet reason?"

"The word is pronounced li-jit-uh-mit. Because I said it isn't. You are too young to always be in a hurry. Now, if you want to earn some money, take your wet moccasins off, put them by the fire to dry. Then put some dry clothes, socks and your boots on. Put your wet clothes by the fire to dry, get your rain slicker and meet me in the barn. Tack needs to be cleaned and I'll pay you to help me just as I did the last time."

After dinner, Adam, Hoss, and Joe reluctantly joined their sister and father cleaning tack in the barn. When they were finished for the day, Cat had earned another eight dollars toward a new saddle for her uncle Matt. "Eight whole dollars. WOW. Now I only need another ten dollars before Miss Kitty can order Uncle Matt's new saddle for me."

"What are you doing with the money I am paying you to get the mail and newspaper and help Hop Sing weed the garden?" asked Ben.

"I'm saving that so I can get Uncle Matt something for Christmas."

"I am glad that you are saving it instead of spending it on candy."

"I'm going to spend Adam's money on candy."

"Little stinker. There is at least one puddle in the yard with your name on it," teased Adam.

"If you throw your sister in a puddle son, you'll have to wash her clothes and make sure she has clean ones to wear. Otherwise they'll hear Hop Sing yelling all the way in Denver."

"In that case, I'd better let him know what I'm going to do so he can get Cat's bath water ready. That way after I throw her in a puddle, I can put her right in the bath, clothes and all. Then little sister and her clothes will all get clean at once and I won't have to wash her clothes."

Ben laughed. "Adam, I lost count of the number of times you boys tried to do that when you were Cat's age. I told you then and I'm telling you again, you cannot wash the clothes and the child at the same time. Although you will get the clothes clean, the fact remains that the child will not be clean."

Cat grew tired of Adam threatening to throw her in a puddle so she jumped onto his back. "Beauty worked hard today so you're gonna be my horse."

"Oh I am, am I? Where am I supposed to take you?"

"To town. I want to buy some candy."

"It's pouring rain outside."

"That's ok. You're supposed to be a magic horse so I won't get wet."

"And what about me?"

"It's ok if you get wet, just so I don't."

"Scamp! Just for that, I am going to take you up to the hayloft and drop you from it just to see how high you will bounce." He started climbing the ladder to the hayloft with Cat still on his back, giggling the entire time.

"Adam, that's not a very good idea right now. You know that your sister is just as hard headed as Joe. If you drop her from the hayloft, she could break the boards on the floor and make a very large hole in the ground. It is almost suppertime and repairing all of the damage she could cause might take most of the night. Why don't you take your rider into the bath house and get her washed up for supper?"

Before beginning the church service, Reverend Long told the congregation that the church and parsonage roofs leaked when it rained. He also told them there would be a school board meeting the next day. After church, Cat was talking with her friends when Annabel walked up, blamed Cat because she had been punished for stealing and hit her. Mary ran over to where Ben and Mr. White were talking with some other men and said, "Mr. White, you need to hurry. Annabel just hit Cat and is blaming her because she was punished for stealing. Cat is trying real hard not to hit her back but she might if you don't hurry."

Mr. White thanked Mary and followed her to where Cat and her friends were standing. He saw Annabel hit Cat again, grabbed her and gave her a very hard smack, asked Mary to tell his wife he was taking Annabel home. He scolded Annabel on the way home. "What did I tell you on Friday about blaming other for your actions? We are going home now where you will receive another whipping and your restriction is now eight weeks. Three whippings in three days. This must be a new record for any child. I don't know what your problem is but that is not the way I raised you."

Ben hurried over to make sure that Cat wasn't hurt and praised her for not losing her temper. Since Hop Sing was visiting cousins in town, the Cartwrights decided to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant and invited the Ingalls to join them.

One week after Annabel tried to steal her saddle bags, Cat was more than two hours late coming home. The later it got, the more worried Adam became. Finally he went outside and started saddling his horse. He had just finished tightening the cinch when Mrs. Warren drove into the yard in her buggy. Adam groaned, "She is not supposed to be here and it will be forever before I can get out of here," he thought. "That woman can talk the ears off a bug."

"Good afternoon Mrs. Warren. What brings you out here this afternoon?"

"Well hello Adam. I am so happy that I found someone at home. I've come to solicit a donation for the church and parsonage roof fund. The Reverend was just saying on Sunday that everytime it rains, he runs out of pots and buckets to put under the leaks in the church and the parsonage."

"Yes, I know. I'm sure that Pa will be more than happy to give you a donation. He's not home right now and I am in a hurry. I have something important to do." Mrs. Warren didn't listen to a word he said and just kept talking for fifteen minutes. Finally Adam said, "You're going to have to excuse me Mrs. Warren. My sister is very late getting home from school and I'm afraid something has happened to her. I was just getting ready to ride out in search of her when you drove in."

Once again, Mrs. Warren ignored what Adam said and kept talking. Just when he had about reached his wit's end with her, Cat came riding into the yard with three stringers full of fish. "The fish were really biting good today Adam," she exclaimed happily. "Look at how many I caught. I'll bet that I even caught more than Hoss can eat."

It was all Adam could do to keep from laughing at Cat's comment. "Young lady, do you know how worried I have been about you? You are almost three hours late coming home from school. Go, take the fish to Hop Sing, take care of your horse and do your chores. Then you and I are going to have a little talk."

Just then Cat saw Mrs. Warren and became very afraid. "Why is she here Adam? I thought the judge said she wasn't supposed to be here. You're not gonna let her hurt me again, are you? Where's Hoss? He'll protect me from her."

Adam saw how upset Cat was getting and said, "Don't worry little sister. Mrs. Warren is leaving right now. She isn't going to hurt you ever again. Ride your horse over to the kitchen and we'll talk after Mrs. Warren leaves and you finish your chores."

After Cat took the fish to the kitchen, Mrs. Warren said, "I hope you and then Ben take that disobedient, ill mannered, impudent brat out behind the barn and gives her a good thrashing with a razor strop. She needs to be whipped until she can't sit down for a month! Since you are just standing there and not doing anything about her, I will! Somebody needs to teach that brat a lesson and you and your father don't seem up to the task so I will do your job for you!"

She started to get out of her buggy, whip in hand and Adam blew up. " **M…i…s…s…u…s War…ren, First of all, you are not supposed to be on the Ponderosa for any reason. Second, my Pa has raised three sons to adulthood without any outside help! I am quite certain that he can manage one girl without any unsolicited advice, especially from someone who has never had any children! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to deal with my sister! I will be letting Sheriff Coffee, Mr. Parker, and the judge know that you were out here today when you have been forbidden by the court to be here at all! Good day Mrs. Warren and do not return to the Ponderosa again! If you do, whoever is home will have some of the hands take you to the sheriff!** "

Mrs. Warren gave a loud, "Well, I never…" turned her buggy around and drove out of the yard. When she reached town, she began talking bad about Adam to anyone who would listen. Most people walked away when they saw her coming and a few including Dr. Martin and Reverend Long listened politely and laughed when they were finally able to get away from her. They knew the Cartwrights hadn't heard the last from Mrs. Warren and felt sorry for them. After she walked off, they walked over to Roy's office and told him that she had been out at the Ponderosa without having been invited.

Adam sat in the rocking chair on the porch and waited for Cat to do her chores. When she still hadn't come out of the house after almost fifteen minutes, he walked into the kitchen. "Hop Sing, where is Cat? She was supposed to bring her fish to you and then do her chores."

"Missy Cat vely frightened of nasty lady being hele. I tell her go upstairs and wait until I call her. I tell her I use big knife on nasty lady if she come in house."

"Thank you Hop Sing. The next time I go to town, I plan to let Roy know that Mrs. Warren was here when she's not supposed to be. I'll go upstairs and get Cat." He walked upstairs and found Cat's bedroom door closed. He knocked on it and receiving no reply, walked in. When he didn't see his sister, he looked into the tree outside one of her windows, thinking she may have climbed into it for safety. When he didn't see her in the tree, he said, "Cat, it's Adam. You can come out now. I promise you it's safe now. Mrs. Warren has been gone for fifteen minutes. She can't hurt you and when I go to town tomorrow, I am going to tell Roy that she was here." Not receiving a reply, he looked under his sister's bed where he found her puppies curled up together in the far corner. Then he opened the wardrobe and found Cat curled up in a ball on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Adam gently picked his sister up, cradled her in his arms and sat on her bed rocking, singing, and talking softly to her, much as he had done with his youngest brother years before. It took a while to get her calmed down and when she finally did, Adam said, "Let's go and see if Hop Sing has any lemonade and cookies. After we finish them, I'll help you clean the fish if Hop Sing hasn't already cleaned them and I'll help you with your chores. Then we can sit on the porch and talk for a little while.


	73. Chapter 73

They walked into the kitchen and discovered that once again, Hop Sing had anticipated what a family member would need. He had made a fresh pitcher of lemonade and was just taking chocolate cookies off a baking sheet and putting them on a plate. "Go get glasses and sit at table. I bling cookies and lemonade in a minute."

After they finished their cookies and lemonade, Adam looked at Cat and asked, "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes."

"Good because I was going to have to tickle you if you said no. Now, let's go clean those fish and get your chores done. Then we'll sit and talk about why I was upset that you were so late getting home. You're not in trouble, so don't worry about our talk because all we're going to do is sit in the rocking chair and talk. However, if you rock so hard that we fall over backwards, I'm going to have to tickle you until you can't stop laughing." Cat giggled. "That's a sound I like hearing from my Wild Cat. Now let's take care of those fish and the chores because if they're not done before Pa gets home, I'll get in trouble. I know you wouldn't want Pa to spank me because my chores weren't done, now would you?"

"It would be funny."

"Come on Scamp before I decide to toss you into the trough just for fun."

"You can't toss me into the trough because today's only Friday and I don't have to take a bath until tomorrow night."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we? Hop Sing, is there any rule in this house that says a child can't have two baths in a week?"

"No. Children get dirty, children have bath even if it evely day. You put Missy Cat in trough, make sure she dry before coming back in house. Go clean fish before they spoil."

After the fish were cleaned, Adam said, "Go ahead and fill Hop Sing's wood box. I'll start on the barn chores while you're doing that." When Cat walked into the barn, she saw that Adam had Sport's, Beauty's and Lady and Fury's stalls mucked out and was starting to put fresh bedding down. "Go ahead and put grain in all three of the stalls. Then I'll take you up into the hayloft and you can help me push some hay bales over the edge. I'll just have to hang onto you so you don't go over with the bale. Pa would kill me if anything happened to you because I took you into the hayloft."

"In that case, maybe I'll hop on the hay bale as it goes over the edge. It would be fun to ride it down and even more fun watching Pa kill you."

"Look Squirt. I can still put you in the trough. Hop Sing just said I had to make sure you were dry before letting you back into the house. So after I put you in the trough, I can put you on a shelf in the smokehouse to dry."

"Yeah you can, but Pa and Hop Sing will get mad at you ifn you leave me in there too long."

"Cat, you have got to stop talking like Hoss. I don't know why Pa has allowed him to talk that way for so many years. You are a little girl who is going to grow up to be a lady and ladies don't talk the way Hoss does."

"That's dumb. People should be able to talk however they want ta."

"Sorry kiddo but that's not the way it works. Polite ladies use proper grammar. Now that the chores are done, let's go sit in the rocker on the porch and have a little talk about going fishing after school." They walked over to the porch and Adam sat down in the rocker and pulled Cat into his lap. "First of all, you're not in trouble because this is something nobody thought to tell you. It is very important that you come home right after school and not stop to go fishing. Stopping at the Ingalls' or Devlin's for a little while is fine but fishing takes too much time. I was very worried about you and was getting ready to look for you when Mrs. Warren drove into the yard."

"Why? I always went fishing after school in Dodge and Uncle Matt didn't care."

"I was getting to that. It takes almost two hours to get to town from here and a lot can happen on the road. If you're not home at a reasonable time after school is dismissed for the day, we start to worry and think something bad may have happened to you. Can you imagine how worried I would have been if I had ridden all the way to the school and couldn't find you? I would have been imagining all of the bad things that possibly could have happened to you and would have gone to Roy's office and asked him to get a posse together to search for you. Roy loves you as much as we do and he would have been out of his mind with worry. So would Paul Martin. He probably would have joined the search too. Pa would have been frantic too. So would Hoss and Joe."

"But why would everyone be worried about me? I can take care of myself."

"Not necessarily little one. What if a rattler or a cougar spooked your horse and he threw you and you hit your head on a rock? What if it started raining real hard and your horse slipped and pinned you under him? I know you think you can take care of yourself but nobody can take care of themselves all the time."

"I pretty much been takin' care of myself since I was a little kid. I even rode my pony out to the Tanner's all by myself when I was five. When Uncle Matt wasn't around and everybody else was busy, I had to take care of myself. I don't need anyone else taking care of me."

"That's where you're wrong little sister. We all need someone to take care of us once in a while. We take care of Pa and Hop Sing and they take care of us. That's what it means to be part of a family. What would you have done if Hop Sing and I hadn't been here to keep Mrs. Warren from hurting you this afternoon?"

"I would have shot her with an arrow. Maybe it woulda got 'fected and she would have had to go away forever."

"The word is infected. Your bow and arrows are in the house and so were your puppies. What would you have done if she had used her whip on you again?"

"I woulda done like I shoulda done at church that day. I woulda run at her and knocked her over and hit her and kicked her and bit her until she stopped bein' mean. She's a mean, nasty lady and it's time someone started bein' mean to her. The next time she tries to hurt me, I'm gonna hurt her bad."

Adam smiled at Cat's description of what she would do to Mrs. Warren the next time the old lady attacked her, knowing full well it was just talk. "Ok. You would defend yourself against Mrs. Warren but how would you help yourself if a rattlesnake or other wild animal frightened your horse and he threw you and you got hurt?"

"I guess maybe I might need somebody to help me then."

"Yes you would need somebody to help you. If we didn't love and care about you, we wouldn't worry if you were late coming home and you could lie in the road for a day or more before anyone found you. Nobody wants that to happen to you."

"Oh ok."

"The reason it was ok for you to go fishing after school when you lived in Dodge is because the pond you fished in is close to town. If you were hurt or had become sick, somebody would have found you right away and taken you straight to Doctor Adams. I'm not saying that you will never be allowed to go fishing after school but you need to ask Pa if you can. That way we'll know where you are. Until you get better at telling what time it is by the sun, Pa will probably tell you that if you are going to fish after school, you'll probably have to do it in the pond here on the ranch. That way somebody can come and get you when it's time for supper. You know how much Hop Sing hates it when anybody is late for a meal. Right now, you had better go and start on your homework. What are you supposed to do for Monday?"

"Reading, grammar, history and arithmetic. And I have a grammar test on Monday."

"Well then you'd better get busy. I'll help you if you need it. Also, I think there's a black colt somewhere on this ranch that is looking for you. You had better go and find him before he thinks you don't love him any more."

Cat grabbed a brush, curry comb, and her saddle bags and ran off to see Fury and do her homework. When Ben got home, Adam told him that Cat's homework might not be finished before supper because she had gone fishing after school. He also told his father about Mrs. Warren being there and threatening Cat. "It took me thirty minutes to get Cat out of her wardrobe and calmed down. I wanted to rip that woman limb from limb and feed her to the vultures."

"I understand son but think about how sick the poor vultures would get if you did that. Then Hoss and Cat would be angry at you because they would have to take care of a bunch of sick buzzards." Father and son shared a laugh. "Where is your sister now?"

"She's out in the pasture with Fury. I told her not to worry if she doesn't get her homework finished tonight. She was very frightened and since it's Friday, I didn't see any need in pressuring her to finish it tonight."

"I agree with you. I'm going to ride into town after breakfast and talk to Roy about Millicent coming out here when the judge ordered her to stay away from the Ponderosa and your sister. Maybe I'll see if Cat wants to come with me and spend some time on the King ranch. I know that she and Jasper are friends. In fact, I think I'll stop at the Devlin ranch on the way."

That night, Cat had her worst nightmare since before being taken out to her mother's grave a few days after Mrs. Warren's trial. It took the family almost an hour to get her calmed down before she fell asleep in Ben's bed.

On the way to town the next morning, Ben and Cat stopped by the Devlin's where Mitch told them that his parents and brother had gone out to the King's. He said he had chosen to stay home so he could work with their new stallion. When they reached the King ranch, they were greeted warmly by everyone there. Ben and Cat greeted everyone in return and then she, Mike, and Jasper went outside to play. Then Ben said, "Millicent Warren came out to the Ponderosa yesterday and threatened Cat. Adam said it took him thirty minutes to get her out of her wardrobe and calmed down. Last night, she had the worst nightmare she's had since the trial."

"What in the devil was that woman doing out at the Ponderosa when the judge specifically told her she wasn't allowed to go out there without an invitation? What is wrong with her?" asked Mr. King.

"She told Adam she was soliciting donations for the church and parsonage roof fund. Apparently she doesn't think she has to abide by the rules. You heard her in court – blaming Cat for her actions. I'm on my way to see Roy and file a formal complaint against the woman. That brings me to the reason for my unannounced visit. I would like you to allow Michael and Jasper to bring their slingshots to school. If Millicent goes to the school, she could easily hurt Cat before anyone could get Roy or Clem. If you agree, I'm going to have both boys promise right here and now that the slingshots will remain in their saddle bags unless Millicent shows up at the school."

"I think it's a good idea," said Mr. Devlin. "Well Ted, what do you think?"

"I agree Dan. I know that both boys can be trusted to keep their word so I am going to allow Jasper to take his slingshot to school unless Millicent is in jail."

Before the conversation could continue, they heard a loud shout from outside. The adults rushed outside to find Mike laughing as hard as he could while Jasper and Cat rolled around on the ground, laughing the entire time."

"What is going on here?" demanded Mr. King.

"Don't worry Mr. King," replied Mike. "They're not fighting. They're wrestling. I told Jas how Cat pinned Mitch Harris and Jas said that Cat couldn't pin him. So they decided to have a wrestling match. To be honest, I don't think either of them is going to win. They've been going at it for a while now and neither one can stay on top long enough to pin the other."

About five minutes after the adults went outside, Cat and Jasper rolled over on their backs. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat," said Jasper. "Say, you wrestle pretty good for a girl.

"Yeah, me too. Thanks. You're a pretty good wrestler too," replied Cat. "Hey Mike, how about giving us a hand up? I think we're both too tired to get up by ourselves."

Mike tried pulling both of his friends up at the same time only to have them pull him down onto the ground. The three children sat their laughing, oblivious to the adults standing there laughing at them. "I wish Pete and Mike Tanner were here," said Cat. "They're my best friends in Dodge and you'd like them a lot. They're lots of fun to be with and they love to go fishing as much as we do."

"I'm glad that they're not here," said Ben. "One of you is all I can take right now. Three of you would drive me insane."

"Why? We're not bad."

"Dr. Adams calls the three of you the Three Musketeers of Mischief and after spending two weeks with the three of you together in Dodge, I learned why."

"I don't know why Doc would say that. We didn't get into too much trouble."

"Oh no, you didn't get into much trouble. You just gave your Uncle Matt more gray hairs than he should have considering his job. Shall I remind you of some of the things the three of you did? Let's see now, I believe that three young children climbed the water tower in Dodge at least once. Then there were the times when a certain five year old rode her pony out to the Tanners alone without telling anyone where she was going. Oh yes, I also seem to remember three five year olds skipping school to go fishing and lying about it at least three times."

"That's 'cause school is dumb and boring. Fishing is lots more fun. I only stopped skipping school 'cause Little Joe said I could come here at Easter and Christmas if I didn't go to school. I shouldn't have to go to school any more 'cause I live here now. I can just work with the horses on the ranch. Mr. Quint says I'm real good with horses and will be a good blacksmith."

All of the adults laughed at Cat's logic. "Sorry Kitten. We've talked about this before. You have to attend school until you're eighteen. Besides that, I seem to remember Matt and Rip saying you had to attend school or you wouldn't be allowed to visit them in the summer. Besides that, I thought you wanted to take President Grant's job when you turned ten. If you don't stay in school, you won't be able to do that because you won't know enough. Remember, he told you that you have to know a lot of arithmetic in order to be president."

"Ok. I'll stay in school for now but as soon as I turn ten and take Uncle Sam's job, I'm not going to school any more."

"Of course you won't. You'll be much too busy running the country to attend school. Now on a different topic, Jasper, Michael come here please." Both boys walked up to Ben. "I'm sure that Catherine has told you that Mrs. Warren came out to the Ponderosa yesterday and threatened her." The boys said that Cat had told them. "I am concerned that Mrs. Warren may go to the school and try to harm Catherine. If your fathers agree to let you take your slingshots to school, will you promise all of us right here and now that you will leave them in your saddle bags unless Mrs. Warren goes to the school?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Cartwright," said Mike.

"We'll even tell Miss Winter that we have them and show them to her," said Jasper. "That way if someone uses one at school, she'll know it wasn't either of us."

"Thank you boys. I'm on my way to see the sheriff now. I'll let you know at church tomorrow if you'll need them on Monday. Come on Cat. We need to get to town before it gets too late."

"Ben, why don't you let Cat stay here while you go to town?" asked Mr. King. "If Cat is in town, there's always the possibility of an encounter with Millicent. She has already been here asking for a donation so there's no reason for her to come back."

"I don't know. This particular Cat is quite wild."

"Ben, I am completely capable of handling a Wild Cat. So is Dan. Remember, we are both raising boys. One Wild Cat will be no problem at all. If the Cat gets too wild, all we have to do is turn it upside down and tickle its feet. I've never met a Wild Cat that couldn't be tamed that way. Now go to town and talk to Roy. When you come back, meet us at the creek. We're going to have a picnic dinner and do some fishing and swimming. I'm sure that Betsy still has some of Jasper's old things Cat can swim in. Now scoot so you can get back here before these three children eat all of the food."

"Alright, I'll see you after I finish talking to Roy. Cat, can I have a hug before I go?"

Cat thought for a few seconds and said, "No because I left them all at home."

"Scamp! Just for that, I am going to tickle you until you can't stand up and you are going to ride home facing backwards." Cat giggled and pretended to walk away from Ben. Then she turned around, ran to him and hugged his neck causing everyone to laugh. "Not so hard scamp. I need that neck. Now I know why your Godparents warned me to be careful of my neck around you. I'll be back after I talk to Roy. Try and stay out of mischief while I'm gone."

"That's no fun."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sell you to the highest bidder."

"'Cause Hop Sing would quit and go back to China. Then Hoss would starve to death because Hop Sing wouldn't be there to cook for him."

The women could tell that Ben really didn't want to leave Cat behind. Finally Mrs. Devlin said, "Ben you need to go now. Roy can't do anything until you file your complaint. Cat will be fine. We're not planning to eat her or anything. Now go." Ben mounted Buck and rode off, reluctantly leaving Cat behind.

"Before I find you some of Jasper's old things to wear while swimming, why don't you introduce your puppies to us?" asked Mrs. King. "We've seen them in church with you and when Michael visits, he can't stop talking about them." Cat introduced her puppies to the Kings and followed Mrs. King into the house while the boys threw sticks for the puppies to chase.

Ben rode into town and walked into Roy's office. "I've come to file a complaint. Millicent Warren was out at the Ponderosa yesterday and threatened Cat."

"I've been expecting you. She complained to Paul and Reverend Long about the way Adam treated her and they told me she had been out there. I've got the form all ready for you to complete. As soon as you do and sign it, I'll go and arrest her and tell her lawyer. She's going to pitch a fit but it's her own fault. The judge told her to stay away from the Ponderosa and Cat but she decided to go out there anyway. I'll keep her locked up for the rest of the weekend and the judge can decide what he wants to do with her on Monday. In fact, I think I'll wait until tomorrow or Monday to tell her lawyer that she's locked up. There's no law that says I've got to disturb people on the weekend. She can sit and stew until Monday for all I care. The problem is that I'm going to have to listen to her complaining until I take her to the judge."

"I'm sorry you're going to have to listen to her complain. Why don't you come out to the Ponderosa for supper tonight? That will give you a break for several hours."

"I'd love to Ben but it's Saturday and all of the ranch hands got paid and I wouldn't feel right leaving Clem to deal with all of them himself. Before you ask, yes, Ponderosa hands get just as rowdy as the rest of the bunch when they've had too much to drink. I may take you up on that offer tomorrow night though."

"Anytime Roy. You always have an open invitation. I'd better be getting back. I left Cat at the King's. The Devlins were there too so there's no telling what kind of mischief those three kids are up to."

"Be honest Ben. You know as well as I do that Dan and Ted can handle any mischief those three youngins can get into. You're being overprotective of Cat again. You didn't want to leave her with the Kings and Devlins but they talked you into it. Even though you knew full well there was an excellent chance of running into Millicent, you wanted to bring Cat to town with you today. Are you planning on riding in with her on Monday morning when she goes to school? When are you going to stop being overprotective? When she gets married and has children? Or are you even going to let her court? You know as well as I do if you don't loosen up on the reins soon, she's going to resent not having any freedom. When that happens, you're liable to wake up one morning and find her gone. Right now, you do need to get back to the Kings. The danger isn't in what kind of mischief Cat and the boys will get into. The danger is that your daughter is with two women who would give their eye teeth to have a little girl to fuss over. They may decide to keep her for themselves."

Ben laughed. "They won't keep her long. As soon as that Cartwright temper starts to flare, they'll be all too happy to send her back home."

"Don't be too sure of that. Cat will be so spoiled that her temper may never show itself."

Ben pretended to be horrified. "Oh no! You don't think they're going to try and tame the Wild Cat, do you? You know I can't let that happen. The rest of the family will kill me if the Wild Cat gets tamed. What will I do if the Wild Cat becomes just a Cat?"

Roy laughed at Ben's feigned outrage. "You would have a lot fewer gray hairs and get more sleep at night. Go and rescue your daughter before those women tame her. I'll see you in church tomorrow." After Ben left, Roy looked for his deputy and found Clem sitting outside the office reading the paper. "Come on Clem. Ben signed a complaint. We have to go and arrest Mrs. Warren. She was out at the Ponderosa yesterday and threatened Cat."

Clem looked up from the paper and sighed. "What is wrong with that woman? The judge specifically told her to stay away from the Cartwrights and Cat in particular. He also told her she was not to go out to the Ponderosa without an invitation. Has she completely taken leave of her senses? Why did she go out there?"

"She was collecting donations for the church and parsonage roof fund."

"Surely Reverend Long didn't send her out there."

"No he didn't. He was very upset when she complained to him and Paul Martin about the way Adam treated her. He never asked her to go around collecting funds for the roofs. She just took it upon herself to do it like she always does. According to her, she's the only one who is capable of collecting money for the church."

"I swear that woman is the biggest busybody this town has. The only reason she goes around collecting money for the church is because it gives her a chance to be nosy. Well, let's go and get her. Although I must confess that I'm not looking forward to having her here for the rest of the weekend and possibly even longer."

"I'm not either, but unfortunately it goes with the job. Well, let's go and get her. We can tell the judge, her lawyer and the prosecutor after church tomorrow. It won't hurt to let her stew in her own juices for a while. Besides that, the judge won't do anything until Monday." They walked over to Mrs. Warren's house and Roy knocked on the door. When she opened the door, Roy said, "Millicent Warren I am placing you under arrest for violating the judge's orders to stay away from the Cartwrights. Mr. Cartwright came into town a little while ago and signed a complaint. You were out at the Ponderosa yesterday in direct violation of the judge's orders and you threatened Catherine Cartwright. Get your Bible and needlework and come with us. You will see the judge on Monday."

"How dare Benjamin sign a complaint against me! I was collecting money for the church and parsonage roof fund. I should file a complaint against Adam for the way he spoke to me. As for the brat, it went fishing instead of coming straight home from school. Somebody had to do something about it as Adam certainly was not going to."

"I don't care what you were collecting money for. You were ordered to stay away from the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa. If you want to sign a complaint against Adam for ordering you off his family's property, that's your right but I can guarantee you that the prosecutor will just throw it in the trash. You were on Cartwright land without permission and against judge's orders. The Cartwrights have every right to tell someone to leave their property. How they discipline Catherine for breaking the rules is none of your business. Ben is perfectly capable of taking care of his daughter. Now get your Bible and needlework and let's go. I don't have time to stand here discussing the Cartwrights with you." Mrs. Warren kept complaining and Roy finally said, "Either you can get your Bible and needlework and come with us on your own or we will be forced to carry you or we can get some men from the saloon to carry you and then you can spend your time sitting in a cell with nothing to keep you occupied until the judge decides to see you. Now which is it going to be? Consider yourself lucky. My prisoners don't normally get to bring anything into the cell with them but the judge allowed you to have your Bible and needlework. Now let's go. I'm tired of wasting time standing here listening to you."

Mrs. Warren refused to move, so Roy and Clem each took her by an elbow and carried her out of her house, toward the jail. She was not a lightweight woman and kept kicking both men, trying to get away from them. A couple of cowboys came out of the saloon and watched Roy and Clem trying to take Mrs. Warren over to the jail. "Hey sheriff," said one of them. It looks like you've got a live one there. How come you're taking her to jail?"

"She defied the judge's orders, went out to the Ponderosa yesterday and threatened young Catherine while she was there."

The two cowboys looked at each other and the second one said, "We'll help you sheriff. We kinda like young Cat Cartwright. She's a cute kid and didn't deserve what that woman did to her. It don't matter to us if she kicks or not. We've been kicked by steers and broncs. One ornery lady ain't gonna make much difference. Come on Tom. Lend a hand." The two men relived Roy and Clem of Mrs. Warren and carried her over to the jail and put her in the cell Roy indicated.

"Thank you men," said Roy. "Clem and I greatly appreciate your help. I think my shins are going to be sore for a week. I'll buy each of you a beer if you want to meet me at the Bucket of Blood later."

Clem walked in carrying Mrs. Warren's Bible as the two cowboys were leaving. "I figured I'd bring her Bible to give her something to do besides complain while she's here. I also closed and locked her door. That way nothing will be stolen while she's here." He handed the Bible to Mrs. Warren who demanded he go back and get her needle work. "You had your chance to get it while we were at your house. Now you can just wait until after you see the judge on Monday to see what he wants to do with you."

After locking Mrs. Warren in a cell, Clem and Roy decided to walk around the town so they could get away from her complaining for a while. Roy walked past the White's where he found Annabel in the yard, refusing to do her assigned chores. "Mama said I didn't have to do any of this nasty stuff so I'm not going to do it!"

"Young lady," said her father. "You have just earned yourself another two days of restriction and are very close to going over my knees again. The hen house needs to be cleaned out and fresh nesting material put in the nesting boxes. The chicken coop needs to be raked out and the rugs need to be beaten. If you don't fix your attitude in a hurry, you are going to be on restriction until after Christmas and your birthday. You will not get your Christmas or birthday presents until your restriction is over. You will not have a birthday party either and except for church, will spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and your birthday alone in your bedroom. Your meals on those days will also be eaten in your bedroom rather than with your mother and me."

Roy walked up to them and said good morning. Then he said, "Young lady, I just heard you arguing with your father about doing some chores he assigned you because you were caught stealing. You don't know how lucky you are. I heard about everything you stole and I can guarantee you that if you were older, instead of being punished by your father, you would have gone on trial and the judge probably would have sent you to prison for several years. Trust me when I tell you that whatever chores your father wants you to do are much better than what you would endure in prison. Before you ask, although states do not send young children to prison, they do send them to homes for wayward children and those homes aren't much better than prison. I highly recommend you think about what I just told you, listen to your father and do whatever he wants you to do." Roy said goodbye and continued walking around the town.

"I don't care what that mean old sheriff said. Mama said I'm her princess and I don't have to do your nasty chores if I don't want to!"

Mr. White sighed. "Annabel Marie, I did not want to start Saturday out by giving you a spanking but unfortunately that is exactly what is about to happen. We have talked before about your attitude and speaking to adults, including me and your mother, respectfully. You are being disobedient and disrespectful and I am not going to tolerate it. I fail to understand why it is necessary for me to spank you before you will do your assigned chores. Let's go. We are going to continue this discussion in the barn."

Ben rode back out to the King ranch where he found his daughter taking a turn on the rope swing that was hung by the creek. Even though he knew it was perfectly safe and all three of his sons had used rope swings many times, his first instinct was to pull her off of it, scold her, take her home and punish her for putting herself in danger. Mr. Devlin saw the look on Ben's face and, guessing what he was about to do, stopped him. "Ben, all three of your sons have used rope swings and you were fine with it. You know as well as I do that the swing is perfectly safe and Catherine is in no danger. Why do you want to spoil her fun? Yes, you can stop her and take her home if you want to, but she will resent it."

"Because she's just a little girl and has already been hurt too much in her young life. I need to keep her from ever getting hurt again. I thought I was ready to start letting her have more freedom until Millicent showed up on the ranch and threatened her. Now, I just want to keep her by my side at all times so I can protect her."

"I understand what you're feeling but stop and think about what you would be doing to that precious little girl. Ask yourself if she would be happy staying by your side all the time. Instead of letting her ride her horse to school, she would have to ride in the buggy with you and all of the other children would laugh at her. Is that what you want? If it is, I guarantee you will lose her."

"You're right of course Dan but that doesn't stop me from wanting to wrap her in cotton wool and put her on a shelf until she's all grown up."

Mr. Devlin laughed. "Good luck doing that. From what I've seen of that little girl, you wouldn't even get one wrap around her before she would be off and running. Besides that, I think your sons and Hop Sing would have something to say about your plans also."

"You're right. I surrender. I guess I'd better go and let her show me how far out she can swing on that thing."

"Now that's a good plan. We're about the same size, so I brought some clothes you can swim in. I had better warn you, I'm quite certain that all three children expect to see you, Ted, and myself use that rope too."

"That's just great. I haven't used one of those things since Joe was a boy. Why do I get the feeling that I'm the one who is going to need to be wrapped in cotton wool before this day is over?"

Ben tied his horse with the others and walked over to where the ladies were sitting with their feet in the water. Cat spotted him and said, "Hi Pa. Are you going to use the swing too?"

Ben laughed. "I'm not so sure Kitten. It might not be strong enough to hold me and I don't want to break it."

"It's plenty strong Pa. Mr. White and Mr. Devlin have already used it. So have Mrs. Devlin and Mrs. White. I'll bet that Hoss, Adam, and Joe could all use it together and it wouldn't break."

The ladies laughed at the expression on Ben's face. "Well Ben," said Mrs. King. "You seem to have been outmaneuvered by a nine year old. What are you going to do now?"

"The only thing I can do. Surrender, change into the clothes Dan brought for me and try to keep from killing myself on that swing."


	74. Chapter 74

Ben changed clothes and much to the amusement of the three children, reluctantly grabbed the rope swing and launched himself into the pond. He landed with a loud "OOF", causing everyone to start laughing. He looked at Cat, pretended to growl and said, "Laugh at me will you? This is what happens to little girls who laugh at their Pa." He picked Cat up and tossed her farther into the pond. The boys attacked him and he picked each of them up and also tossed them aside. Everybody played and swam for quite a while until the ladies decided it was time to eat dinner. After dinner, everyone fished and swam until it was time for Ben and Cat to go home.

The ladies walked up to Ben and Mrs. King said, "Ben, Mary and I have talked. We decided that Catherine should not be raised as the only female in a house full of men. You're doing the best you can, but you are raising her like a boy. A young girl should be wearing dresses not buckskins and learning to sew and cook, not running around half wild, racing horses, and using a bow and arrows to hunt. She needs a mother she can take her problems to and who will teach her the things she needs to know as she grows into womanhood. Catherine can live here with me and my family half the month and with Mary and her family the other half. Of course she can be with your family on the weekends."

Ben struggled to keep his temper. He looked at his friends who just shrugged their shoulders to say they had no idea what their wives were up to. "Thank you ladies but the answer is no. Catherine was born on the Ponderosa and that is where the family wants her to be raised. Hop Sing is teaching her how to cook and sew and Caroline Ingalls has already offered to teach her everything a girl needs to know as she becomes a woman. If I did as you suggested, her uncles would have the adoption nullified and she would return to Dodge until she was too old to share a room with Matt. Then she would go and join Rip at his fort in Arizona. I would only be allowed to see her if I went to either of those places. As far as her clothing goes, Catherine has been wearing buckskins since she was four. We have compromised and she has agreed to wear dresses to church. Remember, it hasn't been all that long since her world was turned upside down. She has been through Hell in the last three months and I am not willing to risk her happiness by insisting she dress like a girl. Caroline seems to think that as she grows up and starts to court, Catherine will begin wearing dresses more. Here come the children now. Let's see what Catherine has to say about your idea."

Ben told Cat what the ladies had suggested. She thought about it for a few minutes and said, "It would be nice to not have three big brothers bossing me around all the time. Jas and Mike are only a year older than me so they won't boss me around. I've got a better idea."

"What's that?"

"Mrs. King and Mrs. Devlin can have Mr. Bossy Boots Yankee Granite Head."

Ben laughed. "I thought you liked Adam."

"I do but he's too bossy. He bosses me around more than Hoss and Joe do together."

"What if Michael and Jasper don't want him to be their brother?"

"They don't have to have him. When Adam is at Jasper's house, Jasper can be with me on the Ponderosa. Then when Adam goes to Mike's house, Jasper can go home to his house and Mike can be with me on the Ponderosa. Hoss and Joe won't mind because Adam bosses them around all the time too and this way, they'll have two little brothers. Adam's strong so he could help Mr. Devlin and Mr. King on their ranches. Besides that, Mrs. King and Mrs. Devlin probably wouldn't let Lassie and Silver Chief sleep in my bed and they've been sleepin' with me ever since I got them."

Mrs. Devlin started to say something about Ben letting Cat's puppies sleep in her bed when her husband stepped in. "Alright Mary. That is enough. You told Ben that ridiculous plan you and Betsy concocted and he said no. He is raising Cat the way her family wants her raised. It is nobody's business but Cat's family how Ben is raising her. Cat, I'm sorry sweetheart but Michael and Jasper cannot come and live at the Ponderosa with you, even if you give us Adam."

"AWWWW! But I really want Mike and Jas as my brothers. Adam is too bossy. Maybe I can trade him to Mr. Ingalls for Laura."

Mr. Devlin laughed. "Sorry little one. Mr. King and I want to keep our sons and I'm quite sure that Mr. Ingalls will not trade Laura to you in exchange for giving Adam to him. I'm afraid that you are stuck with three older brothers."

Before Cat could say anything else, Ben picked her up, put her over his shoulder and said, "Come on Cat. We need to go home. You still have homework to finish and your chores need to be done before supper. Remember, Hop Sing can't cook if his wood box isn't filled. Say goodbye to everybody. You'll see them in church tomorrow." He turned around so Cat could see everyone. She said goodbye and so did Ben. He put her on her horse and then put her puppies in their bags before mounting his own horse and starting for home. Ben was fuming about the women's plan but since he didn't want to upset Cat, he didn't say anything to her. After Cat went to bed, he told his sons and Hop Sing what the women had suggested. They couldn't believe that more women were telling Ben he was raising Cat all wrong.

Before beginning the church service the next morning, Reverend Long told everyone that Miss Winter had an announcement she needed to make. She stood up and said, "I would like to thank the school board for their wonderful donation of books and bookcases for the school's new lending library. Six crates full of books arrived yesterday. They will need to be cataloged and put on shelves before students can start borrowing them. I will begin that process after church and would greatly appreciate any help you wish to offer. Remember, many hands make light work. The sooner the books have been cataloged and shelved, the sooner my students can begin to borrow them. Realizing that the students have chores to do along with their regular schoolwork, students may borrow one book at a time for three weeks. If they do not finish it in that time, they may borrow it for another two weeks. After that, they will have to return it and give others a chance to borrow it."

After church, many of the children asked for and received permission to help Susan at the school with the new books for the lending library. Ben was talking with Paul, Roy, and Reverend Long and said, "I declare, if one more woman in this town tells me that I am not raising Catherine correctly, I am going to lose my temper and give her a piece of my mind."

"I'm sure they mean well," said Reverend Long. "Exactly which women are you referring to? And what did they say?"

"Margaret Winter started the night of the school board meeting when we discussed the repairs. She said that Catherine should not be dressing like a boy and if she won't wear a dress, I should whip her until she agreed to wear one every day. She also said that Cat's puppies should not even be allowed in the house and should not be sleeping in her bed. Margaret criticized me for allowing her to play with Indians and call one of them her brother. And she also said I was allowing Catherine to run wild.

Yesterday it was Betsy King and Mary Devlin. Just like Margaret, their sensibilities are offended because Cat doesn't wear dresses all the time, I allow her puppies to sleep in her bed, she races horses, hunts, and she's the only female in a house with five men. They also think that I am allowing her to run wild. They even had the nerve to suggest that my daughter should live with each of them for two weeks out of the month and she would be allowed to spend weekends and holidays on the Ponderosa."

The men couldn't believe what Ben was telling them. "That last idea is preposterous!" exclaimed Paul. "As a physician, I can unequivocally state that right now, unless everyone else in the family is sick, separating Cat from her family for any longer than a school day would be very harmful to her. She has been through a lot in her young life and needs to be with her family as much as possible. Since she has only been living on the Ponderosa for around two months, I would say that she probably is still uncertain about what being part of a family is all about. How are her nightmares? Have they gotten better since the boys took her to her parents' graves?"

"Until Millicent showed up at the house on Friday, her nightmares were better. She had another very bad one Friday night. You are right when you say that she doesn't know what being part of a family is all about. Adam said that when he talked to her about coming straight home from school, Cat couldn't understand why someone would be worried about her if she came home several hours late. She's been left to her own devices so much during her life that she thinks she doesn't need people and can take care of herself. Matt did the best he could given the circumstances. His job took him out of town a lot and Cat was left in the care of a local family. I think if it hadn't been for them, she would be wilder than she is now. I can't even begin to tell you how much I wish my sister had stayed here instead of going to our father after Michael was killed in the war."

"Ben, that was eight years ago," said Paul. "You can't change the past, no matter how much you want to. All you can do right now is to take the best care possible of that precious child who has been entrusted to you. I'll have Virginia talk to the women and get them to stop pestering you about how you're raising Cat. She is healthy and happier than she was when you brought her home. Those things are much more important than what she wears or if her puppies sleep in her bed."

"That's a good idea Paul," said Reverend Long. "I don't know if it will do any good but it's worth a try. I am going to say something next Sunday before the church service begins and hope my lecture does some good."

"I **_know_** that she's not being allowed to run wild," said Roy. "Whenever we have a chance to talk, one of her biggest complaints is that besides you and Hop Sing, she has not just one, but three older brothers telling her what to do. She also deeply resents the fact that she had a lot of freedom in Dodge but has very little here. I know she's only been home two months and you want to keep her safe, but you've got to start giving her more freedom before you lose her. She's already told me that she knows how to get to her uncle's fort in Arizona and I have no doubt that she will try and get there on her own if you don't stop holding her so close. Yesterday is an excellent example of what I am talking about. Millicent had just been out to the Ponderosa on Friday afternoon and threatened Cat but instead of leaving her with the Kings and Devlins, you wanted to bring Cat to town with you even though you knew full well that there was an excellent chance of running into Millicent. By wanting to keep her with you, you were potentially putting her in harm's way."

"Roy is right Ben," said Paul. "When I was a young man just out of medical school, the doctor I was apprenticed to told me a story about a young girl whose mother was overprotective. She was a happy energetic child until her twin sister was killed in an accident when they were twelve. From then on out, the girl's mother wouldn't let her out of her sight for more than a minute and used to get up several times during the night to check on her. The mother watched her bathe and watched her in the outhouse. The mother walked her to school and stayed in the classroom all day. The girl was not allowed to play with her friends. Instead, she had to sit on a bench next to her mother while all of the other children were playing. The doctor, all of the mother's friends and her husband tried telling her that she was harming her daughter but she wouldn't listen. This went on for several years until the girl couldn't take any more and one night, she found her mother's bottle of laudanum and drank half of it, killing herself. She was only fourteen. You aren't nearly as bad as that mother was and Cat has another avenue of escape but you will lose her just the same. Think about it Ben and decide if being overprotective is worth the potential consequences."

"Alright!" said Ben. "I get your message. I'll start easing up on Cat and start showing her how to get more places on the ranch. We're going to be starting to move the cattle to their winter pastures in a few weeks. She can chase strays while we're moving the main herds. It will give her something important to do while keeping her away from the herd in case it stampedes."

"Now you're making sense," said Paul. "You're letting Cat help with the ranch work and keeping her safe at the same time. By the way, where is Cat?"

"She and her friends are over at the school, helping Susan Winter with the books that were delivered."

"Is she sick?" asked Roy. "She's hated school ever since she first started but she's over there on a Sunday? What have you done to our little Wild Cat?"

"I haven't done anything to her," laughed Ben. She still hates going to school. The only reason she's there is because of the books. She loves to read and is no doubt looking at titles she'll want me to add to her collection. Except for arithmetic, Cat really doesn't hate school. She hates being cooped up inside and having to sit still. I'm quite certain that if school was to be held outside, she wouldn't mind going so much."

"Knowing Cat," said Paul. "I wouldn't be surprised by anything she does, especially if it's outside. I'm positive that she'd move her bed outside if you'd let her."

Ben laughed. "Why don't the three of you, Joanne and Virginia come to supper on Friday night? Except for Roy who finds excuses to ride out to the Ponderosa at meal times, you haven't been out for supper since the first night Cat was home."

"Why don't you make that Saturday night?" asked Paul. "That will give Cat time to do some hunting. I'm dying to taste some of that rabbit stew I've heard so much about."

"Roy?" asked Ben.

"Can you persuade Hop Sing to have supper at five instead of at six? Then I will be able to get back to town before things get crazy. The ranch hands tend to get rowdy when they start drinking and the Circle B hands are the worst of the bunch. It wouldn't be fair of me to leave Clem to handle them all on his own."

"I don't think he'll have a problem with that. So it's settled then. We'll see you on Saturday at five for supper. Now I had better go over to the school and make sure my daughter isn't trying to bring all of the books home with her."

"I'll walk with you," said Paul. "My wife is over there helping with the books also. David, I believe that I saw Joanne walking that way too."

"Paul, I'll see you and David later," said Roy. "Ben, I talked to the judge and I'm taking Millicent to him at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. He's pretty angry at her but it wouldn't hurt if you and Adam were there too. Since Adam was at the ranch when Millicent was there and threatened Cat, he should be the one to tell the judge what she did and how long it took to find Cat and calm her down. She complained about the fact that Adam wasn't going to do anything about Cat going fishing after school and about the way he talked to her. I want you to tell her in front of the judge that how you raise your daughter is nobody's business but your own and that anybody who lives and works on the Ponderosa has every right to tell anybody who doesn't belong there, to leave."

"Thank you Roy. Adam and I will be there in the morning."

Ben, Paul, and Reverend Long walked over to the school where they found twelve children and six adults, including Ben's sons, Virginia Martin, and Joanne Long helping Susan Winter catalog and shelve the books. It was obvious that everyone had been working hard as four and a half crates of books had already been put on the bookcases. Joe was sitting at the teacher's desk writing something on a piece of paper. When he finished, he handed it to Susan and asked, "What do you think of this? Now you'll be able to keep track of which student has which book, when they borrowed it and when they returned it."

Susan took the paper and said, "That is wonderful Joe. Thank you for thinking of that for me."

"I'm glad you like it. I'll take it over to the newspaper office and see if Dan DeQuille will print a bunch of copies for you. That way you won't have to take the time to make up a new form everytime one gets filled up." Joe left the school, walked over to the newspaper office and returned a few minutes later. "He said he'll be more than happy to print a bunch of those forms up for you. He said they'll be ready in about thirty minutes."

Dan DeQuille walked into the school just as the last book was put on a shelf. He handed a stack of papers to Miss Winter and said, "Here you go Miss Susan. I printed twenty five copies for you. Let me know whenever you have anything to send home with all of your students and I'll gladly print it for you. Don't worry about paying me for anything. I'm just happy to see a teacher in this school who truly cares about the children. You are the first teacher since I moved here, to encourage the children to read by starting a lending library. As the publisher of a newspaper, I know how important it is for children to know how to read. In fact, I'll gladly spend a day teaching the older students exactly what is involved in publishing a newspaper."

"Thank you Mr. DeQuille. I appreciate your kind offers and will definitely take you up on them. In fact, it may help the older students' writing abilities if you were to teach them how to write articles for a newspaper. I would like to discuss that possibility with you whenever it is convenient."

"I would welcome discussing that possibility with you. Why don't we meet at the café after school on Wednesday? That will give both of us time to write down our ideas we want to discuss. Now, please tell me how much work these children did in putting all of those books on the shelves."

"They did most of the work. The adults uncrated and cataloged the books but the children did all of the work putting them on the shelves. They even decided how to arrange the books."

"That is wonderful. It does my heart good to see children so interested in books. Children, Miss Winter says all of you worked very hard and I see that there were a lot of books to put away. So, I have decided to reward you. I know you haven't had dinner yet but today you will be having dessert before dinner. We are all going over to the International Hotel where I am going to treat all of you to ice cream in the restaurant." The adults tried to protest and say that the children should eat dinner first but Dan scoffed at them and said, "Nonsense! It won't hurt these children one little bit to have ice cream before dinner for a change. They've been working hard and deserve to be rewarded. Let's go children. We'll let the adults take care of the empty crates and straighten up in here." The children eagerly followed Dan over to the International where they each enjoyed a bowl of ice cream.

Before beginning lessons the next morning, Miss Winter held up a board clip with a copy of the form Joe had drawn, on it. She said, "As you can see, all of the books for our lending library are on the shelves. When you borrow a book, I want you to fill out a line on this paper. It has spaces for your name, the book title, the day you borrowed it, and the day you returned it. You are responsible for taking care of the books you borrow and if they are lost or damaged beyond repair, your parents will have to pay for a new copy. I know that you are eager to look at the books but we have lessons to do. I will allow you time at the end of the day to select books to read. Remember, I expect you to do all of your schoolwork and chores before reading the book you select."

While Miss Winter was beginning the school day, Ben and Adam rode into town so they could be in the courtroom while the judge was dealing with Mrs. Warren. As expected, she complained loudly about being arrested when all she had been doing was collecting money for the church and parsonage roofs. She also complained about the way Adam treated her when she was on the Ponderosa and blamed Cat for the slingshot attacks on her. "I know that little brat is responsible for the attacks on me. I saw it with a slingshot just before I was attacked on Saturday."

Ben was tired of being polite and said, "Millicent, you are a very ill woman and need to be locked up in an insane asylum before you seriously injure my daughter or someone else! Catherine does not even own a slingshot and she was at the King ranch on Saturday in the company of four adults and two other children. Adam is my eldest son and as such, he was completely within his rights to order you off of our property! My other two sons can also order you off of the Ponderosa as can any of the hands who work for us. You are not welcome on the Ponderosa. You never have been and never will be! You have threatened my daughter for the last time. The next time you come out to my ranch and threaten my daughter, you may be leaving with your bottom full of buckshot and if it happens to be one of the hands who does it, that man will get a bonus when I pay him! If I knew which children were responsible for the attacks on you, I would give them money, candy, and all of the rocks they can carry in their pockets so they would be able to continue attacking you. And furthermore, I am sick and tired of hearing you refer to Catherine as an it or a thing. She is a sweet, innocent child who has done nothing to you and does not deserve to be treated the way you are treating her!"

Mrs. Warren's lawyer tried to keep her from saying anything but she didn't listen. When she tried saying something about not knowing where Cat came from and that she should be in an orphanage or a work house, Ben exploded. " **I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD MY DAUGHTER! WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO BELIEVE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS TOWN KNOWS? CATHERINE IS MY SISTER'S DAUGHTER AND WHEN SHE WAS MURDERED, I ADOPTED MY NIECE! WHY DO YOU INSIST ON QUESTIONING HER PARENTAGE WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD SEVERAL TIMES WHO HER PARENTS ARE** **AND THAT SHE WAS BORN ON THE PONDEROSA? JUDGE, IF YOU DO NOT DO SOMETHING ABOUT KEEPING THIS WOMAN AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, I WILL NOT GUARANTEE HER SAFETY IF SHE COMES OUT TO THE PONDEROSA AGAIN**!"

"Ben," said the judge, "I am going to excuse your outburst because I understand how frustrated you are that Mrs. Warren continues to verbally attack your daughter and physically threatened her after being ordered to stay away from your family. I highly suggest you go outside for a few minutes and cool down before your temper gets the best of you. I do not want to have to fine you for being in contempt of court." Ben walked outside and the judge continued. "Adam, I believe you were home when Mrs. Warren went out to the Ponderosa. Will you please tell the court what happened?"

Adam told the judge how Cat was several hours late coming home from school and he was getting ready to ride out in search of her when Mrs. Warren drove her buggy into the yard at the Ponderosa. He said that he politely asked her to leave several times but she ignored him and continued talking about absolutely nothing at all. The judge smiled when Adam told of Cat riding into the yard with what she thought were, "More fish than even Hoss can eat." He told the judge how Cat became very frightened when she saw Mrs. Warren and he sent her into the house to keep her safe. Then he said that Mrs. Warren called Cat a "Disobedient, ill mannered, impudent brat" and said that he and his father should take his sister out behind the barn and give her a good thrashing with a razor strop. Adam further explained that Mrs. Warren stated that Cat needed to be whipped until she couldn't sit down for a month. Then because he made no move to do anything with his sister, Mrs. Warren said that because he was just standing there and not doing anything about her, she would and that, "Somebody needs to teach that brat a lesson and you and your father don't seem up to the task so I will do your job for you!" Adam continued by saying that Mrs. Warren picked up her whip and started to get out of her buggy when he ordered her off the Ponderosa and told her she was never to return there again.

"Thank you Adam. What happened after Mrs. Warren left the Ponderosa?"

"I sat on the porch and waited for my sister to come out of the house. She needed to get her chores and homework done and I needed to explain to her why it was important for her to come straight home from school. I waited for fifteen minutes and when Catherine did not come out of the house, I went inside to look for her. I went into the kitchen and Hop Sing told me that he had sent her upstairs where she would be safe while he stood guard with a large knife in his hands in case Mrs. Warren should enter the house and try to harm her. I walked upstairs, knocked on her door and called to her. When she didn't answer, I went into her room and looked for her. I found her puppies hiding under her bed and found Catherine curled up in a ball on the floor of her wardrobe. She was too frightened to come out so I had to pick her up and bring her out. She was shaking like a leaf. It took me more than thirty minutes to get her calmed down to the point where we could go downstairs and ask Hop Sing for some lemonade and cookies."

Mrs. Warren started to say something but the judge cut her off. "Mrs. Warren, I am warning you right now. If one sound comes out of your mouth, I will have you gagged. I have had more than enough of your outbursts, complaints and demands that a child, who has done nothing to you, be whipped. Adam, please continue."

"It was more than an hour after Mrs. Warren left the Ponderosa before Catherine and I were able to clean the fish she had caught. After I helped her with her chores, we sat on the porch and I explained why it was important for her to come right home from school and not stop to go fishing unless Pa had already given her permission. Then I sent her off to take care of her colt and start on her homework. Pa has a rule that unless she needs help with something, Catherine's homework must be finished before supper. Even though she was late coming home because she had been fishing, had Mrs. Warren not been on the Ponderosa, my sister would have been able to finish her homework before supper was ready. However, due to Mrs. Warren being on the Ponderosa, there was no way Catherine was going to finish the homework before supper and she was afraid she would be in trouble for not doing it. I had to reassure her several times that Pa would understand why it wasn't finished on time and that she would not be in trouble."

"Thank you Adam. Do you have anything else to add?"

"I just want to echo my father's words that if Mrs. Warren shows up on the Ponderosa again, her safety cannot be guaranteed. With the exception of one hand, everyone on the ranch likes my sister and would do anything they had to in order to protect her from harm."

Ben returned to the courtroom while Adam was talking. Once he finished, Ben stood up and apologized to the judge for his outburst. "I accept your apology Ben. I know that all of this must be very hard on you and your family. Please try to control your temper if the circumstance should arise where I need to hold another hearing like this one. Mrs. Warren, do you have anything to say for yourself? Before you begin, if you say a single word against Catherine Cartwright or her family, I will pass judgment on you without you having had the opportunity to defend yourself against the charges of contempt of court and assaulting Sheriff Coffee and Deputy Foster when they attempted to arrest you."

"I was completely within my rights to go out to the Ponderosa. I was there to solicit a donation for the church and parsonage roof fund. That is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. The sheriff and his deputy were attempting to force me to go with them and I was defending myself."

"I see. Did Reverend Long ask you to collect money for the roofs?"

"No. I always do the collecting for anything the church needs. I am better at collecting money than everyone else in this town."

"Did Ben Cartwright or any of his sons invite you to go out to the Ponderosa?"

"No. I didn't need an invitation to collect money for the church."

"It has barely been a month since you were in front of me, on trial for attacking and injuring Catherine Cartwright. At that time, I specifically told you that you were to stay away from the Cartwright family and were not to go out to the Ponderosa."

"Sheriff Coffee, when you went to Mrs. Warren's house with your deputy, did you inform her of your reason for being there?"

"Yes I did. I told her that Ben Cartwright had signed a complaint against her for threatening his daughter and I was placing her under arrest until you had time to deal with her. She refused to come on her own, so my deputy and I were forced to try and carry her. She fought and kicked us until a couple of cow hands came out of the saloon and offered to carry her for us. They said they were used to being kicked by broncos and steers so Mrs. Warren's antics wouldn't bother them at all."

"Thank you Sheriff. Millicent Warren, I find you guilty of contempt of court for going out to the Ponderosa uninvited and threatening Ben Cartwright's daughter. I also find you guilty of assaulting Sheriff Coffee and Deputy Foster when they were attempting to do their duty and arrest you. Since two weeks in the Virginia City jail did not seem to teach you a lesson let's see if spending more time there will help you learn your lesson. I hereby sentence you to spend one month in the Virginia City jail. The same conditions as before apply. No special privileges except being allowed your Bible and, if someone wants to bring it to you, your needlework. If one of the ladies wants to bring a set of clean clothes for you once a week, that will be acceptable to the court. I am warning you now, if I see you in front of me again for these same offenses before a family member who is willing to take you, can be located, I will have no choice but to send you to prison. I highly recommend you spend the next month reading your Bible and asking God to help you do the right thing as I do not want to send a lady of your age to prison. Sheriff Coffee, have you had any success finding a relative of Mrs. Warren who is willing to take her?"

"I've sent several letters out but haven't received any replies yet. I've got more written that I had planned on sending out in today's mail."

"Thank you. Please let me know if you have any success."

After Roy and Clem left the courthouse, Ben said, "Thank you Your Honor. Now I need to go over to the school and let three children know of the good news. Because I was worried that Millicent might show up at the school and try to harm Cat, I got permission from Dan Devlin and Ted King for Michael and Jasper to bring their slingshots to school with the understanding they were not to use them unless Millicent showed up at the school. I know you probably think I'm crazy, but that woman could have seriously injured Cat or worse before anyone could get Roy. I also need to let my daughter know that for the next month at least, she won't have to look ever her shoulder whenever we're in town."

"No Ben. I don't think you're crazy. You are a father who will do anything within his power to protect his daughter. I don't know of many fathers who would not do the same thing. Who knows, I may be in your shoes one day. Sally is pregnant with our second child. Come spring, Andrew will have a little brother or sister to play with when he or she is old enough. Go and tell the children they won't have to worry about Mrs. Warren for a while."

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 **a/n:** The earliest forms of clipboards were patented in 1870-71 and referred to as board clips. A picture of one can be found at pin/440156563554400718/


	75. Chapter 75

Ben wrote a note, walked over to the school and said, "Excuse me Miss Winter. Will you please give this to Jasper King and Michael Devlin at the end of the day?"

"I will be happy to do that for you."

Then Ben said, "Thank you very much. May I please borrow my daughter for a minute? I have something very important to tell her and it shouldn't take more than a minute."

"Of course you may. Catherine, please go with your father."

Cat was concerned that she had done something wrong and was in trouble but Ben calmed her fears. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to let you know that you won't have to worry about Mrs. Warren for a while. The judge just put her in jail for a month."

Cat got excited, hugged Ben and said, "Really? That's great. I'm tired of worrying if she's gonna hurt me or not. Can I please go and thank the judge? I promise I'll come right back."

"I should say no but if I do, you probably won't be able to concentrate in school. Go ahead but come right back here. Your education is important and I don't want you to miss any more of it than is necessary." While Cat ran over to the courthouse, Ben went back inside the school to talk with Miss Winter. "Catherine will be right back. I gave her some good news and she wanted to thank someone." Then he lowered his voice and said, "The judge just sentenced Mrs. Warren to a month in jail and Cat went to thank the judge. She has been very worried the woman would attack her while she was here at the school."

"That's fine. I am certain that Catherine will return momentarily."

Cat ran over to the courthouse, hugged the judge's neck and said, "Thank you for keeping Mrs. Warren from hurting me. I wish you could make her go far away from here."

"You are welcome Cat. I am working on making Mrs. Warren go far away from here but I have to find a family member who will take her. Sheriff Coffee is sending letters to her family and hopefully someone will take her. Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"Yes but Pa said I could come over here and tell you thank you."

"You are very welcome. Now go on back to school. It is important for you to get a good education. Your Pa has said that one day the Ponderosa will be yours and you need to learn a lot of things if you are going to run it as well as he has."

Cat ran back over to the school and got a quick drink from the pump. When she turned around, she saw Ben standing there & started getting angry. "You still don't believe me when I say I'll do something. Uncle Matt told you I always try to keep my promises. I came back just like I said I would so you can go home now. I'm leaving for Uncle Rip's fort in the morning. I don't want to stay with someone who doesn't trust me."

"You're wrong Kitten. I wasn't waiting her because I didn't believe you would come back. I knew you would come back even if I wasn't here. I waited for you to get back so I could tell you how much I love you and do this." He picked Cat up and hugged her tightly. Then he kissed her on her forehead and set her down. "Now that I've done what I waited to do, I am going home and you are going back to school."

"I'd rather go home and work with the horses like Joe does."

Ben laughed. "Sorry Sweetheart. You already have a job to do and that is to get a good education. Now scoot." He turned Cat toward the schoolhouse door, gave her a light swat and sent her back into the school.

Annabel was still blaming Cat because she had been punished for stealing and kept watching for the opportunity to get even. During dinner recess on Wednesday, Cat and her friends were playing with a ball when Sally threw it over her head. As she ran to try and catch it, Annabel tripped her and she hit her head on a bench. Cat got up off the ground and tackled her tormentor. She made a fist and as she drew her arm back to hit Annabel, Jasper grabbed her arm. "No Cat. Don't hit her. Mary got Miss Winter and she's coming. If you hit Annabel, you'll be in trouble too because she didn't hit you."

Miss Winter hurried over to where Cat was sitting on Annabel and said, "Catherine, get off of Annabel. What happened here?"

"I was running after the ball and Annabel tripped me," said Cat."

"She's lying," said Annabel. "I was just sitting here when she pushed me down and was going to hit me."

"Did anybody see what happened?"

"I did Miss Winter," said Julie. "Annabel is lying. Cat was chasing the ball and Annabel tripped her."

"Thank you Julie. Let's go Annabel. You are in a lot of trouble. Besides the paddling you are going to get, I will be sending a note home to your father. I am positive that he will not be pleased with your behavior. Just to make sure he gets it, I will be sending it to him with another student."

"It's all Cartwright's fault. I got punished for stealing because of her."

"No Annabel, it is not Catherine's fault that you were punished for stealing. You stole from others and your father punished you for it. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming others for what you did. Nobody made you steal all of those things. Now go into the school and be glad I'm not going to wait for recess to end before I paddle you. The next time you try to hurt another student, I will have Sheriff Coffee come over her and use the big belt he keeps to use on children who break the law, on you in front of the entire school. Trying to hurt someone else is against the law. Now let's go!" Then she looked at Cat's head, saw that it was bleeding and asked, "Julie, will you and Amanda please take Catherine over to Dr. Martin's office? I want to make sure she wasn't badly hurt."

"I'm ok Miss Winter," said Cat.

"No you're not. Your head is bleeding and I would prefer that Dr. Martin examine you just to be sure it's not serious. Now go over to the doctor's office with Julie and Amanda."

The girls walked over to the doctor's office. Paul looked up from the medical journal he was reading and said, "Hello girls. What can I do for you?"

"Miss Winter sent us over here," said Amanda. "Cat was chasing the ball at recess and Annabel tripped her. She was real close to a bench when she fell and her head is bleeding."

"I'm fine Dr. Paul," said Cat.

Paul laughed. "If I had a nickel every time I heard that from a Cartwright, I would be a wealthy man. Now, since I have a medical degree and you don't, why don't you let me be the judge of whether or not you are fine?" Paul picked Cat up, put her on the exam bed and checked her over very thoroughly. When he was finished, he said, "It appears that you hit the bench when you fell. It's not a bad wound but I do need to clean it, put four stitches in, and bandage it so it doesn't get infected."

Cat grumbled. "I'm not hurt and don't need my head all bandaged up. I'll look silly and everyone will laugh at me."

"You are a true Cartwright. Your Pa and brothers always argue with me when they need medical treatment. Now sit still and let me take care of your head." Cat refused to sit still so Paul asked the girls to go over to Roy's office and ask him to see if any of the Cartwrights were in town. "Tell him if none of them are in town, I would like him to come over and hold Cat still for me while I take care of her head. Then you two can go back to school. Tell Miss Winter that Cat isn't badly hurt and someone will bring her back to school as soon as I'm finished with her."

Julie and Amanda walked over to Roy's office and relayed Paul's request to him. He laughed and said, "Imagine that, a Cartwright giving the doctor a hard time. Alright girls. Thank you for the message. Go on back to school and I'll see if any of the Cartwrights are in town. If they aren't, I'll help Dr. Martin with Cat. Don't worry. If she's arguing with the doctor, she's not badly hurt."

Roy walked outside and started looking around town to see if he could spot Hoss or Joe's horse tied up anywhere. He walked toward the general store and spotted Hoss and Joe loading supplies onto the buckboard. He walked up to them and said, "Boys, your sister was hurt at school. She's over at the doctor's office. Would one or both of you please go over there and help him with her? She's being a typical Cartwright and giving him a hard time."

"Alright Roy," laughed Hoss. "We'll go right over there and see if we can get little sister to sit still for Paul. Gerald, we'll come back for the rest of these supplies in a little while. Paul needs us to get Cat to sit still for him. I hope little sister ain't hurt too bad."

"I doubt that she is," replied Mr. Miller. "If she were badly hurt, Roy would have told one of you to ride for home to get your father and Adam. Instead, he said that Cat is giving Paul a hard time. So go over to Paul's office and calm your sister down. I don't know what's wrong with her but having the pair of you with her will be some of the best medicine she can have."

"Yore right Gerald. Come on little brother. Our little sister needs us."

They walked over to Paul's office and found Cat sitting on the exam bed, holding a towel on her head and refusing to take it off so Paul could treat the wound. She saw her brothers, hopped down off the bed and ran to them. "Help! Dr. Paul wants to put pins and needles in my head. Please don't let him do that to me."

Hoss and Joe tried not to laugh while Joe picked Cat up and said, "It's not that bad Squirt. Your head has been hurt and Paul needs to clean the wound so it doesn't get infected. Head wounds bleed a lot, so he has to put a few stitches in there to help it heal. It's not like when a lady makes a dress. He doesn't use pins and only uses a very small needle. Paul has put stitches in me several times and it only hurts a little bit. Here, look at my head." He pulled his hair back and Cat saw a scar on Joe's head. "This happened when I was seven or eight. Hoss will remember what happened. I had been watching birds fly and thought if I flapped my arms like their wings, I could fly too. I went up into the hayloft, flapped my arms as hard and fast as I could and jumped off. Of course I didn't fly. Fortunately, I landed on a hay bale but I hit my head on a stall. When I walked into the house with blood running down my head, I think people in Denver heard Pa and Hop Sing yelling. Hop Sing worked to get the bleeding stopped while Hoss rode to town to get Paul. He got me cleaned up and stitched the wound shut. It hardly hurt. I wish I could have said the same for the tanning Pa gave me after Paul left for going into the loft without an adult and putting my life in danger."

"I remember that," said Hoss. "You was only seven and had been told at least a hundred times not to go into the loft without an adult. But you was just as hard headed then as ya are now and went into the loft anyway. When you walked into the house covered in blood, we thought ya'd been attacked by a wild animal. You deserved every bit of that tanning Pa gave ya. Ifn I had been Adam's age, I woulda tanned ya too. I was wishin' he weren't away at college so he coulda. I know if mama had been alive, she woulda fixed ya but good. Ya coulda been killed! Ya shoulda seen him Punkin. His head was bleedin' somethin' terrible but he didn't care. He was just mad because he couldn't fly. When Pa finished with him, he had a real hard time sittin' down and Pa wouldn't let him put a pillow on his chair at supper. He had to ride to school the next day without a cushion on his saddle, Miss Jones wouldn't let him sit on his saddle bags and he was restricted to the yard with extra chores for two months. Now little sister, tell us how you got hurt and let Paul fix your head so you can go back to school."

"I was playing catch with my friends at dinner recess and Sally threw the ball over my head. I was running to catch it when Annabel White tripped me. I guess I hit my head on the bench."

"Well, you're definitely not in trouble," said Joe. "I hope Miss Winter and Annabel's father deal with her. Now, you need to let Paul clean up your head and put some stitches in it so it will stop bleeding." Seeing that Cat was still nervous, he asked, "Paul, will you still be able to work on Cat if she sits in my lap?"

"Yes I will. Cat, we're going to have to undo your right braid so I can fix your head. Even though I know your brothers know how to fix your hair, I'll go and ask Virginia to do it for you. Stay here with Hoss and Joe while I go and talk to Virginia."

He walked into his house and returned a few minutes later with his wife. Virginia looked at Cat and wanted to know what happened. Cat told her and she said, "That child has been spoiled rotten and now that her father is finally disciplining her, she is taking it out on other children. I'll talk to her mother but it probably won't do any good since she is the one who spoiled her to begin with. You need to talk to her father and let him know that his daughter hurt Cat and it's a miracle it wasn't worse."

"Don't worry dear. I'm sure that Miss Winter will be sending a note home to Annabel's father. Right now, I need to clean Cat's head, stitch and bandage the wound. Joe, if you'll sit on the bed, Cat can sit in your lap and she should be at the right height so I won't need to bend over to fix her head. Hoss, once I start to put the stitches in, I'm going to need you to hold her head so she can't move it. She only needs four stitches but I'll hurt her if she moves while I'm putting them in. Cat sweetheart, it's going to sting when I clean the wound and put the stitches in, but it has to be done or it will get infected and you will get very sick. I know that you will be brave for me because you want to be an Apache warrior when you grow up and warriors are very brave. Virginia, will you please unbraid the right side of her head and hold her hair away from the wound?"

"Hold my hands sis," said Joe. "If it hurts, you can squeeze tight. Don't worry, you won't hurt me. I've got you so just relax. It will make Paul's job a lot easier if you don't fight him when he's taking care of you."

With Joe holding her tight, Paul was able to get Cat's head cleaned up in no time at all. Before putting the stitches in her head, he showed her the needle he was going to use. "This is the needle I'm going to use to sew up your head. Do you see how small it is? That's so I can make small stitches and you won't have a big scar."

"Why is it curved?"

"It's curved because the body is curved. If it was straight, I wouldn't be able to sew a wound together correctly and it wouldn't heal right. Also, by using a small, curved needle, it won't hurt as much as if I used a straight one. Hoss, please hold your sister's head as still as possible. Cat, this is going to hurt some but I only need to use four stitches so it won't take long for me to close that wound up. Then I'll put a bandage on it, Virginia will rebraid your hair for you and you can go back to school."

With Hoss and Joe holding their sister, Paul was able to put the stitches in quickly. Having the stitches put in her head hurt but Cat just grabbed on to Joe's arms as tightly as she could and didn't make a sound. "Alright, I'm done. That wasn't too bad, now was it? I want to give those stitches time to set and I want to make sure you aren't hurt badly, so I want you to take it easy for the rest of today. That means no running and I would prefer it if you could get someone else to saddle your horse after school. If you ask nicely, maybe Hoss and Joe will do your chores for you today. Tomorrow you can go back to being your normal, mischievous self. Boys, Hop Sing knows what to do. Just make sure your sister keeps that bandage clean and dry so the wound doesn't get infected. Be sure to watch her for signs of a concussion.

Cat is a little young for laudanum but I'm going to send a little bit home with you anyway, along with some headache powders. If the pain gets too bad only give her one fourth of a teaspoon of the laudanum in a large glass of water. Better yet give her less than one fourth of a teaspoon and then give her a little more if that doesn't help. Otherwise, if her head is hurting and it's not too bad, give her one half dose of the headache powders in a glass of water. If Hop Sing has some herbs to help the pain, use them instead of the laudanum and headache powders. I'll check the wound every day after school and should be able to take the stitches out when we come for supper on Saturday. Cat, don't be afraid to let your family know if your head hurts or if you feel sick or dizzy. People with head injuries need to be watched for a day to make sure they don't get sick. You and Joe had better catch a lot of rabbits when you go hunting on Saturday because I'm planning to eat as much of your rabbit stew as Hoss does. Come back after school and I'll change the bandage before you go home. I'd give you a peppermint stick now but you'll want to eat it in school, so I'll give you one after school. Joe, why don't you take your sister back to school? I'll put some bandages and the medicine together, write out the instructions and give everything to Hoss."

Joe took Cat back to school and walked in with her. She sat down and Miss Winter said, "Catherine, we're finishing up the history lesson. Laura can show you what you need to read."

Joe talked to Miss Winter quietly. "I'm sorry it took so long but Cat needed four stitches and was pretty nervous about it. She thought Dr. Martin was going to put pins and needles in her head the way ladies do when they're sewing. Hoss and I had to hold her so Paul could clean her up and stitch her head."

Miss Winter covered her mouth with one hand to hide her smile and struggled not to laugh. "Oh, that is precious. Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. Paul just wants her watched for signs of a concussion today. He also told her not to do any more running today. Cat can still play with her friends, but someone else will have to run after the ball. He didn't say anything about letting her use the swings so I'll tell her not to use them. She can go back to her normal activities tomorrow."

"Thank you Joe. Please hurry and talk to your sister. I need to get the arithmetic lesson started." As Joe started to walk off Miss Winter stopped him and handed him a note she had written to Ben. "Please give this to your father and be sure to tell him that your sister is not in any trouble. I just wanted to make him aware of what happened today."

Joe walked over to Cat and squatted down by her desk. "Ask Mike or Jasper to saddle your horse after school. I'll meet you at the Devlins and ride home with you from there. Remember, no running and stay off of the swings. You can still play with the ball but somebody else will have to chase it today. Now give me a hug and pay attention to your arithmetic lesson. I think you have a test coming up soon."

Cat hugged Joe and said, "I love you big brother."

"I love you too little sister. I'll see you later. Right now, you need to pay attention to your teacher."

When Hoss and Joe arrived home, Ben was upset that they had been gone so long and said, "You should have been home quite a while ago. What kept you?"

"We had a little problem we needed to take care of," replied Joe.

"A little problem with a poker game in the saloon no doubt," Adam retorted. "How much money did you lose?"

"We wasn't in the saloon," replied Hoss. "Cat got hurt at school and Paul needed us to keep her calm so's he could work on her."

"A likely story," said Adam. "How could Cat have gotten hurt sitting in her desk at school? How much beer did you drink and how much money did Joe lose?"

"Adam, that's enough!" exclaimed Ben. "Your brothers said your sister got hurt so why do you keep insisting they were in the saloon? It's high time you started taking them at their word!"

"Because I am all too familiar with what happens when Joe goes to town."

Joe struggled to keep his temper, dug the note from Susan Winter out of his pocket and handed it to his father. Ben paled when he read it. "Your brothers are not lying Adam. This note is from Susan Winter. Annabel White tripped Cat and she hit her head on a bench. Boys, how badly was your sister hurt?"

"Not too bad Pa," said Joe while shooting daggers at Adam with his eyes. "She only needed four stitches in her head but she was frightened of what Paul was going to do to her. She thought Paul was going to stitch her head up like women do when they're making clothes. We had to hold her still so Paul could take care of her."

"No you didn't have to hold her still," said Adam. "All you had to do was put her across your knees and give her a spanking. Then she would have stopped fighting Paul."

Joe lost his temper and hit Adam as hard as he could. " **Stop it both of you!** " demanded Ben angrily. "The two of you are old enough to resolve your differences without using your fists. Adam, I don't know what your problem is but I never once punished you or your brothers for acting out because you were afraid of something."

"There was no reason for her to be afraid. I've seen that large scar on her head. She's had stitches before."

"Son, Doctor Adams put those stitches in your sister's head when she was unconscious. I talked to him when we were in Dodge. Catherine was seriously hurt and remained unconscious for three days. He said that if Joshua and Thaddeus hadn't found her when they did, we would have been burying her alongside her mother in June. So, no, she didn't know what to expect when Paul told her she needed stitches in her head. It seems that I also need to remind you that none of you are allowed to spank your sister yet. I am her parent and I will deal with her. If I am not here, Hop Sing can deal with her."

"So, in other words, you are going to let her get away with murder just like you did Joe when he was that age. She'd better hope I don't catch her misbehaving because I won't be as easy on her like you were with Joe. I'll treat her just like I did Joe when he was that age."

"Yeah," said Hoss. "I remember how ya treated Joe. When ya got home from college, you and Pa basically ignored me and Joe except to yell at Joe and punish him, most of the time fer stuff he didn't do. Ya wasn't even home from college a month when Bobby Richards threw Joe into the old well at school and it took him hours to climb out. When he got home, instead of lettin' him explain what happened, you and Pa yelled at him and Pa whipped him and sent him to bed without supper. He didn't want ta see either of ya the next morning so he got up early and went to school with no breakfast and no dinner. He got sick at school and Miss Jones sent him home with a note sayin' he was sick. He stopped at the creek to wash his face off and get somethin' ta drink. You found him and instead of lettin' him explain why he wasn't in school, ya figured he was skippin', pulled his britches down and whipped him. Ya was always real good at punishing him before lettin' him explain what happened and that day was no exception. He figured you and Pa didn't want him no more so he ran away. He was already sick and then he fell into the river. It took us two days to find him. That meant he spent two nights outside in the cold and was soaking wet the first night. In case ya've forgotten, he got real sick. He had pneumonia an' Doc thought he might have cholera from drinking some of that well water. Ifn he had died I woulda killed you and I'm tellin' ya right here and now, ifn ya treat little sister the way ya treated Joe, you and me is gonna tangle and I guarantee you won't come out on top!"

"Hoss, that's enough of that talk!" said Ben. "Adam, you and I need to have a long talk about the way I raised Joseph and the way I intend to raise Catherine. I repeat, you are **NOT** to spank your sister or use your belt on her. She has only been home for two months and is still not comfortable being part of a family. Even when she is older, if I am home and she does something wrong, bring her to me and I will deal with her."

Hoss gave Ben the medicine, bandages, and note Paul sent and said, "Paul said not ta worry about the bill. He's gonna to have Frank White pay it. Joe, you'd better get going. I'm gonna start on her chores."

"Where are you going?" asked Ben.

"To meet Cat at the Devlins. Paul wants her watched for signs of a concussion today so I said I'd meet her and ride home with her in case she gets dizzy. She and Mike should be there soon and I don't want her riding home alone."

"Thank you for looking after your sister. Are you doing her chores too?"

"Yes," said Hoss. "We're gonna do most of them. She can give the horses their oats and brush Fury but we're gonna do the rest. Paul says unless her head's hurtin' bad, she'll be fine tomorrow."

Joe met Cat at the Devlins. After she finished some cookies and lemonade, they rode home. While Joe unsaddled and brushed Beauty and Cochise, Cat walked into the house and handed Ben the newspaper and mail, keeping one envelope for herself.

"Why didn't you give that envelope to Pa?" asked Adam.

"Because it's for me."

"I don't believe you. Give it to me."

"No, it's mine and you can't have it." Cat took her letter and saddle bags and ran out the door in tears. She ran into the barn and told Hoss what Adam tried to do. He picked her up, comforted her and told her that he would take care of Adam. Then he reminded her that she needed to give the horses their oats and get her homework done before Adam decided to get on her about it.

"Adam!" exclaimed Ben after Cat went outside. "Your sister said that envelope was for her and you had no right to accuse her of lying and try to make her give it to you. I don't know what your problem is today, but I am extremely tired of your attitude toward your brothers and sister. If you have a headache or are ill, either see if Hop Sing has something that will help you or ride into town and see Paul. No matter what you choose to do, you owe your brothers and sister an apology. Because you decided to make an issue over a letter that had been written to your sister, she ran out of here with hurt feelings and I did not get a chance to see how she was feeling. I've got to go and find her and make sure she isn't feeling sick and her head isn't hurting too badly. Oh and by the way, Hoss is right. You were entirely too hard on Joseph when you came home from college and I will not have you treating Catherine that way. Now figure out what is wrong with you and do something about your attitude. I'm going to go and check on your sister."

Ben walked out to the pasture and nearly missed being hit by a flying arithmetic book. He picked it up, brushed it off and walked into the pasture. He sat down next to Cat, handed her the book and said, "I didn't know that arithmetic books could fly. Yours must be magic because I've never seen one fly before. Can I help you with anything?"

"It didn't fly far enough. It should have flown into Lake Tahoe. Miss Winter has us doin' this stuff called long division. It's dumb and I can't figure it out so I'm not gonna do it."

Ben laughed, hugged Cat and said, "You don't know how much you remind me of Joe when he was your age. He hated arithmetic too and tried to throw his book into the fireplace more than once. Didn't Miss White explain this and give you time to practice in school?"

"She explained it but Seth and Jackson got into a fight before she could practice with us. They share books and Seth said that Jackson was hogging their arithmetic book and Jackson said Seth was hogging it. Seth hit Jackson and they got into a big fight. They do that a lot. When they come to school, Tommy Roberts and Billy Davis get into a lot of trouble too."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll talk to Mr. Winter. There is no reason why Seth and Jackson have to share books. Take your slate out and I'll help you with a few problems. I'll read the first problem to you. Once you write it down, I'll help you solve it. The first problem is two thousand five hundred twenty five divided by twenty five. Now, how many numbers are in the divisor?"

"Two."

"That's right. What are the first two numbers in the dividend?"

"Twenty five."

"Good. Now, what are the numbers in the divisor?"

"Twenty five."

"You're doing fine. Can you divide twenty five by twenty five?"

"Yes. It goes in one time."

"Correct. Now write a one above the first five in the dividend. Next you need to multiply twenty five by one and write that answer below the first two numbers in the dividend and subtract the bottom number from the top one. What is your answer?"

"Zero."

"Fine. That answer is called the remainder. Now, write the next number from the dividend next to the remainder. Can you divide your new number by the divisor?"

"No, you can't divide two by twenty five."

"Excellent. Now you need to write the next number in the dividend next to the two. What is your new number?"

"Twenty five."

"That's right. Can you divide twenty five by twenty five?"

"Yes. It's one."

"Correct. Now do the same thing you did before and your problem will be finished. What is your quotient?"

"One hundred and one."

Ben decided not to correct her pronunciation but said, "Very good. You have solved the first problem. Copy it onto your tablet and I'll help you with a few more problems." Ben helped Cat solve two more problems then asked, "How is your head? Does it hurt?"

"It wasn't hurtin' too bad until I started trying to do the arithmetic. Arithmetic always makes my head hurt."

Ben laughed, hugged Cat, kissed her on top of her head and said, "You are a silly little girl. It is very important that you tell me, Hop Sing, or one of your brothers if your head is hurting or if you feel dizzy. I know you want to be brave like an Apache warrior but even warriors get medicine if they're hurt. I want you to promise that you will let someone know if your head hurts or if you get dizzy." Cat promised and Ben hugged her and said, "That's my girl. Now finish your homework and I'll send one of your brothers to get you when supper is ready."


	76. Chapter 76

Joe walked out to the pasture just as Cat finished her last arithmetic problem. At supper, Adam apologized to everyone for his words earlier and said he was going into town after they finished eating. Hoss and Joe gave each other knowing looks but didn't say anything.

"Why are you going to town tonight?" asked Cat.

"Because I have something important to do."

"Can I go with you?"

"No not tonight."

"How come?"

"Because it will be past your bedtime before I get to town and you have to go to school tomorrow."

"You like school better than I do. I'll go to town for you and you can go to school for me."

Adam laughed. "Don't forget, I still have work to do in the morning so I can't sleep late."

"I'll do your work for you. I hate going to school."

"Do you know how to set a fence post? That's what we're going to be doing tomorrow. Several fence posts are broken and need to be replaced."

"Sure. It's easy. I watched you, Joe, and Hoss do it. All you have to do is dig a hole, put the fence post in and fill up the hole."

"Ok little sister. I'll tell you what. We'll go outside after supper. The fence posts are already on the buckboard. If you can pick one of them up without any help, I'll ask Pa to let you stay home from school & help us."

"Really? You're not just funning me, are you?"

"No I'm not. Ask Pa and he'll tell you."

Ben fought to keep from laughing at Cat. "This isn't normally something I would do but since Adam asked, if you can pick up one of the fence posts, you can stay home from school tomorrow."

"Gee thanks. I can pick one up. You just wait and see."

They walked outside after supper and over to the buckboard. "Which one should I pick up?" asked Cat.

"Anyone you want to. They're all the same," replied Adam.

Cat tried to pick up a fence post but no matter how much she struggled, she was unable to do it. "That's no fair. You made it extra heavy."

"Now you know that ain't true Punkin," said Hoss. Adam had no way of knowin' which one ya was gonna try and pick up. No matter how much ya want to be, ya just ain't big enough yet to pick one of them things up."

"Don't feel bad," added Joe. "I was sixteen before I could pick one up and I could only hold it for a minute or two before Adam or Hoss had to take it from me. You may never be strong enough to pick one up and that's ok. There are plenty of other things you'll be able to do around the ranch when you get older." Before Cat could get upset he continued, "You are very good with horses. While any strong person can set a fence post, not everyone can work with horses, especially the way you do. There is a colt out there that follows you around like your puppies do. I've had Cochise since he was weaned and he doesn't follow me around the way Fury follows you around. Knowing how things are done on a ranch is important. Being able to do everything isn't. Who knows, when you're older, you may think of a better way to do something we've been doing the same way since Pa first built this ranch."

"Adam," said Ben. "If you're going to go into town, you had better get going. Otherwise, it will be three o'clock in the morning before you return home."

"You're right. Maybe I'll wait and go tomorrow evening. I can take care of my business and eat supper in town. That way I won't be riding home in the middle of the night. Besides that, somebody needs to make sure Cat goes to bed on time."

Cat became angry, walked up to Adam and kicked him as hard as she could. "You're not the boss of me. You let that nasty old witch come on the ranch and didn't even look for me until a long time after she left. All you cared about was making me do my chores and homework and tellin' me I was bad to go fishing after school. You don't love me. You just want someone to boss around now that Joe is grown up. You ain't gonna be able to boss me around because I'm going to Uncle Rip's fort in the morning." Cat drew back her leg to kick Adam again when she felt herself being picked up by a pair of strong hands.

"Alright Kitten, calm down," came Ben's soothing voice. "Adam unless I am gone and leave you in charge, it is not your place to tell your sister what to do and that includes when she is supposed to go to bed. Catherine has had a very hard day and I suspect that her head is hurting more than she's willing to admit so I am going to excuse her kicking you this time. However, as I told you earlier, you need to do something about your attitude toward her. You have been as grouchy as a bear coming out of hibernation all day. I for one am tired of it and I'm quite certain your brothers are too. Come on little one. It's getting close to your bedtime, so let's get you to the outhouse and then inside. How bad is your head hurting you?"

"Worse than when I have to do arithmetic."

"I thought you were going to tell me when it started hurting."

"I was going to but I thought it would stop."

"No Cat. When your head has been hurt the way yours was today, it doesn't stop hurting unless you take some medicine to make it stop. We'll see if Hop Sing has anything to make it stop hurting when we go inside. If he doesn't, I'll give you a little bit of the medicine Paul sent home for you. The medicine is really for adults so he doesn't want you to take very much of it. Have you been dizzy at all since you were hurt?"

"Only when I was doing my arithmetic. My head always hurts and spins when I see all of those numbers together."

Ben laughed and hugged her. "I'll just bet it does. Now, let's get you to the outhouse. Then we'll see if Hop Sing has anything to make your head stop hurting. After that, you and I are going to talk about your temper for a few minutes."

He started carrying Cat toward the outhouse when she said, "I can walk. You don't have to carry me."

"I know, but I want to. I haven't been able to pick any of my children up and carry them around for a long time. Unless he was sick or hurt, Joe didn't want me to carry him around after he turned ten or eleven so this is one reason I want to squish you back into being a very little girl again. If I can squish you enough to turn you into a very little girl again, I'll have a lot more time to carry you around."

Cat giggled. "You can't do that Pa. Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip have been tryin' for a long time."

"Oh they have, have they? Well maybe they're just haven't been trying hard enough." Ben hugged her tightly and then set her down in front of the outhouse. When he started to carry her back to the house, Cat protested.

"Pa put me down. I'm an Apache warrior. If you keep carrying me, everyone is going to think I'm a baby."

"And just who is everyone? Your brothers? Your puppies? The hands? Hop Sing? They already know that you are my baby girl and nothing is going to change that fact."

"I am not a baby! I'm almost ten years old and almost grown up."

Ben laughed and hugged her tightly. "Next week will be four months since your ninth birthday and that is not almost ten. Nor is it almost grown up. I will carry you around the ranch if I want to and nobody here will think that you're a baby. They will just think that I love you and enjoy carrying you. Now let's see if Hop Sing has something to make your head stop hurting then we need to sit and talk about your temper." He carried Cat into the kitchen where Hop Sing already had one of his teas ready for her.

"Missy Cat drink all of this. It not taste good but make head stop hulting. I give you milk and cookies when tea finished."

Ben set Cat down and Hop Sing handed her the cup. She drank the tea, scrunched up her nose and said, "EWWWWWWWW YUCK! That tasted worse than Uncle Matt's coffee. I think it might kill me. Why didn't you put sugar in it?"

"Tea no help head if sugar in it." Knowing Ben wanted to talk to Cat about her temper and knowing she had, in his opinion, a good reason to kick Adam, Hop Sing said, "Go sit at table in gleat room and I bling you milk and cookies. Then you get leady for bed, I change bandage and give you little bit of medicine to keep head from hulting when you sleep."

After Cat left the kitchen, Ben looked at Hop Sing and said, "I needed to talk to her about controlling her temper. I can't have her hitting or kicking Adam everytime she gets angry at him."

"Missy Cat have long day, get hult. Then number one son treat her like baby. Say she not allowed to have own mail and tly to take letter. Hop Sing take cale of Missy Cat then deal with Adam after Missy Cat go to sleep. You talk tomollow. Tonight Missy Cat have milk and cookies. Take little bit of medicine and go to sleep. Head no hult tomorrow. Missy Cat have Little Joe temper. You not be able to tame. Maybe teach to control. She need to spend time with Hoss and Little Joe to learn how. Watching brothers maybe help more than talking. She spend time with Little Joe he not go in saloon so much."

Ben laughed. "You have a point my friend. Take Cat her milk and cookies. I need to have a talk with my eldest son about his attitude toward his sister. I had to be hard on him out of necessity when we were on the trail with the wagon train as did all of the other parents. There were wild animals, Indians, and outlaws to worry about and children wandering off to explore strange surroundings could have cost them their lives. I have explained that to Adam numerous times and I still find it hard to believe he is still upset that I spoiled Joseph some when he was a boy."

"Little Joe not really spoiled. Just allowed more fleedom because you safe hele on Ponderosa when he born and have time to spend with him. Also he vely small and nobody sure if he going to live when he baby. I talk with number one son too and use spoon on him if necessaly."

"You go ahead and do that," laughed Ben. "He might just listen to you better than he listens to me. You swing a very mean spoon."

Since Adam had been grumpy all day and Cat had just kicked him, Hop Sing had a feeling that he would be upset so he carried his spoon along with Cat's milk and cookies. He carried Cat's snack into the great room and set it down on the table in front of her. Adam looked at his sister and complained, "I don't believe what I'm seeing. She just kicked me and is being rewarded with milk and cookies when she should have had her bottom blistered."

Hop Sing turned and hit Adam with his spoon. "You no be mean to Missy Cat. You be grouchy all day. Hop Sing fix headache medicine and you dlink it. Maybe then you stop being grouchy. You and I talk aftel Missy Cat go to bed." Cat finished her snack and carried her plate and glass into the kitchen. When she returned to the great room, Hop Sing said, "It close to you bedtime. Go get leady for bed then I change bandage and give you different herb tea to keep head from hulting while you sleep. This one not taste so bad as other one." He walked back into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a glass he handed to Adam. "You be grouchy all day and mean to little sister. You must have headache. Dlink this. Make headache go away. We talk later." Adam frowned as he took the glass from Hop Sing. He did have a headache but that was only part of the reason for his bad mood. He needed to spend some time in town away from the stress and responsibilities of helping his father run the ranch every day.

Cat came back downstairs in her nightgown and slippers. She walked up to Hop Sing and asked, "You're not going to hurt me are you?"

"No. I just going to change bandage. I change again in morning before bleakfast. Go sit on floor by table." Cat sat down and Hop Sing took the bandage off her head.

"How bad is it?" asked a worried Ben.

"Look see. Vely small. Maybe one inch long. Only four small stitches. Not big like othel one."

"What other one?" asked Cat. "I never hurt my head before."

"Yes you did Sweetheart," said Ben. "It happened when you got hurt after your mother died. You don't remember because you were unconscious when Joshua and Thaddeus found you. Dr. Adams told me that you had a big cut on your head that he had to put stitches in. He took them out before you left Dodge with Matt and Kitty to come here. You were a very sick little girl and he gave you medicine to make you sleep which is why you don't remember him taking the stitches out. Kitty said that you slept almost the entire trip here."

"Oh. Am I going to have a big scar?"

"Maybe from old one," said Hop Sing. "Not from new one. Time will tell. Hair hide so nobody see."

Ben chuckled. Cat wanted to be an Apache warrior but she was still a little girl and worried about her appearance. "Ok Cat. It's bedtime. Say goodnight and Joe will be up to read with you in a few minutes."

Cat went upstairs and began putting her buckskins and other clothes she thought she'd need into a carpet bag. As far as she was concerned, Adam didn't love her and he didn't want her there and she wasn't going to stay where someone didn't want her, even if they were family. She would get up early in the morning and leave before everyone else was awake. She knew how to hide her horse's tracks so nobody could follow her and make her go back. She was almost done packing when Joe walked into her room. "What's going on Cat? Why are you packing?"

"Because Adam hates me and doesn't want me here. I can't stay where someone hates me or doesn't want me so I'm leaving. I don't belong here. I belong in Dodge. Uncle Matt loves me and loves me and so does Uncle Rip. They don't treat me like I'm a baby and say I'm lying when I get mail. And they don't tell me I'm a pest and a nuisance like Adam does. The last time Uncle Matt told me to do my homework was after I skipped school when I was five. Adam tells me every day. And he let that nasty old witch come here and try to hurt me and he didn't care if she scared me, he just wanted to tell me I was bad for goin' fishing after school and I needed to do my homework and chores."

Joe sighed. He was going to kill Adam even if he was his brother. "Alright squirt. Put your bag away. You're not going anywhere. I'm going downstairs to let Pa and Hoss know what Adam has been doing to you. I don't know what his problem is but I do know he loves you, even if he doesn't always act like it. You stay here and I'll be back in a little while to read with you before you go to bed." He walked downstairs and hit Adam as hard as he could. "What is wrong with you? Everybody in this family is trying to make Cat feel like part of the family and you are undoing everything we have been doing. She's upstairs packing because she thinks you don't love her or want her here."

"Joseph, you know I don't approve of you boys fighting," scolded Ben. "What are you talking about? Why is your sister packing?"

"Because Adam has led her to believe that he doesn't love her or want her here. Besides accusing her of lying about the letter she got in the mail, he's still calling her a pest and a nuisance. Cat also says that every day when she gets home from school, he tells her to do her chores and homework. He's treating her the same way he treated me when he came home from college and I would have left too except, unlike Cat, I didn't have anywhere to go. Kate and Michael probably would have just brought me back here."

After listening to Joe talk about how Adam was making their sister feel, Hoss decided he had held his temper long enough and also hit his older brother. "I done held my temper long enough. The way you treated Joe when you come home from college and the way yore treating Cat now is just plain wrong. Ifn ya didn't want Cat here, why didn't ya say somethin' while you and Pa was still in Dodge? Ya took that poor little gal away from everything she's ever known and brung her out her to act like ya don't want her around. It's only been four months since her Ma was killed and instead of helpin' her, you're makin' her feel even worse. I don't know why ya always gotta push someone who's smaller than you around but I'm tired of watchin' ya do it and if ya keep doin' it to Cat, that wallop I just gave ya is gonna feel like a love tap when I get finished with ya!"

"Alright! That's enough from all three of you! Joseph, go upstairs and read with your sister. She has to get up for school in the morning. Hoss, find something to do. Adam, I want to talk with you outside."

Joe started for the stairs when Adam stopped him. "Wait a minute Joe. I need to go and talk to Cat. Don't worry, I'm not going to scold her or anything like that. I never meant to make her feel unloved or unwanted and I need to apologize to her."

Adam walked upstairs and entered Cat's bedroom. She looked at him and said, "Oh, it's you. Now what are you going to tell me to do that doesn't need telling? I'm waiting for Joe to come and read with me. That's why my lamp is still turned up and I'm not asleep yet."

Adam was stung by the fact that Cat thought he was there to scold her and realized how unfair he had been to her. "I'm not here to scold you because you aren't asleep yet. I need to talk to you."

"What do you want to talk to me about? Didn't I do something the way you think I should do it? Was I supposed to let Annabel hurt me more or do you want me to leave for Uncle Rip's fort tonight?"

"No Cat. That's not what I want to talk to you about." He sat down on her bed and said, "Come and sit beside me so we can talk. Don't worry, I'm not going to swat or scold you, I just need to talk to you." Cat reluctantly got out from under the covers and sat next to Adam, not quite trusting him. He hugged her and said, "I owe you an apology. I never meant to make you feel unloved or unwanted. The fact is I love you very much and I want you to be my little sister. We're not always going to agree or get along with each other. That's completely normal, but it doesn't mean I don't love you or want you here. I did not invite Mrs. Warren to come here on Friday. I had been trying to make her leave for a long time when you got home. Nobody in this family has ever invited her to come here for anything and she has been told many times not to come here. But she thinks she doesn't have to live by the rules and comes here anyway even if she hasn't been invited.

I need to explain why I have been treating you the way I have. I'm not trying to say what I have been doing is right, because it isn't but I need you to try and understand. I seem to have fallen back into some bad habits I had before you were born. When I went away to college in Boston, Joe was a little boy. He had just turned six and I treated him like the little boy he was. When I came home, he was almost ten but I still thought of him as being five and kept treating him that way. I had been gone for almost four years and didn't want to accept the fact that my baby brother was growing up. So I treated him like he was five and accused Pa of spoiling him and letting him run wild. Joe was wild but a lot of what I saw as wildness was just him doing things a ten year old would do. Unfortunately, you are so much like him, I find myself treating you the same way I treated him. I am very sorry that I have been doing that and I promise to try and stop. Will you please forgive me?"

"I don't know. I have to think about it for a while."

"Ok. When do you think you'll know?"

"I don't know. Maybe when I'm twelve or thirteen. I have to see if you're going to keep your promise or not. It might take that long or even longer to find out."

"You little scamp. You're not supposed to make someone wait three or four years to see if you're going to forgive them. When I get done tickling you, you're going to have to move into the outhouse." He began to tickle Cat and continued for a few seconds after she told him to stop or she was going to wet herself.

Finally she cried, "Stop. Ok. You win. I forgive you."

Adam picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder, called her puppies and carried her downstairs. Ben looked at them and asked, "What was that all about?"

"I asked her to forgive me and she said she had to think about it and would let me know when she was twelve or thirteen."

"Adam, put me down. I gotta go real bad."

"Son, you had better either put your sister down or take her to the outhouse before both of you have to change clothes."

Hoss and Joe waited until Adam had walked outside with Cat before they started laughing at their brother. "Oh that is precious," laughed Joe. "Cat making Adam wait until she is twelve or thirteen before telling him if she forgives him or not. I wish I would have thought about doing that when I was a boy and he apologized for being mean to me, and didn't meant it."

"Yeah. That is pretty durn funny," added Hoss. "But him ticklin' her to make her say she forgives him was wrong and I aim to let him know. Ya can't force someone to forgive ya for wrongin' them."

Ben laughed along with his sons. "Yes, that was precious. I think that your sister is going to give Adam a good run for his money until she's grown up and may even keep doing it then. I do agree with you Hoss and intend to talk to him about it. Forcing someone to forgive you is wrong and Adam should know better." When Adam came back into the house with Cat, Ben said, "Joe, please go upstairs and read with your sister. It's past her bedtime and she has to get up for school in the morning. Adam, once I get your sister tucked in and her lamp out, you and I are going to sit outside and talk for a while." When Ben went upstairs to say goodnight to Cat, he asked, "Why did you tell Adam you were going to wait three or four years before telling him if you were going to forgive him for the way he's been acting toward you?"

"Because I want to wait and see if he's tellin' the truth. He asked me to forgive him before but he's still doin' the same stuff and treating me like a baby. He's still callin' me a pest and a nuisance and tellin' me to do my chores and homework when I get home from school. I'm not five. I'm almost ten and that means I'm almost grown up. The last time Uncle Matt told me to do my homework was after me and Pete and Mike skipped school when we were five. I don't know why he hates me but he does and I ain't stayin' here with him."

"That's not the way it works Kitten. When somebody asks you to forgive them, you are supposed to do it right away and not wait to see if they're going to keep their word. Adam doesn't hate you. He loves you very much. I don't know what his problem is but I plan on having a long talk with him. I do know one thing though and he's not going to be happy about it but Adam will be doing your chores until Monday. You can go fishing after school on Friday if you want to but don't forget we're having company for supper on Saturday, so you and Joe need to go hunting on Saturday after breakfast. One more thing. You are also not leaving here to go back to Dodge. This is your home and it's where you belong. You will spend next summer in Dodge but it is much too dangerous for you to even attempt to go to Rip's fort in Arizona by yourself. Now you need to get some sleep. You have had a long day and you need rest if your head is going to heal properly."

Ben walked downstairs and told Adam to go outside with him. "Now, I want to know exactly what your problem is. Why are you still calling your sister a pest and a nuisance and why are you still telling her to do her chores and homework every day? You promised to stop doing those things but you still are. She is nine not five and knows what she needs to do. She has only been here two months and you have managed to convince her that you don't love her or want her here. This is not the first time we have discussed these things but it will be the last. I do not want to wake one morning and find Catherine gone. The trail is dangerous enough for a lone man and it is even more dangerous for a lone child, even one who thinks she can take care of herself."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I did have a headache but it wasn't that bad. Maybe I just need to take a day off."

"That's fine. You will be doing most of Catherine's chores for the rest of the week. She will still take care of Fury. Except for doing them, you may have tomorrow and Friday off."

"Are you serious? You want me to do a nine year old child's chores?"

"Not only do I expect you to do them, I am going to have your sister check to see that they have been done correctly. I am hoping that spending four days doing Catherine's chores with her checking to see if they have been done correctly, will give you an idea of how you have been making her feel. You are my oldest son and I have to know I can depend on you to take care of her if anything should happen to me. You won't be able to take care of her if she doesn't trust you. Oh and one more thing that I shouldn't need to tell you. Tickling or otherwise forcing someone to say they forgive you is wrong. Have I ever forced you or your brothers to forgive each other for somehow wronging each other?"

"No you haven't."

"Then why did you force Cat? She wanted to make you sweat a little and worry if you were forgiven or not. She probably would have told you in the morning that she had forgiven you. I hope that someday you will marry and have children. Think about how Cat feels and how your children will feel if you force them to forgive each other. Forgiveness has to be freely given or it doesn't mean a thing. Once you have done your sister's chores in the morning, you will have the rest of the day off tomorrow and Friday. Just remember to fill Hop Sing's wood box so he has plenty of time to cook supper and you will have to groom and feed Beauty when Cat returns home from school. Since we are having company for supper on Saturday, the entire family will help clean all of the game Joe and Cat bring home. It wouldn't be fair to expect a nine year old to catch and clean enough food to feed eleven people."

On the way to school the next morning, Cat told Mike how Adam kept bossing her around and treating her like a baby. "Gosh. I'm sorry to hear that he's treating you the way Mitch says he treated Joe. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I know how to get to my uncle's fort in Arizona, but I'm pretty sure he'll be real mad at me if I go there alone. What do you think I should do?"

"We need to figure out how to make him go away."

"I tried trading him for you and Jas but your Pa said no and so did Jas'. Mr. Ingalls won't trade him for Laura either. I gotta figure out how to make Adam go away. I'm tired of being treated like a baby. It won't be that much longer until I'm ten and that's almost grown up." The pair rode in silence for a few minutes when Cat exclaimed, "I know what to do. I'll sell him to the person who will pay me the most. But how do I let people know he's for sale?"

"That's easy. We'll put an ad in the paper. Let's hurry and get Jas. He can help us write something and we can take it to Mr. DeQuille before school. If he puts it in today's paper, you can have your sale after school tomorrow."

"That's a great idea. Let's hurry."

They urged their horses into a gallop and it wasn't long before they caught up with Jasper. "How come you two are in such a hurry to get to school?"

"We're not," answered Mike. "We need your help with something before school."

"It's not something that's going to get me in trouble is it?"

"No, nothing like that. Adam has been treating Cat like a baby and she's tired of it. She tried trading him for us and Laura but our parents and Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls wouldn't go for it, so she has decided to sell him to the person who will pay the most. We need your help to write an ad so we can put it in the paper. If Mr. DeQuille puts it in today's paper, Cat can have her sale tomorrow."

"Ok. I'll help you write the ad. Cat, what do you want to say?"

"I don't know. Something about selling a Yankee Granite head. He's bossy but he is a hard worker."

"Alright. Give me a minute to think of something." He thought for a few minutes, then took his tablet out of his saddle bags and began writing. "I'm done. See what you think."

Cat took the tablet from Jasper and read, "For sale to the highest bidder. One Yankee Granite Head. He's kind of bossy but he's a very hard worker. The sale will be held after school on Friday. See Cat Cartwright at the school on Friday afternoon. That's great Jas. I really like it. Thanks for the help. We gotta hurry and get this to Mr. DeQuille so we're not late for school."

The three children hurried to town and stopped at the newspaper office and entered. Dan looked up from his work and said, "Hello children. What can I do for you this morning?"

Cat handed him the paper and said, "Good morning Mr. DeQuille. Would you please put this in the paper for me? I have some money saved up and can pay for it when I come to school tomorrow."

Dan read the ad and tried very hard not to laugh. "Well children, I don't know if I have room to put it in today's paper. If I don't have room in today's paper, I'll make the date of your sale the school day after I put your ad in the paper. Now the three of you had better get going before you're late for school. I know what will happen if Miss Winter sends a note home saying you were late and I don't want to see such fine young people get into trouble." After the children were well away from the newspaper office, Dan burst out laughing. Then he walked over to the café hoping to find Roy still eating breakfast. He spotted Roy and sat down with him. "Good morning Roy. If Ben Cartwright comes to town today, please ask him to come and see me. I've got something he might be interested in reading. It seems that his oldest and youngest are butting heads and Cat's only been living on the Ponderosa for two months. I wish Sam Clemens was still in town to read this. He would enjoy it." He handed the ad to Roy who read it and started laughing.

"Oh, that is too funny. I hope Ben will find it as funny as we do. Do me a favor and print a copy of it for me. I want to keep it with the article Sam wrote to go with the pictures that photographer made of Cat. When she's all grown up, we can look at them and remember what she was like when she was a girl."

"I'm sure Ben will think it's funny and want copies for the family so I'll print copies for you and Paul at the same time. I doubt that Ben will mind."

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 **a/n:** I want to thank my Beta, Jasper's Mom, for the idea of having Cat try and sell Adam to the highest bidder since trying to trade him for her friends didn't work.


	77. Chapter 77

About an hour after Cat left for school, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and asked, "Where Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe? They need go to town and get supplies."

"Except for doing his sister's chores, Adam has today and tomorrow off. I don't know where he went. Hoss and Joe are out mending fences. Make your list and I'll go to town. I've got some harness that needs mending and I believe we're running low on grain for the horses. Instead of staying here, why don't you ride into town with me? Then you can spend some time visiting with your family."

Hop Sing made his list while Ben looked to see how many bags of oats he would need and harnessed a team to the buckboard. When they got to town, he dropped Hop Sing off at the home of one of his family members and then proceeded to place the supply order at the general store before walking over to the feed store. He was greeted by Mr. Winter and placed his feed order. Then he asked, "John, why are Seth and Jackson sharing school books? Cat said that they keep interrupting the class by fighting over the books."

"They both have their own books and should not be sharing. I will have to go home and see which boy did not take his books to school. I wonder why Susan didn't send a note home. I'll have to ask her. I'll also have to tell her not to let the boys sit together because all they do is fight."

"You need to start disciplining those boys before they get out of control and end up in trouble with the law."

"I wish I could but the last time I spanked them, Margaret took them, left me and spent four months living with her parents."

"I'm not trying to tell you how to run your life John, but those boys are preventing other students from learning. Cat said that yesterday's fight happened when Susan was supposed to be working with her and Laura after she taught them long division. Instead of being able to practice with the girls, she had to break up a fight between your sons. Cat struggles with arithmetic and because Susan didn't get the opportunity to work with her and Laura, she became frustrated when trying to do her homework and wanted to throw her book into Lake Tahoe. It's not fair to the other students to have their learning interrupted because of your sons or anyone else's children. Believe me, if Cat ever causes any problems in school, she will be dealt with. I'm going to go and say hello to Roy and Paul. I'll come back for my order."

"Alright Ben. I'm going to go home, see which one of my sons left their books at home and take them to him. While I am there, I am going to ask Susan to separate them. They'll probably be embarrassed but maybe they'll learn something from it."

"That's fine John. I'm going to be in town for a little while. I brought Hop Sing with me and he's visiting his family. I'll be back later. Good luck at the school."

Ben walked toward the sheriff's office and Mr. Winter went home to see which one of his sons had left his school books at home. His wife looked up from her sewing and asked, "What's wrong John? Why are you home instead of at the store?"

"It seems that our sons have only been taking one set of books to school and then fighting over them and disrupting other students' learning. I am going to find the books that were left here and take them over to the school and I fully intend to tell Susan to separate them. I don't need Ben Cartwright or anyone else coming into my store and telling me that our sons are fighting and disturbing the class."

"You can't do that. It will embarrass them."

"They should have thought about that before deciding to leave one set of books at home and then fight over the other set." He walked into Jackson's bedroom and found it a total mess. He found Seth's bedroom in the same condition. "Margaret, come here and look through Jackson's bedroom and see if you can find any school books in it. Under no circumstances are you to clean these bedrooms. Those two are eleven years old now and they know better than to keep their bedrooms in this condition. They'll have plenty of time to clean these pigsties up and help me with the store and you with the house and garden. They are going to be on restriction for a while. I just haven't decided how long. That will depend on what I learn when I find the books and take them over to the school." It took almost thirty minutes before Mrs. Winter found the books in Jackson's room and gave them to her husband who was fuming about having to keep the feed store closed so he could search for his son's school books. He walked into the school and said, "Excuse me Miss Winter. I've brought Jackson's books so he has no excuse for sharing with his brother. In fact, I believe it would be best if you separated them. I do not need parents coming into the feed store to tell me that my sons are keeping other students from learning because they are fighting. Seth, Jackson, you are to come directly to the feed store after school. You are in enough trouble now. Do not make it worse by disobeying my instructions. By the way, Miss Winter, did you send a note home yesterday about them fighting?"

"Yes I did. They said you forgot to sign it."

"I see. Seth, Jackson, what happened to that note?" Neither boy answered. "I asked you two a question. What happened to the note your teacher sent home yesterday?"

"I don't remember getting one," answered Seth.

"I'm sure Aunt Susan didn't give us one," added Jackson.

"When you are in this school you will address your teacher as Miss Winter. So the two of you are going to sit there and tell me that your teacher is lying. I had hoped to resolve this the easy way, but I guess I'm going to have to do it the hard way which will no doubt embarrass you. Did anyone else see Miss Winter give Seth and Jackson a note yesterday?"

"I did Mr. Winter," said Sally. "Jackson threw it in the stove before he left school."

"Thank you Sally. Boys, that lie has cost you dearly. Miss Winter, feel free to punish them however you see fit for destroying the note and lying about me not signing it. Now, please separate them before they disturb your school even more."

"Thank you for bringing Jackson's books and finding out what happened to the note I sent home," said Miss Winter. "David Richards, will you please trade seats with Seth Winter?"

"You can't do that to us Aunt Susan. We'll tell our mother that you listened to Pa when he said to separate us," said Jackson.

"Boys, you are in big trouble and your mother already knows what I planned to do. Miss Winter, I'll leave you to deal with these two. I have a shop to run and it has been closed far too long while I have had to look for Jackson's books. Unless you have a reason to keep them after school, I will expect Jackson and Seth at my store immediately after school is dismissed."

After Mr. Winter left, Miss Winter called her nephews up to the front of the class and paddled them for being disrespectful and destroying the note she had sent home the day before. Then she said, "As punishment for lying to me, the two of you will not get any recess today and you will remain after school. Then you will cut and stack a cord of wood. When you are finished, I will escort you to your father's store."

After leaving the feed store, Ben walked over to Roy's office. Roy looked up from his paperwork when the door opened and said, "Good morning Ben. I was hoping you'd show up this morning. Dan over at the Enterprise would like you to stop over there this morning."

"Good morning Roy. Do you know why Dan wants to see me?"

"Yes I do and I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling you. In fact, I think I'll walk over there with you because I want to see the look on your face."

They walked over to the newspaper office where Dan DeQuille greeted Ben. "Good morning Ben. I'm glad you came into town this morning. I've got something here I think you'll be interested in." He handed Cat's advertisement to Ben who read it aloud and burst out laughing.

He continued laughing, reread the advertisement shook his head and said, "Oh, this is priceless. That little scamp. She is bound and determined to get rid of Adam one way or another. He is going to be madder than a wet hen when he sees this. You know Dan, I'm half tempted to let you run this ad. I don't know if I should let Hoss, Joe, and Hop Sing read it. They may never let Adam hear the end of it if I do."

"Judging from this ad and your comments, I take it that your oldest and youngest are at loggerheads with each other."

"Yes they are. Cat will be nine and a half in December but Adam insists on treating her like she's five. You can imagine how well that is going over."

"I can only begin to imagine. How bad is her temper?"

"She's a lot like Joe. What does that tell you?"

Dan and Roy laughed. "That tells me a lot Ben. I think that if Cat were bigger, Adam would have a very sore jaw."

"Well, she's not big enough to hit him yet but she has kicked him a few times. I don't know how to get her to control her temper. Hop Sing says she should spend more time with Hoss and Joe to learn what they do, but Joe isn't that good at controlling his temper yet. Hop Sing did point out one positive thing about keeping Cat and Joe together more. He won't be in the saloon as much if his little sister is with him."

"That's true," said Roy. "However, I seriously doubt that you are going to let Joe bring his nine year old sister to town after dark."

"You are right about that, but Joe doesn't come to town too much after dark. Dan would you please…"

"Ben, I already anticipated your request and printed enough copies for the family, Roy, Paul, and myself. I also made one for Sam Clemens and was planning on sending it to him in today's mail."

"Thank you. What did you tell Cat when she brought this to you?"

"I told her I didn't know if there would be room for it in today's paper and would change the sale date to the day after I put it in the paper."

"Thank you for not running it. I'm going to give Adam a chance to fix his attitude and if he doesn't, I may just let you put the ad in the paper. I wonder how much Cat thought she'd get for her brother."

"There's no telling unless you ask her," said Roy. "Knowing she's only nine, she would probably think that twenty dollars was a lot of money. Why don't you ask her when she gets home? While you're at it, ask her what she was planning to do with the money she got from selling Adam. I'd really like to know and I'm sure that Dan and Paul would like to know also."

"That's a good idea Roy. I'll ask her when she gets home from school. I'm sure that her answers will be very interesting. Dan, thank you for printing these up for me. Adam won't be amused, however the rest of the family will. I'll take Paul's over to him now. I'm sure he and Virginia will enjoy the laugh."

Ben walked over to Paul's office where he found the doctor scolding Reverend Long. "Put that hand back in the bowl."

"But the water is very cold."

"Yes I know. It's supposed to be to keep your thumb from becoming badly swollen. Now put your hand back in that bowl of ice water."

Reverend Long wasn't cooperating, so Paul pushed his hand back into the bowl. "Yeow! That's too cold! I think I'd rather have a swollen thumb."

"I declare, you are worse than many of the children who come in here. Hello Ben. What can I do for you today? I hope Cat's head isn't bothering her."

"Hello Paul. Why are you torturing Reverend Long like that?"

"Tell him David."

"I was hanging a picture for Joanne. She distracted me so instead of hitting the nail with the hammer, I hit my thumb. Now Paul has decided that I need to be tortured."

"As I've already said at least five times since you came in here, your thumb has to be soaked in ice water to keep it from swelling badly. You've only been here fifteen minutes and of that time, your hand has barely been in the water for less than five minutes. Now stop acting like a child and put that hand back in the water or I'll send Ben to fetch your wife!"

Ben laughed at Reverend Long acting like an uncooperative child. "No Paul, Cat's head isn't worse unless she's in arithmetic class right now. She says that seeing all of those numbers together gives her headaches and makes her dizzy. I brought something I thought you and Virginia would enjoy reading. Feel free to let Reverend Long read it too. I think he'll get a good laugh from it."

Paul chuckled at how Ben said arithmetic made Cat feel, took the advertisement from Ben, read it, started laughing, walked to the rear door of his office and called, "Virginia, come here please. I've got something you need to hear."

Mrs. Martin appeared a few minutes later, her hands white with flour. "What is it Paul? You know that I'm baking today. Oh hello Ben. It's nice to see you."

Paul held up the advertisement and said, "I know you're baking today Dear, but I thought you would enjoy hearing what Ben brought me." He read the advertisement aloud to his wife and Reverend Long. Reverend Long and Mrs. Martin started laughing. "Well that didn't take long, did it?" asked Virginia. "Cat's been home two months and she and Adam are already butting heads."

"What prompted her to write this?" asked Paul.

"It seems that Adam has started treating Cat the way he treated Joe when he came home from college and Cat doesn't like it any more than Joe did."

"I don't understand," said Reverend Long. "How did Adam treat his brother when he returned home from college?"

"You tell him Ben," said Paul. "It's your story."

"Alright Paul. When Adam left for college, Joe had just turned six and Adam was still treating him like a five year old. When Adam returned home, Joe was almost ten but Adam had a hard time accepting the fact that Joe wasn't five or six any more. He accused me of spoiling Joe and letting him run wild. I will admit that I did spoil Joe more than I did his brothers but that's because by the time he was born, the ranch had been built and we were no longer traveling with the wagon train. I was able to allow him more freedom than I did Adam because the dangers of the trail were behind us. Most of what Adam perceived as wildness was just Joe being a ten year old boy. Adam decided that since I was allowing his youngest brother to run wild, it was his job to put the boy in his place so whenever he caught Joe doing something he thought was wrong, Adam punished his brother, most of the time without letting him explain, even if I was home."

"I remember the one incident," said Paul. "Little Joe was a very sick boy before all was said and done. For a while I was afraid he wasn't going to live."

"Yes Paul. Hoss reminded Adam and me of that incident yesterday. I'm not very proud of the way I acted then. That incident is when I realized that I was so thrilled to have my oldest son back home and was so busy showing him everything that had been done to the ranch in his absence that I ignored my younger two sons. Oh, I made sure that they were fed and clothed and went to school but except for scolding Joe and punishing him for things that he was sometimes innocent of, I ignored them."

"What happened?" asked Reverend Long.

"I'll tell you later," said Paul. "So Ben, why is Cat trying to sell Adam?"

"Because she was unsuccessful in trying to trade him for her friends. He's been treating her like she's five and she doesn't like it one little bit. If Adam is home when Cat comes home from school, he tells her to do her chores and homework, just like he used to do when Joe started school. Yesterday when Hoss and Joe came home and said that she had been hurt and they had to hold her still so you could stitch her head, despite the fact that they're not allowed to spank their sister yet, he told them that they just should have given her a spanking and then she would have held still. When Cat picked up the mail after school, there was a letter in it for her. Adam accused her of lying and tried to take the letter from her. He was going to come into town after supper last night but changed his mind and said that someone had to be home to make sure Cat went to bed on time. I don't know what his problem is, but lately he's been as grouchy as a bear coming out of hibernation. Except for doing his sister's chores today and tomorrow, I have given him both days off. I'm hoping that several days of doing Cat's chores with her checking to make sure they've been done right, will help him to understand how he's been making her feel. I need her to trust him because if anything ever happens to me, as my eldest son, Adam will be the one to take care of his sister. He won't be able to do that if she doesn't trust him."

When Miss Winter dismissed the school for morning recess, Annabel managed to get behind Cat and tried to push her down the stairs. Fortunately, one of the older boys was behind her and pulled her back into the classroom. "Jeffrey, why are you pulling Annabel back into the school?" asked Miss Winter.

"She tried to push Cat Cartwright down the stairs. If I hadn't been behind her, she would have and Cat might have been seriously hurt. I noticed a large rock has been placed at the bottom of the stairs and it wasn't there yesterday."

"Thank you Jeffrey. Will you and Peter please find Mr. Miller and Mr. White and ask them to come here? It is important that I speak with both of them immediately. Recess will be extended until after I have met with them." Jeffrey left to tell Peter that their teacher wanted them to find Mr. White and Mr. Miller. Miss Winter turned to Annabel and asked, "Annabel, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I got another whipping yesterday and I'm on restriction until after the new year. Pa says I can't have my toys, birthday, or Christmas gifts until I'm off restriction and it's all Cartwright's fault. She should have let me keep her saddle bags. Then my Pa wouldn't have punished me."

"Annabel, your punishment is your own fault, not Catherine's. You are the one who stole from others. Catherine did not. From what I understand, you have been stealing for a long time and were only caught because Catherine refused to give you her property. How did that rock get at the bottom of the stairs?"

"I put it there so I could kill Cartwright. I tried yesterday but she wasn't close enough to the bench. So I put the rock at the bottom of the stairs. If she fell down the stairs and hit her head, my problems would be over."

"You are very wrong Annabel and I am sick and tired of you trying to hurt Catherine. I guess the paddling I gave you yesterday wasn't enough to teach you a lesson so you are going to get another one. Then you are going to stand in the corner until your father and Mr. Miller arrive." After punishing Annabel, Susan sat at her desk and wrote out Annabel's assignments for the rest of that week and the following three weeks. She intended to ask Mr. Miller to call a meeting of the school board and to tell Mr. White that Annabel was not to attend school until after the meeting. She no sooner finished writing out the assignments when Mr. Miller walked in.

"Hello Miss Winter. Jeffrey said you wanted to see me." Seeing Annabel in the corner, he added, "I take it that there is a problem you wish to discuss."

"Thank you for coming Mr. Miller. If you don't mind, I would like to wait until Annabel's father gets here before having our discussion. He needs to be here since it involves his daughter."

"That's fine. So how do you like teaching in our little school? How are your students doing academically?"

"I enjoy it very much and am quite fond of most of the students. Needless to say, there are several, including my nephews, that seem to enjoy trying my patience. Academically, most of them are doing quite well. The youngest students have learned their numbers and letters quite well and are now learning to do simple addition problems and make simple words with the letters. Almost all of the other students are also doing quite well. I am especially pleased with my two fourth grade students. One of them is in the seventh grade reader while the other should be in the sixth grade reader by Christmas. I am allowing them to work together and it is benefiting both of them greatly."

"I am very happy to hear that." Just then, Mr. White walked into the school and noticed Annabel standing in the corner.

"Hello Gerald. Miss Winter, I received a message that you wanted to see me. I take it that Annabel is in trouble again."

"Hello Mr. White. Thank you for coming. Since Mr. Miller is head of the school board, I asked him to come here so he could also hear what I have to say. Ever since she was caught stealing, Annabel has been blaming Catherine Cartwright because you punished her. Among other things, she has made several attempts to goad Catherine into a fight. Much to her credit, Catherine has done her best to ignore Annabel. Things have now gone way beyond normal childhood behavior. Yesterday, Annabel tripped Catherine causing her to hit her head on one of the benches."

"Was Catherine seriously hurt?" asked Mr. Miller.

"Fortunately she was not. However, she did require four stitches and missed an hour of school because she did not understand what Dr. Martin wanted to do and would not cooperate with him. Sheriff Coffee had to find Joe and Hoss to help the doctor with their sister. I assume that both of you gentlemen have seen that large rock at the base of the stairs. Failing in her attempt to seriously injure Catherine yesterday, Annabel placed that rock there this morning and attempted to push Catherine down the stairs when I dismissed the children for recess. Thank God Jeffery was behind Annabel and prevented her from following through with her plan. If Annabel had pushed Catherine down the stairs and if Catherine had hit her head on that rock, she might have been killed, which Annabel told me was her intention. Gentlemen, including Annabel, there are twenty students in this school, all of whom need my attention. It is not fair to them for me to have to continually pay attention to one student in order to keep her from harming another. Mr. Miller, I am asking you to please call a meeting of the school board to discuss this situation."

"I will do that Miss Winter. However, it will be sometime next week before I will be able to hold a meeting. This is a very busy time of year. The ranchers are beginning to move their herds to winter pastures and the farmers are getting ready to harvest their crops."

"I understand the difficulties of scheduling a meeting immediately," replied Miss Winter. "I know that you will schedule it as soon as possible." She handed Mr. White the paper she had written and said, "Mr. White, these are Annabel's assignments for the rest of this week and the following three weeks. Please keep her at home until after the school board has met. Even though Annabel will not be here, I still expect her assignments to be turned in when they are due. The due dates are written next to the assignments. You can ask one of the other children to bring the papers with them. If one of her classmates wants to, they can explain new material to her. Although I do not wish to see Annabel fail, she will not be in class so I cannot give her full credit for the assignments. Therefore, every assignment that is submitted when it is due will receive three quarters credit. Any assignment that is one day late will receive half credit. If an assignment is two days late, it will receive one quarter credit and after that, it will receive a failing grade. I believe that is more than fair as most teachers would not give more than half credit to assignments submitted by a student who has been excluded from school due to behavior issues. Annabel, your father is here to take you home. Gather your belongings and go with him. He has your assignments and knows when they are due. You are not to return to school until after the school board has met. I truly hope and pray that you will take the time away from school to reflect on your actions and learn to stop blaming others for them. Nobody made you steal and you were stealing from people long before Catherine Cartwright moved to the Ponderosa. You are angry with her because she would not give you her property, your father found out you had been stealing and punished you for it."

"Thank you Miss Winter," said Mr. White. "I appreciate the fact that you do not want to see Annabel fail and are giving her the opportunity to still do her work even though she will not be in school. Your terms are more than fair. I know that some teachers would not allow a student who has been excluded from school to turn in assignments and receive a passing grade for them. Annabel, you heard your teacher gather your belongings and come with me. You are in more trouble than you have ever been in before and I can guarantee that you will not like the consequences you are about to experience. Now thank Miss Winter for allowing you to do your assignments and gather your belongings. This is the third time you have been told to do so and I am very close to putting you over my knee and spanking you in front of all the other students. Now get moving!"

As Mr. White started to take Annabel from the school, Mr. Miller said, "I have an idea Frank. I don't know if it will help or not, but why don't you take your daughter over to see Judge Parker? Ask him to tell Annabel what penalty she would face for stealing and attempted murder if she were older. His words may cause her to think about her actions and future consequences. You might also have Reverend Long talk to her about her actions."

"Thank you Gerald. Those are excellent ideas. Hopefully the judge will be in his office. As you said, what the judge tells her may give Annabel food for thought. I'm sure that Reverend Long will have some excellent advice for her also. I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't change her attitude and behavior." He took Annabel over to the judge who scolded her and said that if she were older, he could sentence her to twenty years in prison for stealing and attempted murder. He also told her that if she didn't stop trying to hurt Cat, he would send her to a home for wayward girls and told her father where one was located so he could take Annabel to see what it was like. Then he took Annabel over to see Reverend Long who also scolded her and talked to her about what the Bible had to say about her actions. Then he assigned her an essay on the Ten Commandments, what they meant, how she was going to keep them and every reference she could find in the Bible about how people were supposed to be treated.

When the rest of the students returned to the classroom, Mr. Miller addressed them. "I have been talking to Miss Winter and she has told me what fine students you are and how much you have progressed in the month since school started. I was very pleased to learn how hard all of you are working and hope you will continue. Miss Winter, if you don't mind, before I leave, I would like to have your students show off some of their skills for me."

"That is fine Mr. Miller. Which students would you like to hear from?"

"I think I'll start with one of the eldest students. Peter Shepard, please simplify this arithmetic problem for me. Three x cubed times five x times four y squared."

Peter stood up and said, "Three x cubed would be twenty seven x. Twenty seven x times five x is one hundred thirty five x while four y squared is sixteen y so the answer is one hundred thirty five x times sixteen y."

"That is excellent Peter. Thank you."

Mr. Miller continued asking students to solve arithmetic problems aloud and Cat was afraid he was going to call on her. He saw the frightened look on her face and said, "I think we've done enough arithmetic. I would like to hear some of the students read. He smiled to himself when he saw the look of relief on Cat's face and made a mental note to talk to Ben about it. Catherine Cartwright, please read the next selection you will be working on in reading." Cat stood up and began reading the next story in her reader. Since it was new, she struggled with a few of the words but Mr. Miller didn't say anything until she was finished. "That was very good Catherine. I am pleased with the way you attempted to sound out those unfamiliar words. Laura Ingalls, will you please read the next selection in your reader?" He continued calling on students until every one of them had either solved an arithmetic problem or read. After the last child had finished reading, he addressed the class. "Boys and girls, I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am with what you just showed me with your arithmetic and reading. You and Miss Winter can all be proud of your achievements. Rest assured, when I see your parents, I will tell them how well you did today. Please keep up the good work. Miss Winter, thank you for allowing me to take up your valuable class time to see how much your students have learned." He left the school and Miss Winter began the history and geography lessons.

Mr. Miller decided to visit the school board members who lived in town to see when they would be available for a meeting. He walked over to the general store where he saw Ben loading supplies on the back of the buckboard. The two men greeted each other and Mr. Miller asked, "Ben, what on Earth have you done to your daughter? I was just over at the school listening to the students solve arithmetic problems aloud for me and she had a look of sheer terror on her face at the thought that I might call on her to solve one."

"Did you ask her to solve one?"

"No. I was going to but when I saw the look on her face, I started having the students read instead. She was so relieved, I thought she was going to hug me."

Ben breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for not having her solve a problem aloud. Cat struggles with arithmetic and won't ask for help when she needs it. Her temper is worse than Joe's because she hasn't learned how to control it yet. She told me that while she was living in Dodge, a boy laughed and threw a book at her when she made a mistake doing an arithmetic problem on the board. Cat said that she beat the stuffing out of him and I believe her."

"Why won't she ask for help? Adam should have no problem helping her with fourth grade arithmetic."

"She's a Cartwright & doesn't believe in asking for help. She wants to do everything by herself. I almost got hit by a flying arithmetic book yesterday. Also, right now she and Adam are at odds with each other."

"Oh, what's going on there?"

"Adam has started treating Cat the same way he treated Joe after he came home from college and she doesn't like it any more than Joe did. He has the next two days off, however he has to do Cat's chores and she has to make sure he did them right. I'm hoping that having his nine year old sister checking up on him will help him to realize how he's making her feel. I'm also hoping that a few days off will put him in a better frame of mind. I just don't know how to get Cat to ask for help when she needs it. She is so independent that it scares me. She thinks she can survive on her own and doesn't need anyone. So why did you decide to examine the students today? School has only been in session for a month."

"I was there because Susan Winter requested my presence. It seems that Annabel White has decided that all of her problems are Cat's fault and tried to push her down the school steps at recess, hoping she would hit her head on a rock she had placed at the bottom of the stairs this morning." Seeing Ben's look of alarm, he continued, "Don't worry. Susan told me that one of the older boys stopped Annabel before she could carry out her plan. Except for being terrified I was going to ask her to solve an arithmetic problem aloud, Cat is fine. Judging from Frank's reaction, I don't think I can say the same about Annabel's bottom. Susan asked me to call a school board meeting and Annabel is forbidden to return to the school until after the meeting. Will you be able to make the meeting if I hold it on Wednesday?"

"Yes, Wednesday will be fine. Just let me know what time you will be holding the meeting."


	78. Chapter 78

When Cat returned home from school that day, Ben pretended like he hadn't talked to Mr. Miller and asked how her day was. "Awful! Terrible! It was the worst day of my life! I'm never going back to that school again! Never, ever in a million years and I don't care what you say!"

Ben laughed at Cat's outrage over Mr. Miller having had the students solve arithmetic problems and read aloud. "Why, what happened?"

"It was really, really, really bad. I guess Annabel got in big trouble 'cause her father and Mr. Miller came to the school to talk to Miss Susan. Annabel's father took her home and that's when things got real bad."

"Now, how bad can things get in school? Could you be exaggerating a little bit?"

"No, I ain't eggs ag er ate ing. It was really, really bad."

"The word is exaggerating silly girl. Now tell me how bad things were."

"Instead of leaving with Mr. White and Annabel, Mr. Miller started making kids do arithmetic problems out loud."

"Did he have you do one?"

"No, but I was afraid he was gonna. I swear, if he woulda, I woulda run out of that school, saddled Beauty, come back here, got my puppies and Fury and started riding. I wouldn't of stopped until I got to Dodge. I ain't doin' no arithmetic problems out loud in front of the whole school for nobody and Mr. Miller don't have the right to make me. I don't even know why he was there."

Ben hugged Cat and kissed the top of her head. "You are silly. Dodge is a very long way away. Beauty wouldn't be able to run that far without stopping. Neither can Fury. Mr. Miller is the chairman of the school board. He has the right to go to the school any time he wants to so he can see how well the students are learning their lessons. We do need to work on your grammar. Polite young ladies shouldn't talk like Hoss."

"Then maybe you should be in charge of the school board."

"You wouldn't like that Kitten. I might come to the school once a week and make you solve an arithmetic problem aloud."

"Now I am going back to Dodge. I can't believe you would be that mean to me."

Ben laughed and hugged Cat again. "You have got to be the silliest little girl I ever met. Come on, let's tell Hop Sing all about your terrible, bad day and see if he has some milk and cookies to make it better. Also, I have some questions for you about the advertisement you asked Dan DeQuille to put in the newspaper."

"He gave it to you!? He wasn't supposed to do that. He was supposed to put it in the paper. I said I'd pay him. Why did he give it to you? I'm mad at him now."

"Don't worry, he still has a copy of it. He gave it to me because he thought I should see it and if Adam doesn't stop treating you like you're five, I may let him put it in the paper. Now, let's go and see about some milk and cookies. Then we'll talk about your advertisement." They walked into the kitchen and Ben said, "Hop Sing, Cat had a bad day at school. Gerald Miller was there and she almost had to solve an arithmetic problem aloud in front of the entire school. Do you have anything that will make her day better?"

"Hop Sing always have milk and cookies for Missy Cat. Go sit at table and I bling." Cat and Ben sat down at the table and a few minutes later, Hop Sing emerged from the kitchen with a plate of cookies, a pot of coffee, and a glass of milk. After setting everything on the table he said, "Adam not home yet. Will Missy Cat fill kitchen wood box?"

Ben wasn't happy that his oldest son wasn't home yet but decided not to say anything in front of Cat. He would talk to Adam later after Cat had gone to bed.

Cat pulled the plate of cookies over in front of her and said, "Sure Hop Sing. Just as soon as I finish my milk and cookies. How come you didn't bring any cookies for Pa?"

Hop Sing laughed and said, Missy Cat shale cookies or no have room for suppel. Then Hop Sing get angly and use spoon."

Don't worry Hop Sing. I could eat a whole plate of cookies and a chocolate cake and still have room for supper.

"You shale cookies with father or I use spoon."

"Alright Hop Sing, I'll share. Your spoon hurts." Cat moved the plate of cookies so it was between her and Ben.

He hugged Cat and said, "Missy Cat good girl. Always say yes when Hop Sing ask for help. Missy Cat also funny. Tly to sell Adam. Hop Sing think that so funny, he laugh all the way home from town. Going to tell cousins next time I see them. They think it funny too. Hoss and Little Joe think funny too when Hop Sing tell them."

"Yes, why did you decide to sell Adam?" asked Ben.

"'Cause I'm tired of him treating me like a baby. I'm not a baby. I'm almost ten and that's almost grown up. If he's here when I get home from school, he tells me to do my chores and homework. The last time Uncle Matt told me to do my homework was when I skipped school with Pete and Mike and we were only five then. I also want to get rid of Adam because he keeps calling me a pest and a nuisance. Uncle Matt never did that. The only time he said I was a pest was when I was six and kept begging him to buy me some candy. Then he told me to stop being a pest but didn't keep callin' me one. Adam don't want me here so until I can go back to Dodge where I belong, I don't want Adam here. You knew Adam didn't want me here so why did you make me leave Dodge? Mark said having a family would be good but he was wrong. It's not good when someone hates you and doesn't want you around."

"Adam no hate Missy Cat," said Hop Sing. "He just confused and not know what he want right now. It been long time since Little Joe was nine and Adam sometime still act like Little Joe still nine."

"Hop Sing is right Cat," added Ben. "Even though he doesn't always act like it, Adam does love you and he wants you here. He's just not used to having a nine year old around. Remember, it's been ten years since Joe was nine."

"I don't believe you. I've been here for two whole months now. Adam should be used to me being here by now. I wasn't even two when my mother took me to Uncle Matt and he got used to me right away and he wasn't used to being around little kids all the time. Adam hates me and doesn't want me here. He started hating me when I wouldn't let him kill the beavers. He didn't even care that the nasty old witch scared me. He just wanted to tell me I was bad for going fishing after school. I think he was going to spank me but Hop Sing wouldn't let him."

Ben gave Hop Sing a questioning look and received a brief nod in answer. "How much money do you think someone would have paid for Adam?"

"I was hoping someone would pay a million dollars but Adam is so bossy, Mike and Jasper said I'd be lucky to get a thousand dollars."

"Oh, I see. And what were you planning on doing with that money?"

"I was going to send it to Miss Kitty to save for me. That way I'd have enough money to buy birthday and Christmas gifts for Uncle Matt."

"Well, I'm glad that you were planning on using that money for something good instead of wasting it on a lot of candy. What kinds of things were you planning on getting for Matt?"

"I don't know for sure. I just gave him a winter coat and I'm going to give him a saddle. His horse is getting old, so maybe I'll get him a new horse. But I have to sell Adam first."

"We'll have to see about that. Adam is my oldest son and I really don't want anyone else to have him."

"You've still got Hoss and Joe and me. If Adam isn't here, I won't have to go back to Dodge to live."

"And why do you think you have to go back to Dodge?"

Cat sighed. "I already told you. Because Adam hates me and doesn't want me here. He keeps sayin' that you spoiled Little Joe and he's not going to let you spoil me too. I ain't perfect and unless someone else is with me, he's gonna half kill me if he catches me doin' somethin' I ain't supposed to."

"Adam doesn't hate you and right now, he's not allowed to spank you if he catches you doing something you're not supposed to do. I have reminded him of that several times and will remind him again. We really need to work on your grammar. Polite young ladies don't talk like Hoss."

"There's nothin' wrong with the way Hoss talks."

Ben sighed. "There is plenty wrong with the way Hoss talks. I gave up trying to get him to use proper grammar a long time ago. He is who he is and you are not him. You are a polite young lady and I expect you to use proper grammar. Some day, young men will start to become interested in courting you. They will not want to spend time with a young lady who refuses to use proper grammar. Now finish your milk and cookies so you can fill Hop Sing's wood box. What do you have for homework tonight?"

"Just arithmetic, history, and grammar. Miss Winter said since I had to read the next story in my reader for Mr. Miller, I don't have to do it again tonight."

"Well that was nice of her. Remember, I want you to start asking for help with your arithmetic if you need it. There is no need for you to try and throw your book into Lake Tahoe. Everybody in this house is quite capable of helping you with your arithmetic and if nobody is home, you have permission to go to the Ingalls' for help. You keep telling me that you're almost grown up. Grownups ask for help when they need it."

"I don't see why I even have to go to school. I already know everything I need to. I can read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide, so I shouldn't have to go to school any more. I should be able to stay home and work with the horses. I'll probably even be better than Joe at it."

Ben laughed. "Sorry Kitten but you still have a lot more to learn before you can leave school. If Sam Grant allows you to take his job when you turn ten, I will allow you to leave school then. Otherwise, you have to attend school until you're eighteen and I am hoping that you will want to attend college after you graduate."

"See, I knew you didn't love me. I don't even want to go to school tomorrow and you want me to go to college. That's really awful and I have more important things to do than go to school or college."

"Oh, what would those things be?"

"Hunting, fishing, working with the horses and cows."

"I see. However, those things are not more important than school. And before you threaten to go to Rip or Matt, I can guarantee you that they will also make you go to school until you turn eighteen."

Cat was horrified at the thought that her beloved uncles would be mean enough to make her go to school until she graduated. "It's not fair. There are just too many grownups in the world. The world needs to be run by kids. We know what's good and how to have fun. Grownups don't."

Ben laughed at Cat's outrage. "Alright Kitten. Go and fill Hop Sing's wood box and then see if you can find that black colt that's hiding somewhere on this ranch. He might think you don't love him if you don't spend enough time with him."

Cat grabbed her saddle bags and opened the front door to find Thaddeus standing there. "Hi Cat. How is my favorite Wild Cat today? Is your Pa home?"

"Hi Thaddeus. I'm fine now that school is over for today. It was a really bad day. Mr. Miller was there and almost made me solve an arithmetic problem out loud in front of the whole class. What's almost as bad is Pa said I have to go to school until I'm eighteen and that Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip would make me do it too. Is that terrible or what? Yes, Pa's home. Come on in. I'll tell him you're here."

Thaddeus smiled at Cat's description of a very bad day. "Thank you Cat. I'm glad that you didn't have to solve an arithmetic problem aloud. I always hated doing that when I was in school too. My parents said the same thing your Pa did about having to go to school until you're eighteen. I didn't like it but I understood why. This ranch is going to be yours some day and it takes a whole lot of knowledge to be able to run it right. All three of your brothers went to school and because of that, your Pa trusts them to help run the ranch. Pete said that Adam learned of a way to make the mines safer for the men who work in them. He also said that all three of your brothers help your Pa keep the books for the ranch. They wouldn't be able to do that if they hadn't gone to school. Now, how about letting him know I need to talk to him?"

"Sure." Cat turned around and yelled into the house. " **Pa, Thaddeus is here and says he needs to talk to you**."

Ben walked over to the door and said, "Catherine, there is no need to yell into the house. The next time someone needs to see me, invite them in and bring them to me. Now fill Hop Sing's wood box and go see your colt before I decide to give him to Thaddeus." He gave her a light swat and said, "Hello Thaddeus. Come on in. would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you. Don't mind if I do. Hop Sing makes better coffee than the guys in the bunkhouse do."

"Here you go. Now what can I do for you today?"

"I finally got tired of putting cardboard over the hole in the bottom of my boots and rode into town to buy a new pair. I ran into Adam while I was there and he asked me to tell you that he's staying in town and will be home sometime on Saturday." Ben fought to keep his temper in check. "From the expression on your face, I'm guessing you're not happy with his decision. It wouldn't have anything to do with the way he's been treating Cat lately, would it?"

"You know about that?"

"Yes. Everyone knows about it & almost all of the hands are upset about it. Some of us are ready to punch Adam in the nose and give him at least one black eye. Cat has been through more than enough in her young life and doesn't need to be treated like she's four or five."

"I know and so does Adam. I don't know what his problem has been lately and I am upset he decided to stay in town. He was supposed to do Cat's chores with her checking to make sure they were done correctly. I told her that she could go fishing after school tomorrow. Now I have to go and break the news to her that she'll have to come straight home from school tomorrow and do her chores."

"I have an idea. If you and Pete agree, I'll help her with her chores tonight and I'll do them for her tomorrow afternoon. I hate to see her have to give up time fishing with her friends because Adam decided to stay in town. Give me a minute and I'll go talk to Pete."

"Alright Thaddeus, if that's what you really want to do, I won't object and you can tell Pete I said so."

"Thank you. Please don't say anything to Cat until I talk to Pete."

Thaddeus went over to the bunkhouse and explained his plan to Pete who said, "Since it's ok with Mr. Cartwright, I have no objection to you helping Cat with her chores this afternoon and doing them for her tomorrow afternoon on two conditions. You have to convince her to let you go hunting with her and Joe on Saturday. You also have to convince her to get plenty of rabbits and make some of her rabbit stew for us. I tasted some when the family went hunting right after Cat came home from Dodge and it's very good."

Thaddeus laughed. "Alright Pete. I'll convince her. Maybe Joe and I will get a few deer so we can have some venison to eat also."

"That would be excellent. Go and tell Ben what I said. Good luck with the little Wild Cat."

Thaddeus walked back over to the house and told Ben what Pete had told him. Then they walked over to the wood pile where Cat was picking up small logs to carry into the kitchen. Once she had the kitchen wood box filled, Ben broke the news to her about Adam's decision to stay in town. She became very angry, went into the barn, got the bags she carried her puppies in, called Lassie and Silver Chief, put them in the bags and started to mount Beauty. "Where are you going?" asked Ben.  
"I'm going to town so I can kill Adam. You promised me I could go fishing after school tomorrow. A bunch of us kids made plans to meet at the creek after school and now I can't go fishing because of Adam. It's not fair and I'm going to kill him."

"I never said you wouldn't be able to go fishing after school tomorrow. Thaddeus has a proposition for you."

"What's a pro pa sision?"

"The word is prop uh zish uh n and it's a plan he'd like you to think about. I'm going to work on the books and let the two of you talk."

Thaddeus looked at Cat and said, "Let's go and sit somewhere we can talk for a minute and I'll tell you about my plan." They walked over and sat in chairs on the porch. "This is my plan. If you will let me go hunting with you and Joe on Saturday and if you will make some rabbit stew for the hands, I will help you with your chores tonight and do them for you tomorrow so you can go fishing after school. Well, what do you think?"

Cat looked at him with surprise written all over her face and asked, "Really? You are really going to help me with my chores so I can go fishing tomorrow?"

"Yes, really. I will help you with your chores now and do them for you tomorrow so you can go fishing with your friends if I can go hunting with you and Joe on Saturday and if you will make some rabbit stew for the men."

Cat jumped up out of her chair, hugged Thaddeus and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes you can come hunting and yes, I'll make rabbit stew for the hands if Hop Sing helps me. I've never cooked for that many people before."

Thaddeus hugged her back. "I'm glad you said yes. Now let's go and get your chores done so you can spend time with Fury and get your homework done. If your Pa is anything like mine was, you probably need to have it done before supper. Maybe I'll even come out to the pasture and help you with it."

"Gee thanks. Are you good at arithmetic? I really hate it."

"Yes, I am good at arithmetic. Let's get your chores done. Then we'll go out to the pasture." They finished Cat's chores and walked out to the pasture where they groomed Fury and played with him for a while. Then they sat down against the fence where Thaddeus helped Cat with her homework. She started getting frustrated when her division problems wouldn't come out right. Thaddeus looked at her problems and said, "I see your problem. You're not keeping the numbers under each other, where they belong. Look at the first problem. Your first answer was three numbers and you should have written it down starting under the first number, but you started it under the second number. Take that page out of your tablet and write the first problem on a new one. Good, now do your first division and multiplication and write that answer directly under the first three numbers. Ok. Now do your subtraction. Great. Now bring down your next number and write it next to the answer from your subtraction. You're doing fine. All you have to do is keep your numbers where they belong and your answers will come out right."

Cat sighed. "I absolutely **_hate_** arithmetic."

"So did I when I was your age," laughed Thaddeus. "However, it's very necessary to know how to do it correctly so you don't get cheated."

About an hour and a half later, Ben walked out to the pasture to tell Cat it was time to wash up for supper. He also invited Thaddeus to join the family for supper. Cat hugged Thaddeus and thanked him for helping with her chores and homework. Pete joined Ben as he was walking back to the house. Ben looked at his foreman and said, "Thanks for agreeing to let Thaddeus help Cat with her chores today and tomorrow."

"No problem Ben. You know that there has never been anything I wouldn't do for that little girl, including warming her bottom when she wouldn't stay out of the bull's pasture. Besides that, we all work hard and deserve a really good meal from time to time. I wanted to talk to you about Frank. I want your permission to fire him. He's not a good worker and the other men are getting tired of babysitting him. He's also obsessed with Cat and I'm afraid he'll try and hurt her if he gets the chance."

"Alright Pete. Can you and the rest of the men tolerate him until after we get the cattle moved to their winter pastures? We'll need every available hand for that and I'll even have Cat out chasing strays."

"You're going to let Cat help move the herds? I thought you were dead set against letting her do anything where she might get hurt."

Ben sighed. "If I had my way, I'd wrap her in cotton wool and put her on a shelf until she was grown up but we both know how she would react to that. If I don't let her help move the herds, she'll try and do something on her own. This way, she can still help and chasing strays isn't as dangerous as moving several thousand head of cattle. Also, judging from the way most of the men treat her, she'll have a lot of older brothers looking out for her and making sure she's safe. As far as Frank goes, as much as we need him to help move the herds, do what you think is best. If you choose to fire him, I'll ride over to the Devlins tomorrow and see if Mitch will help. I think that Hoss and Joe were planning to help them move their cattle, so I don't think Mitch will mind helping us move ours. Come up to the house and I'll give you Frank's wages in case you do decide to fire him immediately."

"When do you plan to start moving the cattle?"

"Since Cat, Joe, and Thaddeus will be hunting most of the day Saturday and we have company coming for supper, we'll start after church on Sunday. The weather is starting to get cooler and I hate to deny Cat one more picnic with her friends at the lake, so we'll have to skip next Saturday also, but we'll have Sunday after church and the following two weekends." He looked at the expression on Pete's face and said, "Yes, I know. Normally we'd be moving cattle all week but if we do that, Cat will put up a fuss about being excluded and want to stay home from school. I have a hard enough time getting her to go to school as is and if we move any cattle while she's in school and she learns of it, Adam's grandfather will hear her yelling all the way in Boston."

Pete laughed. "I hear ya boss. I don't envy you trying to raise that little spitfire. She was a handful when she was five and once Fury is old enough to ride, I don't think anyone will be able to stop her from doing anything she wants to do. That colt is faster than all of the others in the pasture so once she's riding him, I don't think anyone will be able to catch her. Joe's horse is fast but I'm willing to wager five dollars that once Fury is a year old, he'll be faster than Cochise. It's probably a good thing that Cat won't be able to teach him how to fly."

When Joe and Hoss returned home, Hop Sing told them about Cat trying to sell Adam. They broke out in laughter and continued laughing as they walked into the great room where Ben, Thaddeus and Cat were waiting for Hop Sing to tell them supper was ready. Hoss picked Cat up off the settee, hugged her and handed her to Joe who also hugged her and said, "You sure are something little sister. I wish I would have thought of trying to sell Adam when I was ten and he was treating me like I was five. That is a wonderful idea and I think that I will pay Dan DeQuille to put the ad in the paper. I'll even help you run your sale and keep track of the bids for you."

" ** _Joseph_**!" scolded Ben.

"Well, why not? Adam deserves it. I'm nineteen now and sometimes he still treats me like I'm nine. Cat is nine and he's treating her like she's five and always telling her to do stuff she doesn't need to be told to do. It's high time someone took him down a peg or two. Maybe then the Yankee Granite Head will learn that being Mr. Bossy Boots won't work with little sister."

Thaddeus looked confused, so Ben handed him the advertisement. He too started laughing when he read it. "Joe is right Cat. You really are something else. Joshua and Bill were awfully bossy when I was little and I wish I would have thought about trying to sell them. I don't think my parents would have liked that idea but it is a good one if you're nine or ten and have bossy older brothers or sisters. I'll have to tell Joshua about this and tell him I should have done the same thing when I was nine."

"You have another brother besides Joshua? Where is he?"

"Yes I do. He's older than Joshua and I are and we don't know where he is."

"I'd like to meet him sometime."

"That wouldn't be a good idea. He's not a very nice person and sometimes he hurts people just because he wants to. I'm afraid if you ever met him, he might hurt you and that would make me very angry."

Before the conversation could continue, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Suppel almost leady. Missy Cat set table."

Cat sighed. She was tired of always having to set the table just because she was the only girl. However, she knew better than to argue and simply said, "Ok Hop Sing."

She got up and much to her surprise, so did Thaddeus. "I'll help you Cat."

"Thank you. You're company so you don't have to."

"I know that but I want to. The sooner we get the table set, the sooner we can eat and I think they can probably hear Hoss' tummy rumbling all the way in Reno. They might think it's an earthquake and become frightened."

Cat giggled. "Ok. Thanks. I don't want the people in Reno to be scared because Hoss is hungry and his tummy is rumbling."

"Cat…"

"Yes Pa?"

"Set Adam's place. Thaddeus can sit there tonight."

"Ok."

When supper was over, Thaddeus said, "Ben, this is the best food I've eaten since that picnic at the lake. Is there any way I could convince you to adopt me so I could eat this good every day? I'll even still sleep in the bunk house but Hop Sing is the best cook in the country, if not the world."

Cat looked at him and asked, "If you were my brother, would you be as bossy as Adam?"

"No, of course I wouldn't. The only times I would be bossy is if I was told to tell you something, I saw you doing something you weren't supposed to, or if you weren't doing something you were supposed to be doing."

"That's great. Please Pa, can I trade Thaddeus for Adam? Even better, Joe how soon can we sell Adam? 'Cause I think he'll still be too bossy if he's still here and I don't need four big brothers."

"Hold on there little one," laughed Ben. "I am not going to let you sell Adam. What would I tell his grandfather when he comes for a visit?"

"Tell him the truth. Adam was too bossy so I got rid of him."

"I don't think he'd like that too much. I think we'll keep Adam and invite Thaddeus to supper more often. In fact, we're going to have one more picnic at the lake before the cold weather sets in and we'll invite both Joshua and Thaddeus to spend the day with us." Cat wasn't happy with Ben's decision but knew that arguing would have unpleasant consequences.

The next day, knowing that Cat had permission to go fishing after school, Adam was certain she was going to skip school and made up his mind to catch her. He hid in some bushes near the spot on the creek where the children liked to fish and waited for his sister to show up. Cat and Mike showed up about thirty minutes later, fishing poles in hand. "I'm sorry your Pa wouldn't let you sell Adam," said Mike.

"Yeah, me too. Mr. DeQuille shouldn't have given my advertisement to Pa. It wasn't fair. Pa keeps saying stuff like he wants and needs Adam. I know I don't. Neither does Joe. He even said he'd pay Mr. DeQuille and help me run my sale."

"What about Hoss?"

"He didn't say anything but I know he doesn't like the way ol' Mr. Bossy Boots is treating me. I think that Pa is the only one who really wants Adam. I sure wish we could go fishing instead of going to school."

"I do too but if we do, we'll both end up with sore bottoms."

"Yeah I know. Joe and Thaddeus are going hunting with me tomorrow and I sure don't want to be sitting in a saddle with a sore bottom. Pa would let me go because we're having company for supper and Dr. Paul asked for me to make rabbit stew, but my bottom sure would hurt a lot. Hey, I know what I'm going to do."

"What?"

"Watch and see."

Cat dismounted and started to throw her hook into the water as though she were fishing. "You're not going to catch anything without bait."

"I know but if I bait my hook and the fish start biting, I won't go to school and then I'll be in big trouble. This way I can fish for a minute without getting in trouble."

"Hey, that's a great idea. How long should we leave our hooks in the water?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"How about for a count of ten? Any more than that, we'll want to put bait on our hooks."

Both children threw their hooks into the water and counted to ten. Then they pulled them out and wrapped the fishing line around the poles. "Where are we going to put our poles while we're in school? I don't want someone to take mine. Hoss made it just for me."

"How about in those bushes over there?" Mike pointed to the bushes where Adam was hiding. They walked toward the bushes and Mike caught sight of Adam's shirt. "There's someone hiding in the bushes."

Cat looked and saw Adam's shirt. "It's Adam. He's spying on me. That's why he didn't come home last night. He was hoping I'd skip school and go fishing so he can punish me even though Pa says he's not supposed to. I see you Adam and I'm tellin' Pa that you were spying on me and hoped I was gonna skip school to go fishing. He's really gonna be mad when I tell him that you were waiting for me with your belt in your hand. I hate you and I wish Pa would let me sell you! Maybe now he will. Come on Mike. If we hurry, I'll have time to ask Dr. Paul and Sheriff Roy to tell Pa what Adam was doing."

Adam came out of the bushes and Cat started to kick him. "No, don't," said Mike. "If you do, then you will be in trouble. Just put your fishing pole in the bushes with mine and let's hurry to town. When we get there, if it's close to time for school to start, maybe Miss Winter will still let us go to the doctor and sheriff's offices if we explain why we need to."

The two children mounted their horses and rode off toward town at a gallop. Adam knew his father was going to be angry at him. He had done the same thing with Joe when he was ten. Joe had been sent home from school because he was sick and stopped at the creek to wash his face and get a drink. Adam assumed he was skipping school and whipped Joe before he could show him the note from Miss Jones. That had been the day after one of the older boys threw Joe into the old well and he ran away that night, thinking his father didn't want him any more now that Adam was home from college. Cat and Mike arrived at the school shortly before Miss Winter was going to ring the bell. Mike took care of their horses and Cat went into talk to the teacher. "Miss Winter, can you please start school a little late?"

"Why do you want me to do that?" Cat told her about Adam and she said, "Alright, but it would be faster if you went to either Dr. Martin or Sheriff Coffee and Michael went to the other. I know you are angry at Adam and have every right to be, but your education is very important." Cat ran over to the sheriff's office and Mike ran over to the doctor's office. They told the men about Adam and received promises that if Ben came to town, they would ensure he knew what happened. The children thanked the men and ran back to the school, reaching it just as Miss Winter started ringing the bell.


	79. Chapter 79

While school was in session, Mr. White took Annabel to see the judge and Reverend Long since they were not in their offices the day before. They walked past the parsonage where the Reverend was outside planting flowers for his wife. He looked at Mr. White and Annabel and asked why she wasn't in school. "She tried to push Catherine Cartwright down the stairs and is not allowed to return to school until after the school board has met. I'm taking her to see the judge so he can tell her what her punishment for her actions would be if she were older. Maybe he can make her straighten up and behave."

"Give me a minute to wash the dirt off my hands and let me talk with Annabel." He rinsed his hands under the pump and said, "Come along Annabel. Let's go into my office and have a little chat. Maybe we can figure out why you have been getting into so much trouble and how you can change your ways." Mr. White started to follow but Reverend Long said, "Please stay out here. It is important for me to be able to talk with Annabel without anyone else around. She needs to feel free to tell me what's on her mind without worrying about being punished." Annabel followed him into his office and sat down in a chair he pointed to. He sat down in another chair facing her and said, "I am not here to judge you. I am here to help you. You have gotten into a lot of trouble lately and I want to help make things better. Please tell me, why have you been acting the way you have lately?"

"It's all Cartwright's fault. If she would have let me keep her saddle bags, I never would have gotten in trouble."

"I see. You were stealing from people a long time before Mr. Cartwright adopted his niece so she didn't make you steal. She is just the only person who would not give you what you wanted. Now, tell me the truth, why have you been stealing?"

"Because my mama said I'm a princess and can have anything I want."

"If that's the case, why didn't you just ask her to buy those things for you? What is the real reason you have been stealing? You need to tell me the truth if you want me to help."

"Because I wanted to. I was going to sell everything. I need the money."

"Thank you for being honest. Why do you need the money?"

"So I can go somewhere far away from here."

"Why do you want to go far away from here? You have friends and your parents love you."

"I'm pretty sure that mama does but Pa hates me. He never says anything to me unless he's scolding me, yelling at me, or telling me to do something. He was madder at me because his friends would know I was stealing than he was because I was stealing. When he was whipping me, he kept saying how embarrassed he was and it would be hard to face his friends because of what I did. He took my toys away from me and said I can't have them or my birthday and Christmas gifts until I'm off restriction at Easter. I'm not even allowed to leave my room unless I'm going to school or church or doing chores. Mama isn't even allowed to talk to me except to tell me what chores to do or bring a tray of food to my room. She talks to me when Pa isn't around and tells me how much she loves me but she has to be careful because Pa will spank her if he catches her talking to me. He already has done it several times."

"Are you telling me that you're on restriction until Easter and not even allowed to eat with your parents?"

"Yes sir."

"I am going to have to have a talk with your father about how he is punishing you. Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. Are you sorry that you stole from people or are you just sorry that you got caught?"

"Both I guess. I didn't really want to steal but that's the only way I knew of to get money. I'm real sorry I got caught. I hate being whipped and spanked almost every day and if Pa isn't happy with the way my chores are done, he adds more time to my restriction. I had to polish some of the silver yesterday and left a little smudge on a bowl. Pa yelled at me and added another day to my restriction. I just know he hates me."

"I'm not sure about that but I do know he's going about things all wrong and I am going to talk to him. However your feelings toward your father and his toward you do not excuse the fact that you have done some things that are very wrong. What does the Bible say about stealing?"

"Not to."

"That's right. What does the Bible say about killing?"

"Not to."

"Correct. However, you have been stealing and admitted that you were trying to kill Catherine Cartwright. Instead of stealing from people, what could you have done about the problem you're having with your father?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do."

"I guess I could have talked to someone but nobody would believe me because they all think my Pa is perfect."

"No Annabel. People do not think your father is perfect any more than they think I am perfect. I also do not think you are telling me the entire truth about why you were stealing. You could not have sold Catherine Cartwright's saddle bags. Everybody would know who they belonged to, wouldn't they?"

"Yes sir."

"So besides the problem you are having with your father, why did you steal? If you don't tell me the truth, I will not help you. Why else did you steal?"

"Because being mean to people I don't like makes me feel good. Tommy and Billy said it's fun and they're right."

"Why don't you like Catherine?"

"Because she won't be friends with me."

"I see. And why won't she be friends with you?"

"Because I said Laura and Mary Ingalls couldn't come to my house because they're poor. Mama says I'm only supposed to associate with rich people. The Cartwrights are rich so Catherine should be my friend."

"So you decided to steal from her and try to kill her because she didn't want to be your friend."

"No, I tried to kill her because it's her fault I got in trouble for stealing."

Reverend Long sighed. "I can see that you and I are going to have a lot of work to do. I am going to tell your father to bring you over here every day so we can talk and I can try to help you see the error of your ways. Now, since you are not allowed to attend school until after the school board meets, I am going to give you an assignment to do for me and I want it done in your best handwriting. I want you to write an essay for me and it is not going to be a short one. Using your Bible, I want you to write out all ten of the Commandments and tell me what each of them means and how you are going to start keeping them. I also want you to write down every reference to how you are supposed to treat people and every reference about rich people. After you find and write down all of those references, I want you to explain those references and what they say about the way you have been acting. Also, as part of that essay, I want you to explain what you have been doing wrong, why it is wrong and how you are going to improve your behavior. That is a lot of work and I expect it will probably take you at least a week to do it, so I want you to spend one hour a day working on it. I want you to bring your essay with you every day when we meet and I want you to bring it to church with you on Sunday so I can see the progress you are making. If I think you are being honest when you say how you intend to keep the Commandments, I will ask the school board to allow you to return to school when they meet on Wednesday. Now I want you to go home and start on that essay and I expect to see you here again tomorrow with your essay. Don't worry about your father. I am going to talk to him."

He walked Annabel to the door and told her to go home. Her father saw her walking toward the house and scolded her. "Where do you think you're going? I'm not through with you yet. You still have to go and see the judge. You are going to straighten out and act properly even if I have to give you a whipping every day. Now get back over here!"

"I sent her home," said Reverend Long. "She has something she has to do for me and it will probably take her at least a week and I want to see her every day until I say differently. In the mean time, you and I need to talk. Considering that you are one of the causes, you are not helping Annabel's problem one little bit." The two men walked into the minister's office and Reverend Long let Mr. White know in no uncertain terms that the way he was treating his daughter was wrong. When Mr. White protested that there was nothing wrong with the way he was treating Annabel, Reverend Long said, "You are treating her like a criminal who has done something wrong in prison and have put her in solitary confinement. Not only have you decided to confine her to her room for six months, you don't speak to her except to scold or tell her what to do and you will not allow her mother speak to her except to tell her what to do. You won't even let her eat her meals with you and her mother. Do you have any idea what you are doing to that child?"

"Yes. I am punishing her for stealing and trying to kill Catherine Cartwright."

"You are doing more than that. Annabel is convinced that you hate her and I can understand why. Let's go and talk to Dr. Martin and see if he can help make you understand the effect your actions are having on your daughter."

They walked over to Paul Martin's office and told him what Mr. White was doing to Annabel. "Well Frank, you've finally found your excuse to shut your daughter out of your life as much as possible, haven't you? When are you going to tell your brothers to mind their own business and leave you alone? You see David, Frank here is embarrassed that he has a daughter. He has three brothers, all of whom have several sons and daughters. Every time they write or visit him, they tease him because they have sons and he doesn't. You have just learned what most people around here have known for years, he resents Annabel for being a girl and it's high time somebody did something about it. Frank, get your horse and meet us back here in fifteen minutes."

"Where are we going?"

"To talk to some fathers about their children."

Their first stop was at the Ingalls to talk to Charles. "Of course I wanted my first child to be a son. I wanted my second and third children to be sons also. What man doesn't want a son to carry on his name? But that doesn't mean I don't love my daughters. I can't envision my life without them. I had a son. He was born when Laura was eight and God chose to take him away from me when he was eight months old. If Caroline gets pregnant again and has a boy who lives, I will not love my daughters any less than I do now. They are my life and without them my life would be empty. With them, I am the richest man in the world and there isn't a day that goes by when I don't tell them how much I love them and how much they mean to me. God gave you a gift Frank and you rejected that gift because it wasn't a son. Think about how that makes your wife and daughter feel. Try thinking about someone else besides yourself for a change."

Their next stop was the Ponderosa. When Mr. White realized where they were going he said, "I can't go there and face Ben after what Annabel did."

"Nonsense!" said Paul. "You just don't want to."

"I agree with Paul," said Reverend Long. "Annabel said that you were upset because you were embarrassed that your friends would know she had been stealing, not because she had been stealing. That is not the correct attitude to take with a child who has done something wrong."

Ben welcomed his guests into the house. Hop Sing brought coffee for everyone and went back into the kitchen. Paul and Reverend Long explained the reason for their visit and Ben said, "Of course I was thrilled that my wives gave birth to sons. However, as Paul already knows, I always hoped that one of them would give me a daughter to spoil. I had dreams of dressing her up in pretty dresses and frilly petticoats and pantaloons, but God chose to give me three sons whom I love dearly."

"Well Ben, you've got your little girl now. Although I must admit that I just can't see Cat in pretty dresses and frilly underthings," laughed Paul.

"How do you feel about the fact that Catherine does not exactly fit the description of what you wanted your daughter to be like?" asked Reverend Long.

I love her very much just the way she is and wouldn't trade her for the daughter I always dreamed of having. We have managed to compromise on her wearing dresses but not frilly underclothes. Cat has always worn dresses to dances and Kitty Russell was able to get her into them for church on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. Thanks to some help from Mary and Laura Ingalls, Catherine has agreed to wear dresses to church every Sunday. I'm afraid if I tried making her wear them to school, she would take her colt and puppies and get on the next stage heading south."

"Which one of your sons is she most like?" asked Mr. White.

"I see all three of my sons in Catherine. She loves to read like Adam. She is kind hearted and loves animals like Hoss, and she is free spirited and inquisitive like Joe. She wasn't even a year old when Hoss started calling her Wild Cat. He said that she was as wild as the West Texas Wind and harder to tame and that's not too far from the truth. It seemed like she started crawling one day and was running the next. My sister said that our father's cook caught Cat trying to climb up the china cabinet one day. Matt said that when she was six, she and two of her friends climbed up the water tank in Dodge."

All three of his guests laughed at Cat's antics when she was younger. "Judging from what you just said, she must spend a lot of time bottom up over your knees," said Mr. White.

"No she doesn't. Catherine is fairly well behaved and when she does misbehave, a spanking isn't always needed to correct her behavior."

"Aren't you afraid that she'll skip school? It's a long way to town and she could easily do that."

"No, not at all. Her uncles have already told her that if she skips school, she will not be able to spend the summer with them. So, even though she doesn't want to, Catherine will go to school. I am going to do something I never do and tell someone that the way they are treating their children is wrong. You cannot keep your daughter confined to her room except for chores, church, and school for months on end. You cannot and should not be keeping her from spending time with you and her mother and you need to talk to her and allow her mother to talk to her. Threatening to spank your wife for speaking to her daughter is wrong. Annabel is a young child who needs to know that she is loved. But you have never loved her, have you? You were so disappointed at having a daughter that you decided to shut her out of your life as much as possible. Now it seems that you have decided to completely shut her out of your life and are attempting to force her mother to choose between her husband and her daughter. I can tell you exactly whom your wife will choose and that person won't be you. You are in grave danger of losing both your wife and your daughter."

"Haven't you ever punished your sons by confining them to their room?"

"Yes I have but never for more than two days. With one exception that I can remember, even when they were restricted to their rooms, they always ate their meals with the family. The only time I can remember when one of my sons had to eat supper in his room as punishment was when Joseph was around eight or nine. The teacher gave an assignment that he simply refused to do. So I sent him to his room and told him he would have to stay there until the assignment was completed. It still wasn't finished at suppertime so Hop Sing took a tray of food up to him. When he heard the chatter and laughter coming from downstairs, he realized what he was missing out on. He ate his supper, finished his assignment and brought it downstairs with the empty tray and I allowed him to play one game of checkers with Hoss before bed. The last time his toys were taken away from him was when he was four. He became angry about something and threw one of them at Hoss, so Marie took the toys away from him for the rest of that day and the following two. Listening to him cry for his toys wasn't easy and there were several times when we almost gave in and returned them to him. But we held firm and Joe learned a very valuable lesson and never threw any of his toys at anyone again."

"What about Catherine? Doesn't she have the famous Cartwright temper?"

"Yes she does and she hasn't learned how to control it yet but we're working on it. Adam said something she didn't like on Wednesday night and she kicked him. I scolded but did not punish her because I had a feeling that part of the problem was that her head was hurting. She tried to deny it but finally admitted it was so Hop Sing made one of his herb teas for her to drink. Judging from her reaction to the taste, making her drink that tea, in her opinion, was a worse punishment than a spanking. It tasted so bad, she asked Hop Sing if he was trying to kill her."

Paul laughed. "Typical Cartwright. None of them, including the youngest, will admit when they're hurt or don't feel well. And getting them to stay in bed is almost impossible unless they're unconscious. Ben, I've lost count of the number of times I have wanted to tie you or one of your sons to their bed to make them stay in it. I can see that Cat is already picking up your bad habits. You should have seen her on Wednesday. She came into my office with blood running down her head and insisted that she wasn't hurt. I think she's trying to out Cartwright the rest of the family. Even Joe will occasionally admit when he's hurt."

"Don't blame me," laughed Ben. "I didn't raise her. I only inherited her a few months ago. Frank, I am going to break a cardinal rule of mine and give you advice on how to raise your daughter. God gave you a precious gift and you acted like a spoiled child and rejected the gift because it wasn't what you wanted. It's time for you to grow up and act like a man. That child needs her mother and her father and she needs to know that they both love her. Give her toys back, let her have her birthday and Christmas gifts when the time comes, and stop keeping her confined to her room. She can still be restricted to the house and yard and the extra chores you have given her, with the right encouragement, will help her to realize everything you and your wife do to keep the household running smoothly. Spend time with her and get to know her. Apologize for the way you have treated her since she was born and most of all, let yourself love her. Annabel is a part of you and her mother and needs love from both of you. Judging from what I have been told, much of her stealing would not have happened if you had acted like her parent instead of like a stranger."

The men sat and talked for a while longer. When they decided to leave, Paul said, "Frank, why don't you go on ahead? I need to talk to Ben for a few minutes. David and I will see you back in town."

"I truly hope and pray that you will spend a lot of time thinking about what you have learned today and spend time in prayer and ask God to help you deal with your feelings toward your daughter," added Reverend Long. "As Ben said, she was a gift to you from God and you need to change the way you treat her. She has a very long essay to write for me but I do not expect it to be done in a single day. When you get home, you may ask her if she has begun writing it and if she hasn't, remind her that I expect to see progress on it when I see her tomorrow. Do not pressure Annabel to do the essay. It has to be her decision and she knows the consequences of not doing it."

After Mr. White left, Paul told Ben what Mike Devlin had told him about Adam. Ben exploded. "Damn him! If he were ten years younger, I'd take him out to the barn and tan his hide! I don't understand him. Is he trying to drive his sister away? If he is, he's doing a very good job of it. He knows that she won't skip school. Her uncles already told her if she does, she won't be able to spend the summer with them and she won't give up her summer in Dodge. Ever since we brought Cat home, Adam and his brothers have been reminding me that she's not Joe and now he's starting to treat her as though she were. Well, there's more than enough work on the ranch to keep him busy for quite some time. The mine and logging camp need to be checked regularly and fences always need mending. I'm about to fire one of the hands, so Adam can take up the slack for the missing man for a while also. If you see him in town, please tell him that I would like him to come home today."

About half way through the afternoon, Miss Winter began feeling sick and decided to dismiss school early. She wrote notes to the parents of the children who did not live in town so they wouldn't get in trouble for not being in school. She handed out the notes and said, "Children, I am not feeling well and need to go home. All of you have your homework assignments for this weekend and those of you who do not live in town have notes so your parents will know why you are home early. Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you on Monday morning. Class is dismissed."

The children gladly ran out of the schoolhouse, happy to have a longer weekend. As Cat, Jasper, Mike and other students ran to saddle their horses, Sally said, "Wait for me. I have to let Ma know that Miss Winter let us out early and get my horse and fishing pole. I shouldn't be long. Ma and Pa already said I could go fishing with everyone today." She returned about fifteen minutes later. Jasper and Mike helped Laura mount Beauty behind Cat and they rode off to join their friends at the creek. Since Mary didn't like fishing, she and Carrie decided to play on the swings and see saw while they waited for their father to pick them up. They didn't have to wait long. Charles and Caroline had some errands to do in town and saw the girls playing on the swings. Mary told her parents about Miss Winter not feeling well and dismissing school early.

Once all of the children reached the creek, they dug for worms, baited their hooks and started fishing. Cat took her school books out of her saddle bags and started doing her homework. "Why are you doing your homework now?" asked Laura.

"'Cause Pa says it has to be done before supper, even on Fridays so if I work on it now, I'll have time to clean the fish I catch and play with Fury before supper. I always used to do my homework while I was fishing when I lived in Dodge, so I guess it's a habit. Besides that, I won't have time to do it tomorrow. Joe, Thaddeus and I are going hunting and we're having company for supper. Pa said we're going to start moving the cattle to their winter pastures after church and I don't know how long that will take so I may not have time to do it on Sunday."

"That makes sense," said Sally. "By doing your homework now, you won't have to worry about doing it later. Then your Pa and Adam won't have anything to fuss at you about. Although, the way Mike says Adam's been treating you, he'll probably try to find something to fuss at you about." Other children saw Cat working on her homework, listened to her reasons why and decided to start on their own. With the help of the older children, all those who decided to do their homework while they were fishing, were able to complete it in about thirty minutes. The children fished for several hours and then, as many of them still had homework and chores to do, decided to call it a day. Since Hoss' appetite was legendary, several children who had not caught enough fish for their families gave their catch to Cat.

Ben was in the yard when Cat rode in. He helped her dismount, looked at all of the fish and said, "You're home earlier than I expected and you have an awful lot of fish for only a few hours fishing."

"Miss Susan wasn't feeling well and let us escape two hours early. Here's the note she gave to everyone who doesn't live in town." Cat dug the note out of her pocket, handed it to Ben and continued. "I didn't catch all of the fish. Some of the kids didn't catch enough for their family and since Hoss eats enough for ten people, they gave them to me. I even did all of my homework."

Ben read the note, laughed and said, "Hoss may eat a lot, but he does not eat enough for ten people. We still have fish in the smokehouse from the last time you went fishing and I don't think Adam is coming home tonight, so we'll only need half of what you brought home. Why don't you go, knock on the bunkhouse door and see if the men would like them?" Almost all of the hands were grateful for the fish and several of them started cleaning them while Hoss and Joe helped Cat clean the fish for their supper.

The next morning, Joe got two pack horses ready to go, saddled Cochise, made sure Beauty's cinch was tight and asked Hoss to tell Thaddeus they were almost ready to leave. Hoss walked over to the bunkhouse opened the door and became enraged at Frank's words. "I don't know why that boy is going hunting with the brat when there's so much work to be done around here. As far as I'm concerned the Cartwright sons and the brat are worthless. They never do a lick of work around here and all the kid does is make more work for everyone. Instead of mollycoddling her, the old man should be tanning her hide everytime she steps out of line." He took off his belt and continued, "Since he won't, I will. I'm tired of that brat getting away with murder and nobody doing anything about it."

"Frank, you done been told at least a dozen times that what goes on in my family ain't no business of yours," said Hoss, his voice ice cold. "Since you're so unhappy here, you can just pack yore stuff and git off this ranch. You're fired an' ya have exactly ten minutes to git yore stuff and go. Ifn ya touch one single hair on my sister's head, I will personally tear ya limb from limb with my bare hands and stake ya out in the desert for the buzzards. Pete, do you have enough money to give him his wages? Ifn ya do, pay him off and I'll have Pa repay ya. Thaddeus, Joe asked me to tell ya that he and Cat are about ready to leave. Frank, you're runnin' out of time. Ifn ya ain't packed and off this ranch in exactly eight minutes, I will pick ya up and throw ya off. Don't bother lookin' for another job around Virginia City. Once word gets around that I fired ya, nobody else will hire ya so ya may as well look for someplace else to live. Remember my warning about what will happen to ya ifn ya go anywhere near my sister. Anybody else got any notions, ya better speak up now."

"Yes," said Joshua. "I've got a notion that if _my_ younger brother doesn't get a move on, Joe and Cat are going to leave without him and we won't get any rabbit stew for supper. I don't know about anyone else, but I've been tasting that stew ever since Pete said Cat and Hop Sing were going to make some for us. If that happens little brother, I will feed you to the coyotes and even our mother wouldn't blame me." Joshua's statement caused everyone but Frank to start laughing. Thaddeus took the hint, got his hat and weapons and walked outside to join Cat and Joe. Pete wasn't taking any chances and assigned four men to escort Frank off the Ponderosa, so Hoss walked back into the house and told his father what he had done.

Thaddeus, Joe, and Cat had a good time hunting. They laughed, joked and made up silly songs to sing on the ride to where they would hunt. Thaddeus though Cat's puppies looked cute inside the pouches Mr. Miller had made for them and was impressed by their and Cat's hunting skills. They hunted for several hours, ate the dinner Hop Sing had packed, then hunted for several more hours. When they loaded up the pack horses, they had four antelope and more than enough rabbits to feed the family, their guests, and the hands. Cat looked at all of the rabbits and said, "We got so many rabbits, I'm gonna be cleaning them until I'm ten."

Joe and Thaddeus laughed. "Don't worry Cat," said Thaddeus. "Everybody wants to eat your rabbit stew so bad that I'd be willing to bet a week's pay that almost all of the hands will help clean the rabbits." When they arrived back at the house, Cat discovered that Thaddeus had been right. More than half the hands came out of the bunkhouse to help clean the rabbits and antelope.

Cat spotted Adam near the barn and kicked him, not knowing that Ben was behind her. He gave her a very hard swat and she yelped in surprise at the attack on her bottom. "What have I told you about kicking people?" Ben asked sternly.

"Not to."

"Then why did you kick Adam?"

"Because I'm mad at him for spying on me yesterday."

"Being angry at someone is not a good excuse to kick them."

"Well, it should be."

Ben tried to hide a smile at his nine year old's logic. "The only time it is alright to kick someone is if they are doing something to hurt you and Adam was not hurting you. This is your last warning. The next time you kick Adam or anybody else without a very good reason, there will be consequences and I promise that you will not like those consequences. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Adam will take care of your horse so you can go and help clean the rabbits you caught today. Then he will help to clean them also." Once all of the rabbits and deer had been cleaned, Thaddeus, Hoss, and Joe helped Cat carry the rabbit meat into the kitchen while Adam, Pete, Joshua & Dave stretched the skins to dry.

Cat stayed in the kitchen to help Hop Sing while the others took the rabbits that wouldn't be cooked that day out to the smokehouse. Hop Sing cut up the meat and vegetables, placing everything in two piles for Cat to put into pots. Then she put the spices in each pot and Hop Sing added water to them. "Go play now. Come back in thirty minutes to stir pots." The company arrived around four thirty and once the food was cooked, Hoss carried the biggest pot of stew to the bunkhouse while Cat followed with three loaves of freshly baked bread. Adam and Ben set the table and soon the family and their guests sat down to a meal of rabbit stew and freshly baked bread with chocolate cake for dessert.

While everyone was eating, Ben said, "Catherine, I have something important to tell you and I'm telling you in front of our company so you don't think I'm treating you like a baby. One of the hands was fired today and he made some threats against you. So, for the next several weeks, until I am convinced he is not going to harm you, two men will ride to and from town with you and Michael on school days. They will not ride all the way to the school with you, but they will stay close enough to make sure nobody tries to hurt you before you get to the school. I know you think you can take care of yourself, but a nine and an eleven year old are no match for an adult with a gun. This is only for your safety and I would have done the same for any of your brothers when they were your age. I know that you're not happy with my decision but if this wasn't such a busy ranch, every hand, your brothers, I, and Hop Sing would all be riding to and from school with you. Just think, I could always contact your Godfathers and see if they can spare an Army troop to escort you."

Cat was not happy with Ben's decision but decided that two men riding with her and Mike was much better than her whole family, all of the hands, and a Calvary troop so she just sighed and said, "Ok."


	80. Chapter 80

**a/n:** To everyone who was affected by Hurricane Michael, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I have lived through too many hurricanes, including the Hurricane Grand Slam of 2004 and Irma, but I have never experienced a storm like Michael. I have seen the pictures of the devastation in the panhandle and hope and pray that everyone who was told to evacuate did so.

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Later that night, after Cat had gone to bed, Ben told Adam to accompany him to the barn where they could talk without being overheard. He yelled at his eldest son over the way he had been treating his sister and for hiding in the bushes, hoping to catch her skipping school to go fishing. " **WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY WERE YOU HIDING IN THE BUSHES WITH YOUR BELT OFF, TRYING TO CATCH YOUR SISTER SKIPPING SCHOOL TO GO FISHING? HAVE YOU TAKEN COMPLETE LEAVE OF YOUR SENSES? IF YOU WERE TEN YEARS YOUNGER, INSTEAD OF SITTING HERE TALKING, YOU WOULD BE FEELING THE STING OF MY BELT ON YOUR BARE BOTTOM! YOU WERE WRONG WHEN YOU DID THINGS LIKE THAT TO JOE** **AND YOU ARE** **JUST AS WRONG NOW! I DO NOT LIKE YOU DOING THOSE THINGS TO CATHERINE ANY MORE THAN I LIKED YOU DOING THEM TO JOE! FOR MORE THAN A MONTH, YOU AND YOUR BROTHERS KEPT TELLING ME THAT CATHERINE IS NOT JOE** **AND HERE YOU ARE, TREATING HER THE SAME WAY YOU TREATED YOUR YOUNGEST BROTHER!** I am very disappointed in your actions son. What were you thinking? Are you trying to drive your sister away? You know that she won't skip school. You were there when Rip and Matt told her if she skipped school, she wouldn't be allowed to spend the summer with them. Since you decided to stay in town instead of coming back here to do her chores as I instructed you, I have something else in mind for you. Frank was fired today so beginning tomorrow after church, you will be doing his work and Pete will be supervising you. He will be treating you like a green hand and questioning your every move, treating you the way you have been treating your nine year old sister. It is my hope that you will learn how you have been making her feel and come to realize how wrong you have been. You heard me warn your sister about kicking you. If she does it again, bring her to me and I will deal with her. After yesterday, I feel compelled to remind you again that you and your brothers are not allowed to spank her yet. Catherine has only been living here a little more than two months and is not yet comfortable being part of a family. Remember, she was a baby when her father died and her mother took her away. She hasn't been part of a family in eight years and instead of helping her to adjust, you are convincing her that it was better to live with Matt in the Marshal's office in Dodge than here on the Ponderosa. Think about this son. If anything ever happens to me, you will be the one I would depend on to take care of your sister. You can't do that if she doesn't trust you and right now she doesn't trust you at all."

"I'm sorry Pa. Joe used to skip school a lot to go fishing and I just figured Cat would too."

"Joseph did not skip school that much. I remember an incident where he was sent home because he was sick. He stopped at the creek to wash his face and get a drink. You found him, assumed he was skipping school and whipped him before he could even show you the note from his teacher. You were wrong then and you are just as wrong now. I hope the next week or so with Pete treating you the way you have been treating Cat will help you to realize how you are making her feel. She thinks you hate her and you aren't doing anything to convince her otherwise. You had better get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. After church, we're going to be starting to move cattle to their winter pastures. You will be with Pete and doing what he says. Catherine will be chasing strays. Unless you see her doing something that isn't safe or are pointing out a steer that has left the herd, you are not to tell her what to do."

Ben walked back to the house and Adam stayed in the barn thinking. His father was angrier at him than he had ever been before and he had every right to be. Adam thought back to the past. Joe was six when he left to attend college in Boston and was nine when he returned. Instead of treating his youngest brother like he was going on ten, he treated him as though he were still six and accused their father of letting the boy run wild. But Joe wasn't running wild. He was just doing things that nine and ten year old boys normally do. Adam didn't see it that way and decided that since his father wasn't going to rein the boy in, he would do it. It wasn't until after he had whipped Joe, he ran away, and he almost died from pneumonia that he realized how he was making his brother feel. Now he was doing the same thing to his younger cousin who was now his sister. Her father had been killed in the war when she was just a baby and her mother left her in Dodge with her father's brother before she was two, then disappeared from her life until a few weeks before her ninth birthday when she suddenly reappeared and was murdered with Cat standing right beside her. Joe had been too young to completely understand what happened to his mother but Cat was not. Even though they had lessened in severity and frequency, she was still having nightmares about that day. Her whole life changed forever that day and instead of helping her adjust to her new life, he was pushing her away. Now he was going to have to spend a week or more being treated like a green hand and learning just how he was making his sister feel in the hopes he would stop expecting and hoping she would do something wrong. He resolved to start treating his sister better. Little did he know that resolve would be tested in a few short weeks and he would fail the test miserably.

When they returned home from church, Ben told Cat to change into her dungarees and boots instead of her buckskins. During dinner, he told her that they were going to be moving cattle to their winter pasture and her job was to chase strays. "I don't want to chase strays Pa. I want to do something important."

Before Ben could say anything, Joe said, "Chasing strays is very important Squirt. You've been here at Christmas and seen how deep the snow gets up in the high pastures. Any cattle that get stuck up there will die because they won't have any food or water. I know you don't want that to happen now do you?"

"No."

"Besides that, you're not just going to be chasing strays. You'll be riding with me and helping to move the herd but when a cow or steer breaks away from the herd, it will be your job to put it back where it belongs."

"Ok."

Cat was afraid that if she wasn't perfect, she would be left home the next time cattle needed to be moved, so she decided that she was going to chase every stray for as long as it took, even if it meant she wouldn't even have time for a drink of water or to rest. She pushed Beauty as hard as she could and took off at a fast gallop after every lose steer. Finally Pete told her to slow down. "I can't Pete. Don't you see, if I even let one get away, I'll get left at home the next time and I don't want to get left at home."

"No Cat, you don't have to be perfect and you won't get left at home. Take a look around. You're not the only one chasing strays. Even your Pa is chasing them. You just have to do the best you can."

Just then Adam and Ben rode up. "What's going on Pete?" asked Ben. "Is Cat in trouble?"

"No Ben. I'm just trying to get her to slow down before she kills herself and her horse. She seems to have gotten the idea that if she doesn't catch every single stray, you'll leave her at home the next time we move cattle."

"Pete is right Kitten. You don't have to catch every single stray. If you don't take it easy, you will injure or kill your horse and yourself and nobody wants that to happen. You are part of the family and I won't leave you at home the next time if you don't catch every single animal that runs off. I don't expect anyone except Pete to be perfect and that's only because he's been telling me for more than fifteen years that he is."

"Look at it this way Cat," added Adam. "We are moving one thousand head of cattle today. If five out of every one hundred cattle run off, that's fifty head that need to be brought back to the herd. Pa and Pete are right. Even Sport and I can't catch that many strays, nobody can. If you try and catch every stray, you and your horse will be exhausted or worse. Look at how hard he's breathing and you look parched. When was the last time you had anything to drink?"

"Just before we left the house."

"No Cat," said Ben. "You can't deny yourself water just because a steer runs off. I want to see you take a long drink out of your canteen right now or I'll send you back to the house with a note for Hop Sing to find something to keep you busy." Cat took a long drink & Ben took her to Joe. "Do not let your sister go chasing any strays until Beauty has cooled down. Somehow she got the notion that if she didn't catch every animal that strayed, I'd make her stay home the next time we move a herd." At Joe's look, he added, "I know you didn't tell her that. I seem to remember another nine year old who had that same idea not too many years ago. Maybe the two of you are so much alike because she was born on your birthday and you got to hold her even before Michael did. Anyway, I don't want her or Beauty getting hurt any more than I wanted you and Windy to get hurt when you were nine so please keep her with you until you are certain Beauty is completely cool." Once Joe was positive that Cat's horse was completely cool, he dismounted and had Cat do the same thing. He pulled her hat off her head, filled it with water from his canteen and told her to let Beauty drink from it. It took all afternoon but they eventually got the herd moved to its winter pasture. Once the pasture gate was closed all of the men, including Adam, praised Cat for her hard work and they all told her the same thing she had heard from Ben and Pete earlier. A very tired nine year old girl climbed into bed that night, dreading having to wake up early in the morning to do chores before eating breakfast and leaving for school.

Ben attended the Cattlemen's Association meeting on Monday and told everyone about Frank being fired and why. Besides telling them about his threats toward Cat, he also told them that the man was lazy and would only work when he was being supervised. He said that he had planned to let him go right after the cattle were moved to winter pastures but things had come to a head on Saturday when Hoss heard him threatening Cat. All of the men who attended the meeting said that if Frank came to them for a job, they would send him packing.

The school board met on Wednesday and Reverend Long told them that he had been working with Annabel and about the essay he had assigned her. He told them that he was pleased with the progress she was making on the essay and believed that she was sincere in her desire to change. Since Cat was the one Annabel had injured and tried to kill, Mr. Miller asked Ben for his opinion. "I am happy that Reverend Long is working with Annabel and I trust him when he says that she sincerely seems to want to change. Annabel is a young child who needs to be in school, so I think she should be allowed to return to school and if necessary, we can review any further behavior problems and modify whatever decision we make today." The board discussed the matter further and eventually decided to allow Annabel to return to school the following Monday with the understanding that any more attempts to injure or kill another child would result in her being excluded from school until the fall term and having to repeat the sixth grade. After the meeting ended, Mr. Miller walked over to the White's house and told them what the school board had decided.

The school week passed slowly for Cat who kept trying to think of ways to get Ben to allow her to drop out. She did not like having two armed men accompany her and Mike to and from school but Ben said it would continue until he was positive that Frank would not attempt to harm her. The only time she did not complain was on the day Joshua and Thaddeus rode with them because they acted like they were just going into town and had met up with the children on the road. When Thaddeus teased the pair about having to go to school, his brother reminded him that he was only seventeen and that Ben would not object if Joshua wanted to use his privilege as Thaddeus' older brother and make him finish school. Both Cat and Mike laughed at the thought of Thaddeus having to go to school with them.

By the time supper was served on Friday night, Adam was tired of having to work for Pete. He was tired of being told what to do, having his every move questioned, and being treated like a green hand. He talked to his father about it after everyone else had gone to bed and was told he would be spending at least one more week working for Pete. He wasn't happy and let his father know about it.

"It's your own fault son. You need to learn how you are making your sister feel. If you continue treating her like you have been, we are going to wake up one morning and find her gone. I don't know how you feel about that but I can assure you that your brothers and I do not want that to happen."

On Saturday, they had one last picnic at Lake Tahoe before the cold weather set in. All of Cat's friends and their families, as well as Joshua and Thaddeus attended and Cat even convinced Hop Sing to join them. The women brought food and sweet cider for dinner so that Hop Sing would not be overwhelmed cooking for what amounted to a small army. They fished, swam and enjoyed a lakeside fish fry for supper. At one point, Cat decided to see how far she could push Adam without getting into trouble. She swam out to the end of the tree, grabbed hold of it and stuck one foot out past it. Knowing what she was up to, Adam pretended not to notice, snuck up behind her and dunked her. Then he stuck her under one arm and swam toward Hoss. "Hey Hoss, I caught a big piece of bait. What do you think we can catch with it?"

"Well now, I don't rightly know. Ifn we had a boat and could go out toward the middle of the lake, we might could catch a whale. But since there ain't no whales this close to shore, ya better let it go before it spoils." After Cat swam off to join her friends, Hoss asked, "What was she doin?" Adam told him and he laughed. "Sometimes that little gal is just too much like little brother for her own good. It don't seem like it's been all that many years since he did the same thing. Are ya planning on tellin' Pa?"

"No. I know exactly what she was doing. She was testing me to see what I would do so I pretended to ignore her. Then I swam up behind her and dunked her good and hard before bringing her to you."

Hoss laughed. "I wonder what her youngin's will be like when she's all growed up."

"I don't know, but if they're anything like her and Joe, I'm going to run away from home."

"If little sister's youngin's are anything like her and Joe, I may join you." The brothers enjoyed a good laugh and then swam off to join the rest of the crowd.

Later that night, Adam told Ben about Cat testing him and what he did about it. "Why didn't you bring her to me son?" asked Ben.

"Because she never went past the tree. She just held onto it and put one foot out past it. She was testing me to see what I would do so I pretended to ignore her then snuck up behind her and dunked her hard. I don't think she'll try that again for a while. By the way, I thought you'd like to know that Hoss and I decided that if Cat's children are anything like her and Joe, we're going to run away from home."

Ben laughed long and hard at the thought of his two grown sons running away from home if their sister's children were anything like her and their younger brother.

The Cartwrights moved another herd to winter pasture on Sunday and once again, Cat spent the afternoon chasing strays. Before leaving the house, Ben reminded Cat that she did not have to catch every stray and she was not to push herself and her horse to the point of exhaustion as she had done the previous week. Her brothers and all of the hands kept an eye on her so she wouldn't be as foolish as she had been last week.

That Friday was Halloween and during the week, Cat listened to her friends and classmates talk about the pranks they were going to pull on Halloween night. She kept hoping someone would give her an idea of what she could do without getting into trouble, but most of the pranks the older children had planned were sure to earn her a spanking if she tried any of them. After school on Thursday, Miss Winter found Cat sitting dejectedly on the steps, waiting for Mike to saddle their horses. "What's wrong Cat? Why are you sitting there looking so sad?"

"Tomorrow is Halloween and I don't know what to do. All of the pranks some of the others are going to do will get me a spanking. We're moving cattle to winter pastures on Saturday and I don't want to spend the day in the saddle with a sore bottom."

"I understand. I had the same problem when I was your age. All of the pranks the older children talked about doing would have earned me a spanking too. I have an idea of something you can do that won't get you into trouble. Your name is Cat. Can you be very quiet and sneaky like a cat?"

"Yes. I used to sneak out of the little room Uncle Matt and I slept in after he went to bed and he never knew and I sneak out of the house a lot at night to use the outhouse and look for baby raccoons. Unless my puppies have to go outside too, I usually climb down the tree by my window."

Susan smiled at Cat's description of her late night antics. "Good. This one time I'm glad you can be very quiet and sneaky. Here's what you can do." She sat next to Cat and whispered something to her.

Cat's smile got bigger and bigger. She hugged Susan and said, "I can do that. Thank you."

"You're welcome. You can tell me how it went when we see each other at church on Sunday."

The next day, many of the students, especially the older boys kept whispering to each other about the pranks they planned to pull that night. Finally Miss Winter rapped her ruler on her desk and said, "That will be enough whispering to each other in class. You have a choice. Either you can stop whispering and pay attention to the lessons or I can send notes home to your parents. I know that I don't have to remind you what their reaction to the notes will be. I know that some of you are just thinking that you'll throw the notes in the stove, but you need to remember that I will be seeing your parents in church on Sunday and will ask them if you gave them the notes. You are in school to learn, not to whisper about what you plan to do on Halloween night. So, which is it going to be, notes home or pay attention to the lessons?" The classroom became silent and Miss Winter said, "Excellent. I am very happy that you made the right choice. Now I want my seventh grade reading class to read for me. Michael Richards, will you please begin?"

Before meeting up with Adam and Hoss, Mike asked Cat what she planned to do that night. "If I tell you, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, even Mitch. I don't want my surprise to be spoiled."

"I promise. I won't even tell that new stallion of Pa's that you like so much. You and me and our horses will be the only ones to know." Cat told Mike what Susan Winter had suggested. "Say, that's really good. I hope it works. I wish I could be there tomorrow morning to see everyone's expression when they find out what you did. There's Adam and Hoss. We'd better not say any more. I know how nosey Adam is and if he finds out what you're gonna do, he'll tell your Pa and then you won't be able to do it."

When they met up with Adam and Hoss, Cat said, "You don't have to ride with me. I'm not a baby and don't need anyone riding with me."

"Sorry sis," said Adam. "Pa's orders. Until we are positive that Frank is not going to do anything to you, you are to have two armed men riding with you to and from school."

"I can take care of myself. All I need are my bow and arrows and my puppies. And I've got Mike. He'll help protect me. I don't need grownups with guns. What if the other kids at school saw two grownups riding with me? They'd think I was a baby and wouldn't stop teasing me. I'm almost ten and that's almost grown up."

"I tell ya what little sister," said Hoss. "When we get home, why don't ya tell Pa what ya just told me and Adam and see what he says?"

"I'm gonna do just that. You wait and see. He'll agree with me. I don't need grownups with guns. I hate guns."

The two brothers just smiled and gave each other knowing looks. They knew full well that their nine year old sister was going to be allowed to ride to and from town without an armed escort until their father was sure she wasn't in any danger. Mike was pretty sure of the same thing but didn't say anything to his friend.

After doing her chores and homework, Cat decided to tell Ben that she didn't need anyone riding with her to and from school. So when the family sat down for supper, she said, "Pa, I don't need anybody to ride to school and back home with me. I'm almost ten and that's almost grown up. I'm not a baby and don't need two people making sure I go to school." Her brothers and Hop Sing just looked at each other. They knew where the discussion was going and how it would end.

"We had this discussion two weeks ago. The men are riding with you to protect you, not to make sure you go to school."

"I can take care of myself. I've been doing it since I was little. All I need is my puppies and my bow and arrows. Lassie and Silver Chief won't let anyone hurt me and if someone tries, I'll shoot them with an arrow."

"First of all, you are not almost grown up. You won't even be nine and a half for another week and a half. Second, a pair of six month old puppies will not be able to protect you from a grown man and third, you will not be taking your bow and arrows to school. You cannot have any weapons in the school."

"But they wouldn't be in the school. I'd put them in the shed. What if the other kids find out I have to have two men taking me to school? The older kids would tease me and I would have to kill one of them. Nobody teases or laughs at me and gets away with it."

"The matter is not up for discussion and I don't want to hear any more nonsense from you about killing somebody who laughs at you."

"If Robert Tanner hadn't pulled me off Mark Hansen the day he laughed at me and threw his arithmetic book at me, I would have killed him. I wanted to and I was mad at Robert for stopping me."

" **Catherine Michael**! I said the matter was not up for discussion. You **_will_** have two armed men riding to and from school with you until I am positive the hand Hoss fired is not going to harm you. I told you once before and I am telling you again, if you start a fight with anyone because they teased or laughed at you, I guarantee that you **_will not_** like the consequences. Now enough of this talk. Eat your supper. I want you in bed on time tonight. We're going to be moving cattle all day tomorrow and I do not want you falling out of the saddle because you're tired."

Cat started to continue arguing but Joe put a hand on her arm and shook his head 'no'. He knew what would happen if she continued to argue with their father. After supper, he picked her up and carried her outside, followed by Adam and Hoss. Ben knew what his sons were doing and was happy to see them united to help keep their sister out of trouble. "What were you thinking? Do you have a death wish?" Asked Joe angrily. "Do you have any idea about what would have happened if you would have continued arguing with Pa?" When Cat shook her head, he said, "You would have ended up going to bed with a very sore bottom."

"Also," added Adam. "You most likely would have spent tomorrow and Sunday in your bedroom instead of helping us move cattle. Or you might have spent the weekend confined to the yard with extra chores. Either way, you would be here instead of out helping us."

"Think about it Punkin," said Hoss. "The three of us learned from experience. When Pa says stop, he means stop. Ifn ya hadn't stopped when Joe said to, Pa probably woulda halled ya out to the barn right then and there and ya would have had ta finish yore supper not bein' able to sit too comfortable. We're tryin' ta keep ya from makin' the same mistakes we made. Next time, we might not be around ta help ya."

"Pay attention to what Hoss is saying," said Joe. "I can tell you from experience that the next time Pa says that's enough and you keep on, that spanking you got for running in the house, causing Pa to spill hot coffee all over himself, will feel like he hit you with a feather compared to what you will get. Even sitting on your bed will hurt. Trust me, I've experienced Pa's anger many times. Even though I'm nineteen now, Pa will still tan my hide for arguing with him or not doing what I've been told to do. Now I suggest that you go back in there and apologize to Pa for arguing with him."

"But what if…"

"He spanks you?" finished Adam. "That's not going to happen this time for two reasons. First, you didn't know the rule about not arguing with Pa and second, because you stopped when Joe told you to. Now go and apologize like Joe said to."

Cat hesitated so Hoss gave her a gentle push and said, "Go on Punkin. It's the right thing to do and ya know it. Ya keep sayin' yore not a baby any more so go and apologize to Pa. Adam already done told ya that Pa ain't gonna spank ya so ya got no reason to be afraid to go in and apologize."

Cat reluctantly walked into the house where Ben was sitting in his chair in the great room reading a book. "I'm sorry I argued with you Pa, it's just that…"

Ben put his book down and pulled her into his lap. "I know Kitten. You don't like having two adults ride to and from school with you. I understand, however, I made that rule for a good reason. Do you think I make rules for my children just to annoy them?"

"Yes. All grownups do."

Ben tickled her. "You little scamp! I _do not_ make rules just to annoy my children. I make them based on what I think is best for them. In this case, threats were made against you and I think it's best that two armed men escort you to and from school until I am certain you will not be harmed. Even if you had your bow and arrows with you, Frank could kill you before you got an arrow out of the quiver. Your puppies are only six months old and are not big or strong enough to protect you. Frank could easily kill them before he killed you and he could kill Michael too, just to keep him from testifying at the trial. Now you have time for a couple games of checkers with Hoss and Joe before bed. I suggest you go and play them before I change my mind and make you clean the barn and chicken coop before bed." He hugged her and held her on his lap when she tried to get off. "I thought you were going to play checkers with your brothers," he teased. "You must really want to clean the barn and chicken coop before bed."

Cat caught Joe trying to cheat, as he had many times in the past when playing against his brothers, while they were playing checkers and became upset with him. "You're cheating! That's not fair! Lassie, Chief, Joe is being mean to me. Make him stop."

Joe found himself under attack by a pair of six month old bundles of fur with fangs. They started nipping at and chewing on him. "OWWWWW! STOP! That hurts! Cat, Adam, Hoss, Pa, make them stop!"

The rest of the family just laughed at Joe's misery. "That's what ya get for cheatin' little brother," laughed Hoss. "I don't know why ya thought little sister would let ya get away with it. Ya deserve everythin' yore getting'."

"Hoss is right," added Adam. "You always try and cheat when you're playing checkers, so it's about time you learned not to. Hoss and I never let you get away with it so I don't know why you thought Cat would."

Knowing they weren't hurting him, Ben allowed Cat's puppies to chew on Joe for a few minutes. Then he finally said, "Alright Cat. Call off your puppies. I think that Joseph has finally learned his lesson about cheating. Adam, Hoss, and I have tried to teach him that lesson many times but it seems that we didn't put enough teeth into the lesson and your puppies have. So it's time to stop them now." Cat called her puppies off Joe and Ben said, "Well Joseph, do you have something you would like to say to your sister?"

Looking at Joe, Adam and Hoss were reminded of several occasions when he had been caught stealing cookies out of the kitchen when he was a boy. "I'm sorry I cheated Cat. I promise I won't do it again. Your puppies' teeth and claws hurt. Will you please forgive me?"

Cat pretended to think about it for a minute and said, "I forgive you Joe but if you ever do it again, I'm gonna get real mad at you and might not call my puppies off when Pa says to."

"Ya know Adam," said Hoss. "It's too bad we didn't know when Joe was little all we needed was some puppies ta get him ta quit cheatin'. We coulda saved ourselves the trouble of finding a little sister to set him right and just got us some puppies instead."

"You might be right," laughed Adam. "We'll never know. Anyway, now we have both a little sister and some puppies."

"It wouldn't have worked," said Cat. "Mary Tanner told me that little sisters have magical powers to make big brothers do things and she's right. John and Robert do anything their sisters ask them to do."

Before her brothers could reply to Cat, Ben said, "Cat, it's time for bed. Why don't you see if you can use those magical powers to get yourself to the outhouse and your puppies outside one more time?"

Cat just sighed and called her puppies. "Come on you two. I have to use the outhouse and you need to go out one more time. Then we have to go to bed. It's too bad that little sister magical powers don't work on parents."

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 **a/n:** I want to thank Jasper's Mom for the idea of having Adam treated like a green hand so he would know what he was making his sister feel like.


	81. Chapter 81

**a/n:** To Freewrite 8, Thank you for your comments. As Cat becomes more comfortable being part of a family, she will begin to test the rules even more.

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Knowing it would be at several hours before the rest of the family went to bed and tomorrow would be a very busy day, Cat decided to get some sleep before pulling her Halloween pranks. Three hours later, she got out of bed, left her puppies behind and put her plan into action. She crept down the hall and listened at Hoss' door. Hearing him snore, she quietly opened the door a little bit, crawled in, got his boots and crawled back out. She closed the door and moved to Adam's room. Joe had told her that Adam liked to stay up late reading and that he was a light sleeper. She opened his door ever so slightly and seeing no light, crawled in and took his boots. She repeated her actions at Joe and Ben's room also. Then she took one of Hoss' and one of Joe's boots, went downstairs and into the kitchen. Hoping that Hop Sing was a sound sleeper, she crawled into his room, took his shoes and Taqiyah, left the boots behind and went back into the great room. She put the Taqiyah on the armoire and went back upstairs with Hop Sing's shoes. Cat sat in the hallway for a few minutes, trying to decide how to divide up the rest of the boots and Hop Sing's shoes. Once she made up her mind, she put the next part of her plan into action. When she was finished, Ben had one each of Joe's and Adam's boots. Hoss had one of Hop Sing's shoes and Joe's other boot. Adam got Hoss's other boot and Hop Sing's other shoe while Joe got Adam's and Ben's remaining boots.

Once all of the boots and Hop Sing's shoes had been distributed, Cat crept downstairs, took all of the hats and Hop Sing's Taqiyah and went out to the barn. The moon was full so she stayed in the shadows as much as possible and entered by the back door, leaving it open so the moonlight would illuminate the inside of the barn. She started putting hats on horse's heads and when she was finished, five of the horses were wearing hats. When she got back to the house, Cat decided to get an early start on her morning chores. It was too early to gather the eggs but she could fill the kitchen wood box. She relocked the front door, unlocked the kitchen door, filled the wood box as quietly as possible so as not to wake Hop Sing, relocked the door, and went back to bed, relieved at having been able to accomplish her task without getting caught. She fell asleep wondering how her family would react to her pranks. Cat was positive that Hoss and Joe would find them funny and was pretty sure Hop Sing would too. She was certain that Adam would be furious but was unsure as to how Ben would react. She woke up before dawn, crept downstairs and into the kitchen where she grabbed the egg basket. Then she went out to the barn and gave Beauty, Lady, and Fury their grain, gathered the eggs and went back to bed.

When the family woke up and discovered that the boots had been switched around, everyone but Adam was amused. He started grumbling about how Cat's prank was a total waste of time and she should be punished for being out of bed, sneaking around the house when she should be sleeping. Ben decided to put an end to his eldest son's complaining. "Get the items you received and come downstairs." Once everybody was downstairs, he scolded his son. "Stop being such a stick-in-the-mud Adam. Yesterday was Halloween and your sister's prank was harmless. It will only take a matter of minutes to return everyone's boots and shoes to them. You are not perfect even though you would like your brothers and sister to believe you are."

"Yeah," said Hoss. "Joe ain't old enough but I remember some Halloween pranks that ya pulled. You and the Bonner brothers got into a whole heap of trouble when you was thirteen. I seem to remember that ya got at least two whippings after you and them run at least ten pounds off'n two herds of cattle."

"How come I didn't know about that when it happened?" asked Joe.

"Because you was only one Short Shanks and ya wouldn't have understood what was happenin'."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't do anything like that now," replied Adam.

"Of course you wouldn't," said Ben. "You are an adult and know better. However, you knew better when you were thirteen but you let your friends influence you and you did something very foolish and suffered the consequences. Switching everybody's boots around was harmless. It took us all of about two minutes to reclaim our footwear from each other and nobody was hurt and no property was damaged. However, your sister should be down here by now. Joseph, please go and wake your sister up. If she can wake up in the middle of the night to switch everybody's footwear around, she can get up and do her chores."

"Missy Cat choles already done," said Hop Sing. "Eggs and wood aleady in kitchen. Coffee be leady soon."

Ben was surprised. "That's excellent. Joe, please go and see if she did her barn chores."

Joe walked out to the barn, looked at the horses and started laughing. He walked back to the house, opened the door and called, "Hey Pa, Hoss, Hop Sing, Adam, come out here. You need to see this." Everyone joined Joe at the barn and even Adam started laughing at what they saw. Chub was wearing Hop Sing's Taqiyah, Beauty was wearing Joe's hat, Buck was wearing Adam's hat, Cochise was wearing Ben's hat and Sport was wearing Hoss' hat.

"Missy Cat vely funny," laughed Hop Sing. "Make Hop Sing laugh. Ha Ha. Veeeely funny. Hop Sing make flapjacks and bacon for Missy Cat bleakfast. She too funny. I no laugh like this since Little Joe was little boy. Miss having little child to make me laugh. Missy Cat good for that."

"She's already given Beauty, Fury and Lady their grain so all she has left to do is muck out Beauty's stall," said Joe. "I'll do that for her today. The fact that she was able to do what she did without even waking up older brother here, who says a pin dropping on carpet would wake him up, needs to be rewarded."

"Yore right little brother," laughed Hoss. "That little gal shore lived up to her name last night. Only a cat or a snake coulda snuck inta everyone's room and taken their boots and shoes without wakin' anyone up. I'll brush and saddle Beauty for her afore we ride out to move that herd an' the three of us can do her chores tonight."

Cat came downstairs shortly before breakfast, looking worse for the wear. Her shirt and pants were on backwards and her moccasins were on the wrong feet. The family looked at her and started laughing. "You know little sister," teased Adam. "If you wouldn't spend all night drinking and gambling in the saloon, you wouldn't have your clothes on backwards."

"But it was fun. I think I drank about fifty gallons of beer and I won a hundred million dollars playing poker. I even got into a big fight & beat ten guys that were all bigger than Hoss."

"That was quite a night," said Ben, picking her up and hugging her. "What did you do with all of your winnings?"

"I wanted to get some candy and peanuts but the store was closed so I gave my money to Uncle Roy to hold for me."

"Well, I'm glad the store was closed. If you had spent that much money on candy and peanuts, you would have a very sick stomach. Then Paul Martin would have to give you some nasty tasting medicine to make it feel better. Breakfast is almost ready. Why don't you use the outhouse and put your shirt and moccasins on the right way?"

"I still have to muck out Beauty's stall. I was too tired to do it earlier."

"Don't worry about it Squirt," said Joe. "I did it for you. Those pranks you pulled last night sure were funny. I didn't think anyone could ever get in and out of Adam's room without him knowing about it. I tried lots of times when I was little and he always caught me. Now go use the outhouse and put your clothes on right before your puppies start laughing at you."

Cat hugged Joe. "Gee thanks Joe. That was nice of you to do that for me."

Joe hugged her back. "You're welcome Cat. Now you need to go, use the outhouse because I promise that if you wet your pants, everyone here will laugh at you and I will go out to the bunkhouse and tell all of the hands so they can laugh at you too."

When Cat came back inside, Hoss picked her up, hugged her and said, "Them Halloween pranks ya pulled last night shore were something'. How did ya manage ta get into Adam's room without wakin' him up? He's been tellin' me and Joe for years that a pin droppin' on carpet would wake him up but ya got into his room, swiped his boots and left two others in their place without wakin' him up? How did ya manage that? Even Little Joe couldn't do that when he was little."

"It was easy. I'm a cat and cats can do things nobody else can do."

Just then, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen carrying a platter full of flapjacks. He set them down on the table and said, "Bleakfast leady. Everybody sit down at table." Then he took Cat from Hoss, hugged her and said, "Missy Cat vely funny. Make Hop Sing laugh. I no laugh so hard since Little Joe was little boy. Make you favorite, flapjacks, eggs, and bacon for bleakfast."

Cat hugged Hop Sing back. "Gee thanks Hop Sing. I love your flapjacks, eggs, and bacon."

While everyone was eating, Ben said, "Catherine, we're moving more cattle today. You may wear your buckskins, although I would prefer that you wear your dungarees. In fact, I think I'll buy more dungarees for you. They are much more suited to ranch work than buckskins are. I do want you to wear your boots. They'll be more protection for your feet if you should get stepped on by a horse or steer. I also want to remind you that I do not expect you to catch every single stray. That is a task that is impossible for a single person to do. I do not expect you to be perfect, any more than I expect anyone else to be perfect. You'll be riding with Joe again today and you are to listen to what he says."

"Alright Pa but I wish I could wear my moccasins."

"I understand Kitten but this is important for your safety." Seeing the confused look on Cat's face, he said, "After breakfast, get your boots and I'll show you what I'm talking about." After breakfast, Cat got her boots and brought them downstairs. "Bring your boots and let's take a walk out to the barn so I can show you why I want you to wear your boots instead of your moccasins." Cat's brothers were concerned about what was going to happen to their sister so they followed her and their father out to the barn. Ben looked at his sons, knew they were concerned about Cat, pretended to growl at them, and asked, "Well, what are the three of you doing out here? We're leaving shortly to move more cattle. Surely there is something constructive you can be doing right now. Don't worry about your sister. I'm not going to eat her. I just finished a large breakfast and do not have room for a nine year old right now. Besides that, she's too tough. It would take me all day just to eat a few bites." Cat giggled at the thought of her father trying to eat her for a meal. He walked Cat over near a bale of hay and said, "Stand right here for a minute." Ben picked up the hay bale and gently put it down on top of Cat's feet. "That hay bale weighs around fifty pounds. Do you feel how heavy it is? Hold still. I'm going to add another one. Now you have one hundred pounds of weight on your feet. That's not too comfortable, it is?"

"No. It hurts."

"I understand. While you're standing there for a minute, think about this. A steer weighs one thousand pounds. That's ten times the weight you have on your feet right now. Close your eyes for a minute and imagine how you would feel with that much weight on one of your feet. Now, I'm going to take the hay off your feet and then I want you to put your boots on." After Cat put her boots on, he put the hay bales back on top of her feet. "You have the same amount of weight on your feet as you did a few minutes ago. Is there any difference in what you are feeling?"

"Yes. The hay doesn't hurt as much this time."

"That's good. Now do you understand why I want you to wear your boots when you're doing ranch work? The chances of being stepped on by any cattle or horses are small, but having your boots on could mean the difference between having a foot broken or just badly bruised if you do get stepped on. Now put your moccasins in your room and because we're going to be gone until almost supper time, I want to see three canteens full of water on your saddle and I want to see you drinking throughout the day. You'll also be able to give Beauty a drink when he needs one."

Cat got three canteens out of the tack room, put her moccasins away and then tried filling the canteens from the pump by the trough. Once again, she discovered that her arms were too short to pump the water and fill the canteens at the same time. Thaddeus walked out of the barn leading his horse, saw Cat struggling to fill her canteens and said, "Hi Cat. Would you like some help?"

"Yes please. I can't pump the water and fill the canteens too."

"I understand. Why don't you pump the water and I'll fill your canteens and mine too?"

"Sure. Thanks for the help."

They spent the day moving cattle to winter pastures and everyone kept an eye on Cat to make sure she wasn't pushing herself and her horse too hard. They moved the last of the cattle after church on Sunday. Since it was a small herd, it only took a few hours. Cat spent the rest of the day playing with her toys, swing, Fury, and her puppies. Forgetting that Ben was at his desk, working on the books, she ran through the house to get something from her bedroom. He looked up from his work to see his daughter running through the house, and said sternly, " **Catherine Michael! What have you been told about running in the house?** "

"It's ok because I'm in a hurry," she replied hopefully.

" ** _Catherine!_** "

Cat sighed. "I'm not supposed to."

"Why not?"

"'Cause somebody could get hurt or killed."

"Exactly. How many times have you been told not to run indoors?"

"Lots."

"Yes, lots. I know that Matt has told you about it many times, as have I. The last time we had this discussion, you were told what your punishment would be the next time it happened. Go stand in the corner. You have one hour. Now go."

"Standing in the corner is for babies! I'm not a baby any more!"

"Would you like to continue this discussion in the barn? When we're finished out there, you can stand in the corner for two hours and have an early bed time tonight along with the rest of your punishment for running in the house."

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"Good. Now do as you were told and stand in the corner." Cat let out a loud sigh and received a very firm swat as she walked past Ben. "Watch your attitude young lady or we will be having that discussion in the barn."

"I can't wait until I'm ten and take Uncle Sam's job. Then nobody can tell me what to do."

"Since Hop sing is the only one at home, I think we'll continue this discussion in your bedroom. Go upstairs and wait for me!"

Ben walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee so he could calm down before dealing with Cat He told Hop Sing about her running in the house and her attitude.

"Missy Cat tired. She not used to being up late and in saddle all day. Maybe go to bed early tonight. She feel better in morning."

"She'll feel better until I remind her that she'll be riding to school double with me as part of her punishment for running in the house."

"No make Missy Cat lide double to school. She get embarrassed, get into fight and get hult. Find diffelent way to punish for lunning in house."

"I'm sorry Hop Sing but Cat's punishment for running in the house is to stand in the corner for an hour and to ride double with someone the next day. Thanks for the coffee. I have to go and deal with my daughter's attitude."

"Missy Cat tired. No be too hald on her."

"I won't be too hard on her but she still needs to learn that being tired is not an excuse for a bad attitude and talking back." He walked upstairs to Cat's bedroom, sat down on the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled her in front of him. "Why are we up here?"

"'Cause I didn't listen to you and talked back."

"That's right. Do Matt and Rip allow you to disobey their instructions and talk back to them?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"Should I need to remind you how to talk to me and other adults?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir."

"That's right. Matt and Rip do not allow you to disobey and talk back to them. You are nine years old now and should not have to remind you how to talk to me and other adults. I realize you have had two very busy days and are tired but that does not excuse disobedience and disrespect." He pulled Cat over his knees and delivered a strong smack to her bottom. She kicked and struggled to get free but he held her down and delivered an additional four hard smacks. When he was finished, he held her close and hugged her as her silent tears soaked his shirt. He told her that he loved her and that she was forgiven. Then he said, "I know you don't believe it, but I let you off easy this time because I know you are tired. I won't be so easy on you the next time. You have an early bedtime tonight as part of your punishment for disobeying and talking back. Now go downstairs and stand in the corner like I told you to." Cat did as she was told and started rubbing her bottom. Ben saw her and said, "No rubbing. Hands down at your side."

"But it hurts."

"It's supposed to. Now stop rubbing before I make it hurt more."

"That's not fair. You hit harder than Uncle Matt."

Ben fought the urge to laugh. "Remember that and maybe you'll think twice before misbehaving again. Now face the corner and no rubbing. You have one hour."

Joe came home a little while later, saw Cat standing in the corner and decided to ask Hop Sing what she had done. "Missy Cat lun in house, algue and talk back to father."

Joe let out a low whistle. "Poor kid. She won't want to sit down for several days."

"Missy Cat tired. Fathel be easy on her. Hop Sing listen at bottom of stairs. She only get five smacks on seat of pants. I put cushion on her chail at suppel. If fathel yell at Hop Sing, I thleaten go back to China and take Missy Cat. Fathel quit yelling then. He no want to lose good cook. Hoss get vely upset if that happen."

Joe laughed. "You're right about that. Hoss would definitely get very angry if you left and took Cat with you. How much longer does she have to stand in the corner, or do you know?"

"Hop Sing know evelything in this house! Missy Cat still have thirty minutes. She also have early bedtime and ride to school double with fathel tomorrow. Blothers come. Go tell them so they no ask fathel what Missy Cat do."

"Why does she have to ride double with Pa tomorrow?"

"Punishment for lunning in house."

"I've got to talk to Adam and Hoss. The three of us and you need to try and talk Pa out of it. He has no idea what will happen if he forces her to ride double with him tomorrow. Some of the older boys at school are real bullies and will force Cat to do something that will get her into a lot of trouble." He walked to the barn to talk with his brothers. He told them about the trouble Cat had gotten into and how their father was going to make her ride double to school with him the next morning.

"He can't do that," said Adam. "It will embarrass her and if one of those boys you talked about does get her into serious trouble, Cat will have a good reason for going back to Matt. He and Rip won't let her stay here if that happens."

"We gotta talk some sense into Pa," added Hoss. "I know that's what we decided on but none of us thought Pa would do somethin' that would embarrass little sister and could get her into a whole heap of trouble."

"Hop Sing said he already tried but Pa is dead set on making her ride double with him even if it embarrasses her and she gets into a fight," said Joe. "I don't know how we're going to do it but the three of us and Hop Sing need to talk to Pa after Cat goes to bed and try to get him to change his mind. I'm afraid of what will happen to her if he goes through with his plan."

Hop Sing put a cushion on Cat's chair before supper and glared at Ben when he started to say something. "Hop Sing put cushion on Missy Cat chair. You say take it off, I go back to China and take Missy Cat too!"

After supper, Ben allowed Cat to play one game of checkers each with Hoss and Joe before telling her it was time for bed. Even though she was tired, Cat did not want to go to bed early and started to argue with him. Joe picked her up, put her over his shoulder and said, "Come on Squirt. Let's get you to the outhouse and then up to bed. King Arthur is waiting for us to read another chapter." Once they were outside, he gently scolded his sister and said, "Cat, unless you have a very good reason to, do not argue with Pa when he tells you to do something. Arguing about an early bed time is not a good reason. There is never a good reason for talking back. You found out earlier what happens when you argue with him and talk back. You got off easy because you were tired. You may not be that lucky next time. Believe me, five on the seat of your pants is a whole lot easier than ten on your bare bottom and that's what almost happened just now. I can guarantee that if you keep talking back to Pa, you're going to end up feeling his belt on your bare bottom. He doesn't hold with talking back for any reason. I know that you've had several very busy days and you're tired, but you have to think before you speak. How does your bottom feel?"

"It still hurts."

"I hope you remember how bad it hurt for a long time. Then maybe you'll think about what happened before you argue with Pa or talk back to him again. I have been in your shoes more times than I care to remember and I'm trying to keep you from making the same mistakes I did. Having a sore bottom and being restricted to the yard with extra chores while your friends are out having a good time is no fun at all. I've lost track of the number of times Mitch rode over here to see if I could go fishing or frogging and Pa told him I was restricted to the yard. Watching your best friend ride off with a fishing pole in his hands, knowing you couldn't go with him hurts just as bad as a spanking does. I'm telling you this for your own good. The only time you will ever get away with arguing and talking back is if you are sick. Pa may or may not go easy on you if you're tired but you will still be punished, so think before you open your mouth to argue or talk back."

"Ok Joe. I'll try."

Joe sighed. "You are too much like me for your own good little sister. You have to do better than just try or one of these days, you're going to end up with a bottom that hurts a lot worse than it did earlier. Now use the outhouse so I can get you upstairs before Pa gets angry at both of us for taking too long." He carried Cat back into the house where she was hugged goodnight by Adam and Hoss. Then he carried her up to her bedroom and said he'd be back up in a little while to read with her. After they read a chapter in King Arthur, Joe turned Cat's lamp down and said, "Goodnight little sister. Pa will be up to say goodnight and tuck you in."

"No he won't. Pa hates me."

Joe was shocked at Cat's words. "What makes you say that? Pa doesn't hate you. He loves you very much."

"No he doesn't. If he did, he wouldn't have hit me so hard. Uncle Matt never did. Besides that, the kids at school say that grownups never love kids they adopted. They say grownups only adopt kids 'cause they feel sorry for them."

Joe sat down on Cat's bed and hugged her. "The kids at school couldn't be more wrong. Pa loves you very much and always has. Remember, you were born right here in this very bed. He hits hard because he feels that a spanking doesn't do any good unless it hurts for a long time. Also his hands are a lot harder than Matt's due to the fact that he built this ranch and raised three sons practically by himself. Like I said earlier, you got off easy today. There have been many nights when I got a spanking long before supper and my bottom was still hurting when I went to bed. I want you to be able to have fun with your friends instead of being restricted to the yard with extra chores. Pa does love you Cat. That's why he adopted you. Remember, he could have left you in Dodge but instead he brought you here and made you a permanent part of our family. If that isn't love, I don't know what is. Think about what I said little sister and you'll see that I'm right."

Once Cat was asleep, Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Hop Sing spent more than an hour trying to get Ben to change his mind about making Cat ride double to school with him in the morning. "Why do you want to embarrass her?" asked Adam. "You never did that to Joe, no matter how much trouble he got into at home or in school. You know how easily her feelings are hurt and Joe told you that she thinks you hate her because you hit her so hard when you spanked her. Imagine what she's going to think in the morning when you tell her that even though she was punished today, you are going to embarrass her at school."

"Do you remember what happened to Jeff Michaels near the end of the last school term?" asked Joe." He was almost killed when he was thrown from a horse. I found out what happened from some of the boys who were a year behind me. Billy Davis and Tommy Roberts are best friends and big trouble. They rarely go to school but when they do, all they do is cause trouble. Miss Jones always used to send notes home with them but they'd bring the notes back, signed by their fathers and never got in any trouble for what they did. Billy tore up Jeff's homework one day, John Winter saw him and told his father. Mr. Davis gave Billy a whipping and Billy and Tommy thought that Jeff had told Mr. Davis what Billy had done. The next day, Tommy put several burrs under Billy's saddle, picked Jeff up and sat him down hard. Jeff was only six and couldn't handle a bucking horse. He was thrown and when he landed, he hit his head on a rock, broke several bones and almost died. Do you want something like that to happen to Cat? If those two are at school tomorrow when you ride in there with Cat on your horse, they will find a way to take advantage of it. If nothing else, they'll tease her unmercifully until she starts a fight."

"If Catherine starts a fight, she will be punished for it," replied Ben. "I did not tolerate you boys starting fights, especially at school and I will not tolerate your sister doing it either."

"I know them two boys Joe is talkin' about," said Hoss. "They're almost sixteen and try to hurt folks just fer fun. Ifn I hadn't been right there Wednesday before last, they would have pushed Mrs. Hansen into the street right in front of the incoming stage. They'll hurt Cat fer shore ifn ya embarrass her like that. Even ifn they don't hurt her, they'll find a way to get her in real big trouble."

Adam saw the determined look on his father's face and spoke up again, "Stop and think Pa. If Cat gets hurt because you embarrassed her, she will have a legitimate excuse to go back to Matt and then to Rip when she's too old to share that little room with Matt. If that happens, we'll lose her forever. Is that what you want to happen?"

"Of course I don't want that to happen but your sister has got to learn that she can't go around starting fights just because someone laughs at or teases her."

"If Missy Cat get hult because you make her lide double with you, I go back to China and take Missy Cat with me!" exclaimed Hop Sing. "You no embalass sons when they little. Why you embalass Missy Cat? That not being good fathel!"

"The four of you need to stop now! My mind is made up. Catherine will ride double to school with me in the morning and I do not want to hear another word about it!"

Knowing what Cat's reaction to riding double with him would be, Ben decided to wait until she was finished with breakfast before telling her. "Don't bother saddling your horse this morning Catherine. You will be riding to school double with me."

"Why?"

"That is the rest of your punishment for running in the house yesterday. If you remember, the last time you were caught doing that, I told you that your punishment would be to stand in the corner for an hour and to ride double with someone the next day."

" **NO!** I ain't riding double with you or anybody else. Ridin' double's for babies and I ain't a baby. I just won't go to school here today or ever again. I'm going back to Uncle Matt. He loves me. See Joe, I told you Pa hates me. The kids at school were right. Grownups only adopt kids 'cause they feel sorry for them, not 'cause they love them. I'm going to pack what I need so I can leave for Dodge right away. I'll send Lady back when Fury doesn't need her any more and I'll send Beauty back when Fury's old enough to ride. You don't love me and I don't want to stay here any more!"

" **Catherine Michael Cartwright! That is enough! You are going to school and you are going to ride double with me, even if you have to ride with a sore bottom! Now get your school things and meet me outside!** " He picked up his hat and gun from the armoire and walked outside.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe whispered together for a minute, then reached into their pockets and pulled out some money. They handed it to Cat and Adam said, "Put this money in the bottom of your saddle bags and don't tell Pa you have it. If anything happens to you at school, take it over to Roy, tell him what happened and why and ask him to send telegrams to Matt and Rip. You were wrong to run in the house yesterday but Pa is wrong too."

Cat hugged her brothers, put the money in the bottom of her saddle bags and walked outside to where Ben was waiting for her. He mounted Buck and pulled Cat up behind him. They rode without saying a word to each other until they met up with Mike Devlin. When Cat told him what happened, he begged, "Please Mr. Cartwright, let Cat ride with me. You don't know what Billy and Tommy will do to her if they see her riding double with you. She can ride double with me and I can tell them that her horse threw a shoe and my Pa didn't have time to fix it."

"Thank you for your offer Michael, but my decision stands. Catherine will ride with me all the way to school. If anyone teases her and she starts a fight, she will be punished for it."

When they reached the school, Tommy and Billy were there, picking on some of the younger children. They saw Cat riding double with Ben and started teasing her. "Look at the widdle itty bitty Cartwright," teased Billy.

"She's just a widdle itty bitty baby who has to ride with her papa because she's too widdle to ride her own horsey," added Tommy.

They kept teasing her and heard Ben remind her that she would be punished if she started a fight. Cat tried to ignore the bigger boys as she walked past them but Billy pushed her toward Tommy who tripped her. Cat exploded like a stick of dynamite. She left her saddle bags lying on the ground and attacked her tormentor with everything she had in her. She went after him with every intention of killing him. Although the boy was bigger and heavier than Cat, she was able to dodge most of his blows. Ben was shocked by the ferociousness of Cat's attack. By the time he and Susan Winter were able to separate the combatants, Tommy had two black eyes, a bloody nose, a cut lip, and a deep cut on his head from where he hit it on a rock when Cat attacked him. Cat only had a black eye and a bloody nose.


	82. Chapter 82

Once they got Cat and Tommy separated, Susan and Ben took them over to Paul Martin's office. Because the two children were still trying to fight each other, Susan held on to Cat while Ben held onto Tommy who tried to get away. Paul and Virginia looked at the two children's injuries and asked what had happened. After listening to Ben's explanation, Paul glared at his friend and said, "We'll talk later Ben. Go and see if you can find Thomas' father while I fix him up and Virginia can take care of Cat. Don't worry, he won't give me a hard time, will you Thomas?"

"No sir."

"You see Ben, Thomas here has felt the sting of my paddle on more than one occasion so he has decided that cooperating with me is the better of the two options."

Ben looked at his bruised and bloody daughter and regretted not listening to his family. They tried to warn him what would happen but he let his pride get in the way and ignored them. He was going to do things his way and nobody could tell him differently. Now Cat was hurt, it was his fault and he didn't know how he was going to make it up to her. He left Paul's office to see if Mr. Roberts was in town. Ben found him at the feed store. "Hello Ben. I didn't expect to see you this soon."

"Hello Ted. I'm glad I found you. I've been looking all over town. Your son and my daughter got into a fight at school. They're both over in Dr. Martin's office right now."

"My son fought with your daughter? Why did he do that? I raised him better than to hit a girl." Ben told Mr. Roberts everything that had happened that morning. "So let me get this straight. My son and William Davis were picking on some of the younger children when you and Catherine arrived at the school. Then they decided to tease her because she had to ride double with you and when she tried to ignore them, William pushed her and Thomas tripped her?"

"I'm sorry to say that is exactly what happened."

"How badly is your daughter hurt?"

"Not as badly as your son. She had a bloody nose and has a black eye."

Mr. Roberts laughed. "I like that little girl. She has a lot of spunk. She gave better than she got. I admire that because she was defending herself against a boy who is several years older, head and shoulders taller, and must outweigh her by fifteen pounds. My son on the other hand is in a lot of trouble and I can guarantee you that the only time he will be spending any time with William will be at school. Among other things, I plan to restrict him to the ranch with enough extra chores to keep him busy until after the new year. You have given me some food for thought. An old friend of mine is the Commanding Officer at Virginia Military Institute and has suggested several times that I enroll Thomas there. He'll get a good education and the discipline he needs. I'll send him a telegram when we finish at the doctor's office. Well, let's go over to Dr. Martin's office so I can see what your daughter did to my son."

They walked into Paul's office in time to hear Tommy say, "This isn't over Cartwright. Nobody beats me in a fight and gets away with it, and if you tell my Pa that I tripped you. I'll make your life a living Hell for a long time to come. That's not a threat, it's a promise. If you don't believe me, just ask Jeff Michaels what happened to him when he told Billy's Pa that he ripped up his homework."

"Just exactly what are you planning on doing to Catherine son?" asked Mr. Roberts. "She doesn't need to tell me what you did because Mr. Cartwright already did and I'm quite certain that your teacher and Dr. Martin would also have told me. You are in more trouble than you realize. You tripped and hit a girl and now I have learned part of the truth about why young Jeff Michaels was trying to ride William's horse and got hurt. Ben, do you happen to know the entire truth about what my son did to Jeff?"

"Yes, I believe I do. Joe said he was told that John Winter saw William rip up Jeff's homework and told William's father. The boy was punished and he and Thomas decided that Jeff had told William's father and they needed to teach the youngster a lesson. Thomas put several burrs under William's saddle, picked Jeff up and sat him down hard in the saddle."

"Thank you Ben. It's nice to finally know the truth about what happened. Thomas, we will discuss your punishment after school and I expect you to come directly home when school is dismissed."

"I'm going fishing with Billy and won't be home until almost suppertime."

"No you are not! You are to come directly home from school. You are in enough trouble already. Don't make it worse by disobeying me. Now get yourself back to school and see to it that you behave for the rest of the day!"

Ben sat down next to Cat, pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly. "I am so very sorry that I didn't listen to your brothers and Hop Sing. They were right and I was wrong. I let my pride get in my way and you got hurt because of it. I never intended for this to happen and I promise you that I will never again make you ride double to school with me. You are my little girl, I love you, and I don't ever want to be the cause of you getting hurt. I want to assure you that you are in absolutely no trouble for that fight. In fact, I am very proud of you for trying to avoid trouble when it came looking for you. Will you please forgive me?"

Cat thought for a minute and said, "Yes, but I won't again if you break your promise."

Ben hugged her again and said, "Thank you. Now, if Paul and Virginia are done with you, you should go to school. A horse will be waiting for you when school is dismissed for the day. I'll rent one from the livery stable and you can return it on your way to school in the morning. If your head or eye starts hurting or if your nose starts bleeding again, I want you to come back here and see Paul. If that happens, he can send someone out to the ranch and we'll come and get you in the buggy. I don't want you riding any horse if your head or eye is hurting or if your nose is bleeding. Head on back to school and always remember that I love you very much."

When Cat left Paul's office, she ran over to see Roy before returning to school. He took one look at her black eye and asked, "What happened to you? Who hit you? Does Ben know about it?"

Cat told him about having to ride double with Ben because she got caught running in the house and about her fight with Tommy. Then she said, "Will you please send telegrams to my uncles and tell them what happened? Adam, Hoss, and Joe gave me money this morning. Pa said he'd never make me ride double to school with him again, but I'm not sure."

Roy sighed. Ben's pride got in the way of his common sense again and this time his nine year old daughter got hurt. "Keep your money. I'm going to talk to your Pa and if I need to send telegrams, I'll pay for them. Right now you need to go to school before I lock you up for skipping." Cat giggled, hugged Roy and ran over to the school.

After the children left his office, Paul turned to Ben and said, "What on God's Green Earth ever possessed you to make that child ride double with you to school?"

Before he could say anything else, Roy's voice came from the doorway. "I'd like to know the answer to that myself. Didn't Joe tell you what could happen to Cat if she rode into the school yard on your horse with you?"

"Yes he did. So did the rest of the family. They all tried to talk me out of it and deep down inside, I knew they were right. However, because we had decided that part of Cat's punishment for running in the house was to ride double with someone, I let my pride get in the way of common sense. She did something wrong and needed to be punished for it and nobody was going to talk me out of following through with the promised punishment. Mike Devlin even tried to get me to let Cat ride double with him but I insisted on carrying through with her punishment."

Tommy couldn't believe that Cat wasn't going to be punished for the fight when she was the one who attacked and hit him. He decided that he needed to talk to Billy and plan his revenge for her beating him in a fight and the whipping he knew he would receive when he returned home after school. He and Billy talked at recess and dinner to start planning their revenge. After school, he decided to ignore his father's instructions and went fishing with Billy instead. They finalized their revenge plans and decided to put them into action the following day.

When Tommy finally rode into his yard carrying his fishing pole and stringer of fish, he father was furious. He took the fishing pole from his son, snapped it in half, told him to put the fish in the water barrel and come into the barn. Tommy put the fish in the water barrel and sauntered into the barn as though he hadn't done anything wrong and didn't have a care in the world. Mr. Roberts became even angrier at his son's attitude and decided to teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. He took the strap down off its nail, told Tommy to drop his pants and bend over a saddle stand. Then he used the strap on his son's bare bottom fifteen times and informed him that he was restricted to the ranch with extra chores until after the new year and possibly longer if he didn't fix his attitude and behavior in a hurry.

At supper, Mr. Roberts spoke to his eldest son. "Richard, I know you have your hands full with helping me run the ranch, however I need to put more on your plate. Your brother decided that there was nothing wrong with tripping and hitting a girl and deliberately disobeying me. I told him to come straight home from school but he chose to go fishing with William instead. He is restricted to the ranch with extra chores until next year but since I can't trust him, I am going to need you to pick him up after school and supervise him doing his chores. Since this will be in addition to your regular duties, I will be paying you extra for supervising your brother. He is to come home from school, complete his homework and then do his chores. I will give you a list of what he is to accomplish every day in addition to his regular chores. If he is not at the school when you arrive or refuses to do the chores I assign, let me know and he will receive more of what I gave him in the barn."

Tommy couldn't believe what he was hearing and glared at his father. "You aren't going to treat me like a little kid! I'm a man now and I don't need my stupid brother looking after me! I'll be sixteen in May and that means I'm a man! I can do whatever I want to whenever I want to and nobody is going to tell me any different!"

"Thomas, finish your supper and go wait for me in the barn. It seems you need a lesson in the proper way to talk to an adult. You are fifteen years old and that is nowhere near being an adult. You are acting like a six year old, so I am going to treat you like a six year old. I am hoping that two months of not being allowed to spend time with William outside of school will change your attitude. You will not be permitted to speak with him on Sundays except to say hello and goodbye before or after church."

"This is all Cartwright's fault. I'm going to pay her back just as soon as I can!"

"Thomas, I am not going to speak to you about this again. It is not Catherine Cartwright's fault that you chose to trip and hit her. Consider yourself fortunate that she wasn't hurt worse than she was because if she had been, I would have allowed Mr. Cartwright to give you a whipping in the doctor's office. I am warning you now, if you do anything to hurt his daughter, the whipping you got earlier and are going to get after supper will be nothing compared to what you will get! Now finish your supper and go out to the barn!"

When Cat got home from school, Ben was in the yard to greet her. He hugged her and said "I'll take care of Beauty for you. Fill Hop Sing's wood box and then I want you to get your winter hat, coat, and mittens. It's been warm but Indian Summer is over, it's getting colder, and we'll see the first snow soon. I want to make sure your winter things fit so we can buy new ones if they don't. I would like to you try your long underwear on too so I know if I need to replace it or not. While we're talking about winter, I want to warn you about something now so you won't be surprised when the time comes. Once the weather gets cold and we start getting snow, you will have to do your homework in the barn or the house. It will be much too cold to do it outside and I do not want you to get sick. The same rules will still apply. Unless you need help with something, your homework needs to be finished before supper. I'm going to have to teach you how to safely light a lantern and I'll put a nail on the post in the barn low enough so you can reach it to hang the lantern there."

"Ok Pa."

"That's my girl. How is your eye? Does it still hurt?"

"It stings a little bit but not too bad. I think Tommy got in even bigger trouble with his Pa. When we were in Dr. Paul's office, Mr. Roberts told Tommy he couldn't go fishing with Billy but he did anyway. I'm sure glad I'm not him."

Ben chuckled. "You would never go fishing after being told not to, would you?"

"I don't know. It depends."

"What does it depend on?"

"Well, ifn Adam, Hoss, Joe, or one of the hands said they saw a whale in Lake Tahoe, I would have to try to catch it and take it back to the ocean. Adam says that whales have to live in the ocean so it wouldn't be happy in Lake Tahoe."

Ben laughed and hugged his daughter. "You are a little scamp. I'll tell you what. If one of your brothers or the hands says they saw a whale in Lake Tahoe, come and get me. I'll help you catch it and take it back to the ocean."

"Would you really do that for me?"

"Of course I would. I love animals too and wouldn't want a sad whale living in Lake Tahoe. Now go, fill Hop Sing's wood box and get your winter things before I change my mind and make you groom every horse and clean the barn before supper."

Cat laughed, stuck her tongue out at Ben and ran to the wood pile. She tried on her hat, mittens, and winter coat. The hat and mittens had just been made by her Apache mother so they fit just fine but her coat was several years old and much too small. Ben sent her upstairs to try on her long underwear. When she came downstairs wearing it, he started laughing and called Hop Sing who started laughing too. The set she was wearing was way too small for her. The arms were almost up to her elbows, the leg cuffs were half way between her ankles and knees, and several buttons popped off when she tried to button them. He carried Cat over to his chair, sat down and proceeded to hug her tightly. "OWWW! Pa that hurts. Why are you squeezing me so hard?"

"I'm trying to squish you back to being a very little girl again. That way I'll have a long time before you outgrow the clothes you have."

"No do that," said Hop Sing. "You tly that with numbel two son and look what he like."

Ben laughed. "You're right Hop Sing. I don't know if I could afford to feed two of Hoss." He gave Cat a playful swat and sent her upstairs to get redressed. When she came back downstairs, he pulled her into his lap and asked, "Didn't Matt ever buy new clothes for you? Your long underwear looks like something you've had since you were six or seven."

"He did if I told him something didn't fit or if Miss Kitty saw that something was too small."

"Well, didn't he notice that your clothes were getting too small?'

"I don't know. He was always pretty busy. The stuff I have is fine. I don't need new things."

"That is utter nonsense. You cannot wear winter clothing that is too small. Meet me at Mr. McLeod's store after school tomorrow and we'll see if he has anything to fit you. I am not too busy to make sure my children have the things they need. I am quite certain if you would have said something to Matt, he would have gotten the things you needed. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if I wrote and told him what you said, he would be upset because you didn't tell him that your clothes were too small because you thought he was too busy to take care of your needs. You need to stop trying to be so independent and learn to trust and depend on the adults who are there to take care of you. You are only nine years old and it is the job of the adults in your life to see to it that you have the things you need, including clothes that fit. Now, you had better go, see Fury and get your homework done. And remember to ask for help if you need it. Nobody expects you to do everything all on your own."

During afternoon recess the next day, Tommy and Billy pulled Cat away from her friends. "We hear you lived in Dodge City," said Tommy.

"Yeah, I did. So what of it? Lots of kids lived in Dodge."

"We heard about the saloons there. Did you ever go in them?"

"Only when the Long Branch was closed. Miss Kitty had my birthday parties there and there was a real bad twister last year. Miss Kitty closed the Long Branch and Doc and Newly used it for a hospital. Miss Kitty also used part of it so people could sit and eat. Me and my friends carried buckets of water for Doc and Newly and food for the other people."

"Didn't you ever go in when it was open?" asked Billy.

"No I didn't. I wasn't allowed out of Uncle Matt's office after bedtime."

"Why didn't you sneak out?" asked Tommy.

"Because a boy and his father threatened to kill me when I was five. After that, I was never alone in the office after dark. One of the men was always in there with me, even when I was in bed."

"Didn't you ever try to go in the saloon during the day?" asked Billy.

"No. Uncle Matt would have spanked me if I got caught trying to go into the Long Branch when it was open."

"You sure are a chicken," said Billy. "You are too chicken to even look in the saloon when it's open."

"I'm not a chicken and I don't care what happens in a saloon. If I try and go in there and get caught, Sheriff Coffee will give me a whipping and so will Pa."

"Prove you're not a chicken," said Tommy. "Meet us at the Bucket of Blood tonight at eleven thirty and we'll look under the door to see what happens in there."

"I'm not going to risk getting two whippings to look in the saloon."

"You are a yellow-bellied coward," said Billy. "Prove that you're not a coward. I double dog dare you to meet us tonight at eleven o'clock and look under the saloon door."

Cat didn't like being called a coward, but she didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking out at night and going to the saloon. However, a double dog dare was not to be ignored. "I'm not a coward. Alright, I'll meet you but if I get caught, I'm going to beat the stuffing out of both of you, no matter how much trouble I get into for it. Now go away and leave me alone. I'll see you tonight. Don't forget what I am going to do to you if I get caught."

"We're not done with you yet. Like I told you yesterday, nobody beats one of us in a fight & gets us in trouble with our Pas," said Tommy. "We both got whippings because of you yesterday and you're gonna to pay for it. Don't even think about telling what we're gonna do because nobody will believe you if you tell anyone. "You're a charity case and adopted and nobody believes anything charity cases and adopted kids says. But if you don't show up or tell anybody, or we get caught and get in trouble, we'll burn down your house and barn and bunkhouse while everyone is sleeping, And we'll burn down your friends' houses and barns too while they're sleeping and it will be all your fault."

Cat got a horrified look on her face. It was bad enough it was her fault her mother had been killed. Now she had to do what the boys said because if she didn't, they would kill her family and friends. The boys just laughed at the look on her face.

Cat left the boys and rejoined her friends. "What did they want?" asked Laura.

"Something dumb. They said I was a chicken when I lived in Dodge because I never snuck out at night and looked in the Long Branch to see what happens in there. I couldn't have snuck out. After Mark Hansen threatened to kill me when I was five, I was never alone in Uncle Matt's office after he went out to make his rounds. I was mad because Uncle Matt punished me for skipping school and I was going to run away. I tried sneaking out but Festus was in the office."

"Well, it's a good thing somebody was there to protect you from that boy," said Mary. "It would have been awful if he had shot you."

Before they could continue the conversation, Miss Winter rang the bell and everyone went back into the school. Cat kept thinking about what the boys said they would do if she didn't ride into town that night and had a hard time concentrating on her schoolwork. Cat met Ben at the General Store after school. All of the children's long underwear and winter coats were too small for Cat. Mr. McLeod said he would be getting another shipment in two weeks and should have something to fit her then. After supper, Ben asked Joe to see if he still had any of his old jackets that might fit his sister.

After Ben went to bed that night, Cat got up, dressed and snuck down the stairs. Hoss wasn't home, so the door was unlocked. She opened it, let her puppies out and closed it behind her. When she entered the barn, Fury nickered, glad to see her. "Shhhhh," she whispered. "I'll be in real big trouble if you wake Pa. I wish I could ride you but you're not old enough yet so I'm going to have to ride Beauty. I have to go to town, but you've got to be real quiet when I leave. I don't want to get a spanking 'cause I went for a ride when I'm supposed to be asleep in bed."

Cat led her horse out of the barn and closed the door behind her. She walked until she was certain she was far enough away from the house so she wouldn't be caught. Then she mounted Beauty and eased him into a canter. About half way to town, she came across Hoss who was on his way home. " ** _What in tarnation are you doing out here alone at this time of night girl?! Do you have any idea what time it is and how much trouble you are in?_** "

"Hi Hoss. I just wanted to go for a ride. I'm not hurting anything."

"Girl, you are in real big trouble. It's almost eleven o'clock at night and you were supposed to be asleep in bed hours ago, not out here riding around the countryside toward town! I'm going to give you a choice. Either I can deal with you right here and now or I can take you home and wake Pa and let him deal with you."

"I don't like either option, but I choose you. If you wake Pa, he'll kill me. It will be at least a month before I'll be able to sit down."

"Alright. I'll deal with you myself this time but the next time I catch you. I'm going to use my belt on your bare bottom and then take you home to Pa even ifn I'm not supposed to spank you yet. Follow me. I need to find someplace away from the road to deal with you. If you try and run off, I will find you and when I finish with you, I will wake Pa. Also, you've got school in the morning, so if you don't want Pa to know what you were up to, you'd better be sure and get up on time to do your chores."

"Don't worry Hoss, I won't try and run off. What you're going to do to me is going to hurt, but what Pa would do to me would hurt a whole lot more."

Cat followed Hoss into the woods. When he was a good distance from the road, he dismounted and sat down on the stump of a fallen tree. "Alright, we're going to take care of this now. Come over here and bend over my knees." Cat did as she was told and her brother gave her three smacks. When he was finished, he said, "Ok. I'm done. You need to thank your lucky stars I was the one who caught you, not Adam or Pa. I don't need to tell you what would have happened if either of them had caught you."

"I **_am_** glad it was you that caught me Hoss. If it would have been Adam, he would have given me a bare bottom spanking and then take me home to Pa and he would kill me."

"I need to get you back home before Pa or Adam find out you're gone. Get on your horse and come with me." Cat rode next to Hoss until they reached the yard. "Where are your night clothes?"

"They're in the barn."

"I'll take care of your horse," he said. "You get your night clothes and go to the outhouse. Leave your clothes in there when you finish changing."

"Why do I need to go to the outhouse?"

"So's if Pa catches you outside you can honestly say you were in the outhouse. Now go before I decide to give you a few more swats."

Cat ran to the outhouse and Hoss took care of the horses. He decided to wait for her to finish and walk back to the house with her. As the two of them were walking back to the house, Ben opened the door and asked, "Catherine, what are you doing out here at this hour of the night?"

Before she could answer, Hoss said, "I saw little sister going into the outhouse and decided to wait for her before she decided to go looking for some wild critter to bring home as a pet."

Knowing Hoss's statement was pretty accurate; Ben laughed, hugged his daughter, gave one of her ears a playful tweak and sent her back to bed. "Thank you son. There's no telling what she'll bring home next. Sometimes I think her puppies have more sense than she does. Let's go, get some sleep. There's no telling what she'll be into tomorrow."

"I'll be in shortly. Now that little sister is safely back in the house with no wild critters in her arms, I'm going to use the outhouse before going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

When Hoss entered the house, he had Cat's clothes in his hands. He opened her bedroom door and said quietly, "I brung your clothes. Where do you want me to put them?"

"Thanks Hoss. You can just hang them on the back of the desk chair. I'll wear them again tomorrow. And I am real glad it was you that found me. My bottom hurts but not as bad as it would if Adam or Pa had caught me."

"You're welcome little sister. Just remember what will happen to you if I catch you again."

"I'll remember. I'll also remember to be more careful the next time I decided to go for a ride in the middle of the night."

"You best not be going for no more middle of the night rides. You even think about it and I'll tell Pa what you were really up to tonight. Then you'll really be in big trouble. Now close your eyes and go to sleep." Then he pointed at her puppies. "You two keep her out of mischief. No more middle of the night rides." The puppies just looked at him. "Yeah, I know. That's easier said than done. My little sister is definitely a handful. That's why I named her Wild Cat when she was just a little bitty thing."

The next day at school, Tommy and Billy walked up to Cat. Billy pushed her and said, "I knew you were a coward. We were there but you never showed up."

"I was on my way when Hoss found me. My bottom still hurts from where he spanked me. You don't know how lucky I am that it was Hoss that found me. He only gave me a spanking and didn't tell Pa. If Adam had caught me, I would have gotten a bare bottom spanking from him and then he would have taken me home and told Pa and Pa would have given me a bare bottom whipping."

"We don't care," said Tommy. "You're still a coward. You could have run away from your brother."

"You are crazy. I couldn't have run away from Hoss, even if I had wanted to. Nobody can. If I had tried to run away from him, I would have gotten a bare bottom whipping and Pa probably would have used a razor strop on me."

"Prove you're not a coward," said Tommy. "Meet us at the Bucket of Blood tonight. If you don't, we're going to everything we said we'd do and we're going to do everything we can to get you in trouble in school and we're going to do all that to your friends too. You know we can because we do it all the time and never get caught."

"I can't meet tonight."

"Why, don't you want to know what happens in a saloon, or are you just a yellow-bellied coward?" asked Billy.

"I don't care what happens in a saloon and I'm not a coward. I have to wait a few nights to make sure Hoss isn't watching me. I don't want to get two whippings. Remember, if I get caught, I am going to beat the stuffing out of both of you. I already beat Tommy once and I can do it again."

"Alright, we'll meet on Friday night and you had better be there. Don't forget what will happen if you don't show up or if you tell anybody and we get caught," said Tommy.

"I'll be there, but you had better be there too. Cause if you're not, I'm going to tell everyone in school what chickens you are."


	83. Chapter 83

**A/N:** I want to wish all of my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy your day.

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Cat snuck out again on Friday and this time she made it all the way to town. She left Beauty in the alley next to the saloon and watched for the boys to show up. They arrived just as she was getting ready to leave. "Alright, I'm here. Let's look real quick so I can leave. If I get caught, I'm going to get at least two whippings depending on who catches me and I don't even want one, let alone two."

"Don't you want to know what goes on in a saloon?" asked Billy.

"No I don't. I only came to keep you from burning down the Ponderosa and my friends' houses and barns."

They had only been looking under the saloon door for a few minutes when they were pulled to their feet by rough hands. " **WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU KIDS THINK YOU'RE DOING? ALL THREE OF YOU ARE IN HUGE TROUBLE! CATHERINE MICHAEL CARTWRIGHT WHEN I FINISH WITH YOU, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN FOR A MONTH! LET'S GO!** " Cat's worst fears had been realized. They had been caught by Adam and she knew that she was in more trouble than she had ever been in before. No amount of begging or pleading would keep her from getting two bare bottom whippings even though Adam wasn't even supposed to spank her yet. She figured if she was lucky, she might be allowed off the ranch when she turned sixteen.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Billy.

"I'm taking you to Sheriff Coffee. He can keep an eye on you until your fathers can be found. Catherine already knows what's going to happen to her." The boys tried to run off, but Adam grabbed each of them by the back of their shirt and marched them to Roy's office.

Roy looked up when the door opened. "Hello Adam, what have you got there?"

"I caught the three of them looking under the door at the Bucket of Blood."

"Oh, I see. You boys have no idea exactly how much trouble you're in."

"What about Cartwright? Why isn't she in trouble?" asked Tommy.

"Catherine already knows exactly how much trouble she's in and what is going to happen to her," replied Roy. "It is against the law for anyone under eighteen to go into a saloon when it is open and that includes looking under the door. I am going to give each of you boys a whipping and then I'm going to find your Pas and let them deal with you."

"You can't whip us," said Tommy.

"Yes I can. You broke the law and I am completely within my authority to punish you anyway I see fit. William, bend over and hang onto this chair." Tommy tried to get free from Adam's grasp while Roy took his belt off and started using it on Billy's bottom. By the second lick, Billy was begging Roy to stop but he continued until he had given Billy five very hard licks. Then he took the crying boy and locked him in a cell. "Alright Thomas. It's your turn. Bend over and hang onto the chair." He gave Tommy the exact same punishment he had given Billy and locked him in the other cell.

"It's your turn Catherine," said Adam. "Take your pants down and bend over the chair."

"Not right now Adam," said Roy. "You are too angry and could hurt her badly. Go, have a beer and cool off. Cat can wait right here until you return. You know as well as I do that she's not going to leave here without permission."

After Adam walked out the door, Cat looked at Roy and asked, "Uncle Roy, can I please go to the outhouse and stop at the pump for a drink? I have to go real bad. Adam won't let me and I'll have an accident before we get home. I promise I'll come right back."

"I trust you Cat. Go and then come right back." Cat ran all the way to the outhouse, stopped at the pump for a dipper full of water and then walked back to Roy's office where she started pacing the floor. "You may as well sit down while you can. If I know Adam and your Pa, you'll be needing a pillow on your chair for several days. Now, please tell me what you were thinking of when you and those boys pulled that stunt."

"It wasn't my idea. They double dog dared me and called me a chicken and a coward. They said if I didn't do it, they were going to do something really bad and rip up my schoolwork and books and get me in a lot of trouble in school. They said they were going to do the same things to my friends too."

"Did you think about telling an adult?"

"No. I didn't think anyone would believe me, because they said I was adopted and a charity case and nobody ever believes anything charity cases and adopted kids says. I couldn't tell even if somebody would have believed me because they said they'd do the really bad thing if I did tell. Billy and Tommy are always causing trouble at school and getting other kids punished for what they do. They get caught some too and Miss. Winter sends a lot of notes home but I guess their parents don't care what they do. I know that they're going to tell their Pas it was all my fault and then I'm going to get a third whipping. I wish I was back in Dodge. Uncle Matt wouldn't believe it was my fault."

"Cat, I've known your Pa a long time and if you look him in the eye and tell the truth, he _will_ believe you. He knows that you don't lie. So do Adam, Hoss, Little Joe, and myself. Don't _ever_ be afraid to tell the truth." Adam returned a little while later and Roy asked, "Have you calmed down?"

"Yes I have Roy. Cat needs to be punished for what she did, but not to the point where she is seriously hurt. Now, Catherine, please tell me exactly why you were looking under the saloon door." Cat told Adam exactly what she had told Roy. "Why didn't you come to me, Pa, Hoss, or Little Joe? Any one of us would have put a stop to those boys' nonsense before it got this far."

"I didn't think anyone would believe me because they said I was adopted and a charity case and nobody ever believes anything charity cases that are adopted says. They're always causing trouble at school and getting other kids punished for what they do. Also, I couldn't tell even if somebody would have believed me because they said they'd do something really bad if I did tell. I'm afraid they're going to do it because we got caught."

"You are _**not**_ a charity case and I'm sorry that you didn't think anyone would believe you Cat. I know that Roy would have. So would I, Pa, Hoss, and Little Joe. The next time you have a problem like this, don't try and solve it on your own. Tell one of us and let us handle it. That's our job. Now, what are you so afraid they're going to do and why didn't you try looking under the door at the Long Branch when you lived in Dodge?"

"I can't tell you what they said they'd do because they said do it if I told anyone. I did look under the Long Branch door a bunch of times during the day when I was looking for Uncle Matt but not at night. Even if I wanted to I couldn't. After Mark Hansen threatened to kill me when I was five, I was never alone in Uncle Matt's office after I went to bed. Someone was always in there. I tried to run away after I got punished for skipping school the first time, but Festus was there. Doc and Mr. Burke even took turns staying there with me. They kept doing it even after Mr. Hansen was sent to prison because Mark shot at me one day and almost hit Uncle Matt. Uncle Matt didn't trust Mark, even after his uncle came to stay with him."

"I understand why you did what you did tonight, but you are still in big trouble."

"Yes, I know. Pa's going to kill me."

"No, Pa isn't going to kill you, but you're going to have a very hard time sitting down for a long time."

"Adam, I'm going to let you take care of Cat while I go and try to find those two boys' fathers. I don't want to keep two fifteen year old boys locked in jail any longer than I have to. Do what you need to do, just don't be too hard on her and then take her home to your Pa. I'll ride out and talk to him tomorrow."

"Alright Roy. Thank you for taking care of Cat while I cooled down. I'll see you tomorrow." After Roy left his office, Adam stood up, took his belt off, sat down again and said, "Let's get this over with. It's late and I need to get you home. Pull your pants down and bend over the chair."

"You're not my Pa and you're not supposed to spank me or use your belt on my bare bottom."

"I don't care about what I am not supposed to do. Pa isn't here so that means I am in charge and I am going to give you a whipping you won't forget for a very long time. If you don't do as I told you to, you are going to be in a lot more trouble than you are now. Little Joe got away with too much when he was a boy and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen with you." Cat did as she was told and Adam used his belt on her fifteen times. It hurt worse than any whipping she had ever gotten. She just kept telling herself that she was an Apache warrior and Apaches don't cry but she couldn't keep her tears from falling.

The door between Roy's office and the cells was open and the boys could hear Adam punishing Cat. They couldn't believe that she wasn't begging him to stop, especially because they had heard him tell her to pull down her pants. "Why do you suppose she isn't begging him to stop?" whispered Billy.

"I don't know," replied Tommy. "Maybe she'll get worse or more if she does. We'd better not talk too loud. Sheriff Coffee could hear us and give us another whipping. We need to figure out what to tell our Pas. Otherwise, we're really going to be in bad trouble."

"I know. Let's tell them it was all Cartwright's idea. We'll tell them that she brought a gun to school and threatened to shoot us if we didn't do what she said."

"Do you think they'll believe us?"

"I don't know, but we can try. We just have to hope that they don't take us out to the Ponderosa to talk to Mr. Cartwright. He'll know we're lying and then we'll get another whipping."

When Adam finished with Cat he told her to stand up and pull her pants up. "Where is your horse?" he asked.

"In the alley near the saloon."

"Alright, let's go. I'm taking you home and waking Pa to tell him what you did tonight." They walked over to the saloon and Adam told Cat to get Beauty. Instead of letting her mount him, Adam picked her up and put her on Sport then mounted in front of her.

"Let me ride my own horse Adam."

"No. This is part of your punishment. You are riding right where you are until we get home."

"That's not fair. I want to ride my own horse. I'm not a baby and don't need to ride double with you."

"Would you like to go over my knees?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir. You're my brother, not my Pa. I don't have to say sir to you."

"Girl, you are very close to going over my knees. If I were you, I would stop arguing with me right now."

When they were part way back to the Ponderosa Cat asked, "Adam, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can. You can always ask me a question except when I'm sleeping. If you ask me a question when I'm sleeping, I'll probably be very grumpy. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you get so mad at me for looking under the saloon door?"

"Let me find someplace where we can sit and talk. Then I'll tell you why I was so angry and why Pa is also going to be angry with you."

"Do you have to tell Pa? He's going to kill me. Maybe I should just take Beauty, Lady and Fury and go to Uncle Rip. He'll be mad at me but he won't kill me."

Adam turned sideways in his saddle, put his arm around his sister and hugged her to him. "Pa isn't going to kill you, but he is going to punish you. Hoss, Joe and I did our share of not very bright things when we were boys and we're still alive."

"Yeah, but you're his real sons. I'm not his real daughter. I was his niece and he adopted me."

Adam found a tree that had fallen, rode over to it, dismounted and then helped Cat get off of Sport. He sat down and called her over to him. He pulled her pants down, turned her over his knees and gave her five hard smacks on her already sore bottom, then had her sit next to him. "That's for saying you're not my real sister. You _**are**_ my real sister. Pa didn't have to adopt you when your mother died. He could have left you with Matt, Rip, or the Barkleys but he wanted you as his daughter. Hoss, Joe and I wanted you as our sister. You were born on the Ponderosa and that's where you belong. The next time I hear you say that you're not Pa's real daughter; I'm going to use my belt on your bare bottom again. Now pull your pants up.

The reason I was so angry about finding you looking under the saloon door is because saloons can be very dangerous places. Men drink and play cards in them. Some men don't handle their liquor very well and start fights. Men playing poker aren't always good losers, especially if they've been drinking. Sometimes they'll accuse another player of cheating and they'll start a gun fight. Bullets don't always go where someone thinks they're going to go. If someone had started shooting, you could have been killed even if you weren't in the saloon. The last thing any of us wants is to bury you next to your parents, especially when you're only nine years old. And yes, I have to tell Pa what you did. He needs to know that you put yourself in great danger. He's going to find out anyway, even if I don't tell him. Wouldn't you rather get your punishment out of the way now rather than worrying about when he's going to find out? Even if he doesn't find out until next week, he's still going to punish you. He'll also be very angry at me for not telling him tonight."

"Well, at least give me a few hours head start. I really don't want to get killed tonight."

Adam laughed. "Pa isn't going to kill you Cat. He will make it so that your bottom is very sore for a while but he isn't going to kill you. Also, if you run away, you will be in even more trouble when Pa finds you. Ask Little Joe. He's had lots of experience in that department and he'll be more than happy to tell you about his experiences. Now, it's very late and I have to get you home."

"Will you at least let me ride Beauty?"

"Nope. I told you that riding behind me is part of your punishment. And no, I am not going to let you sit on my saddle bags."

"That's not fair. I want to ride my horse."

"Catherine, this is the last time I am going to tell you to stop arguing with me. Riding behind me on Sport is part of your punishment. The next time you argue with me about riding in front of me, I am going to put you over my knees and use my belt on your bare bottom again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"I'm telling Pa that you whipped me and spanked me when you're not supposed to. I want to ride my own horse."

"I told you to stop arguing with me." he asked pulling her pants down, turning her back over his knees and giving her five more hard smacks with his hand. "Now are you done arguing with me?"

"Yes."

Cat sighed. Her bottom really hurt bad. It wasn't fair. Adam was her brother and she shouldn't have to say sir to him.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes sir."

"That's better. Now, are you done arguing with me or would you like to spend more time across my knees?"

Cat sighed again. "Yeah, I'm done arguing with you for now."

"What have you been told about being respectful to adults, including myself?" he asked, giving her another five smacks. "We can do this all night if you want to. Then your bottom won't have time to rest before Pa deals with you in the morning. Now, are you through arguing with me?"

"Yes, I'm done."

"Good. Now we need to get you home. Pull your pants up." Cat started to mount Beauty when Adam picked her up and put her on Sport. "I told you, riding behind me on Sport is part of your punishment. Now, you can ride here quietly or we can go back to the tree again. What is it going to be, riding here or go back to the tree?"

"I'll ride here but it still isn't fair and I'm telling Pa that you were mean to me."

It was all Adam could do to keep from laughing at his sister. "No Cat, it never seems fair when you're the one being punished. It's designed to teach you a lesson and I can guarantee that by the time Pa is finished with you, you will have learned your lesson very well and will never try and look or go into a saloon again unless it's an emergency." When they reached the yard, he took Cat down off his saddle and said, "Take care of your horse and use the outhouse. Then I'm taking you to Pa."

"Adam, please don't take me to Pa. I don't want another whipping. My bottom hurts real bad and it will hurt a lot more when Pa finishes with me. I'll be eighteen before I can sit down again."

"Sorry Cat. You brought this on yourself. Now, take care of your horse, use the outhouse and let's go. I need to take you to Pa and I want to get some sleep."

Cat looked at Beauty and said, "At least give me a couple hours head start. I just know that Pa is going to kill me."

"Girl, if I have to tell you what to do one more time, we're going to spend some time in the barn before I take you to Pa. Now, take care of your horse, use the outhouse and come right back to me!"

Cat walked away from Adam and mumbled to her puppies, "I wish it had been Little Joe that caught me. He wouldn't have whipped and spanked me and taken me to Pa. Or at least I don't think he would have. It's a good thing Hoss won't be home from Carson City until tomorrow or he'd tell Pa that he caught me out riding late on Tuesday. Then Pa really would kill me." She put Beauty in his stall hugged and kissed Fury and Lady, then went to use the outhouse. By the time she returned to the barn, Adam had taken care of Sport and was waiting for her.

They walked into the house. Adam locked the door behind them, took Cat upstairs to their father's room and knocked on the door. It took a few minutes before Ben opened the door. When he did, he was surprised to see his eldest son holding his daughter by the back of her shirt. "What is going on Adam? Why is Catherine out of bed and dressed at this time of night?

"I caught her, Thomas Roberts and William Davis looking under the door at the Bucket of Blood."

"Catherine, is this true?"

Cat looked down at her feet and mumbled, "Yes."

"Look at me and answer properly when I ask you a question. Is what Adam said true?"

"Yes sir."

"You are in very serious trouble young lady. We will discuss this more in the morning. Go to bed and I do not want to see you out of your room before it is time to do chores. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir." As she turned to go, Cat kicked Adam in the shins as hard as she could and said, "I hate you and I hope I never see you again forever!" then walked to her room and slammed the door behind her.

"What did you do to her? Why did she kick you and say she hates you?"

"She only got half of what she deserved. I gave her fifteen with my belt on her bare bottom in Roy's office. Then on the way home, she got another fifteen with my hand on her bare bottom. I also made her ride home in behind me on Sport and wouldn't let her sit on my saddle bags. So she's pretty sore right now."

"Adam, you have not even been given permission to spank her on the seat of her pants, let alone use your belt or hand on her bare bottom. You have been told many times in the last three months that you are to bring her to me if she needs more than a few swats. I am trying to give her time to adjust to being part of a family and you are not helping her to adjust. I can't believe I just heard you say that you gave her thirty on her bare bottom and you think you should have given her another thirty. What are you thinking son? Catherine is only nine years old."

"She deliberately put herself in danger."

"There have been many times over the years when you and your brothers have deliberately put yourselves in danger but I never treated you the way you treated your sister tonight."

Adam tried to justify his actions. "That was different. We were boys and boys are supposed to do things like that. Girls are not."

"I don't understand you son. Neither boys nor girls are supposed to intentionally put themselves in danger. I thought that was made perfectly clear to all of the children on the wagon train when we were coming out west. I can remember times when some of the boys, including you, did just that and were punished for it. However, none of you were punished as severely as you punished your sister tonight."

"You should know that what she did tonight wasn't completely her fault."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that the boys bullied her into it. They double dog dared her and they called her a chicken and a coward. They also threatened to rip up her schoolwork and books and to get her into as much trouble in school as they could and they said they'd do the same things to her friends. Cat says that they are very good at doing things and getting other students punished for their misdeeds. Apparently their fathers don't care because Susan Winter has sent many notes home but the boys still don't behave."

"Why didn't she come to one of us?"

"Because she didn't think anyone would believe her. They told her that she was adopted and a charity case and nobody ever believes anything charity cases say. Also, she said that they said they would do something very bad if she told anyone. She wouldn't tell me or Roy what they threatened to do because she's afraid they'll still do it."

"So you're telling me that your sister was coerced into doing something wrong and instead of tying to find out what she was threatened with, you decided to punish her. I can't believe you did that. I never punished any of you boys when you had been forced to do something against your will. I am very disappointed son. You were entirely too hard on Catherine and you know it. Your sister is only nine years old. We'll talk more about it tomorrow, but even when you were seventeen and got arrested for being drunk and breaking up the Bucket of Blood, you got ten on the seat of your pants in Roy's office and another ten on your bare bottom when we got home and that was three days later because I left you in that cell. Thirty was way overboard. No matter what you boys did, the most you ever got was ten. I wouldn't want to be in your boots when Hoss catches up with you tomorrow. You know how he feels about you being too hard on your sister. It's going to take all I have to keep him from killing you. I'm going back to bed. Tomorrow isn't going to be any easier on me than it will be on your sister."

"There's one more thing you need to know."

" _Now what?_ "

"Cat is certain that the boys are going to try and blame her for what happened tonight and I agree. Roy whipped the boys and locked each of them in a cell. I could hear some of what they were saying and it sounded to me like they were going to say it was all Cat's idea."

"Great. Their fathers are friends of mine and I may have to tell them that their sons are liars."

"I'm sure you'll think of something. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. Goodnight Pa."

"Goodnight Adam. Tomorrow you and I are going to discuss how you handled your sister tonight. I am not at all pleased by what you did to her."

Joe woke up when Adam knocked on their father's bedroom door and opened his door wide enough to see his oldest brother holding their sister by the back of her shirt. After listening to Adam and Ben talk, he decided that his little sister needed a shoulder to cry on but first he needed to deal with his oldest brother. As soon as Ben closed his bedroom door, Joe left his bedroom, walked up to Adam and hit him as hard as he could, knocking his brother off balance. "I heard you say what you did to Cat and I'm not going to wait for Hoss to come home. I'm going to kill you myself right now," and hit his brother again.

Ben heard the noise outside his bedroom door, opened it, saw Joe hit Adam and said forcefully, " **Joseph, stop that right now! I will not tolerate you fighting with your brother!** "

"I'm going to kill him for what he did to Cat." He looked at his brother and said, "You always felt that Pa let me get away with too much, so you decided that you're going to make sure Cat doesn't get away with anything no matter what you have to do to her. Isn't that right _older brother_? I'm going to kill you. If Hoss is lucky, I'll leave a little bit for him to beat on too."

" **That is enough of that talk Joseph! You are not going to kill your brother and neither is Hoss! I will talk with Adam about his attitude toward Catherine in the morning. Right now, everyone needs to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long, difficult day. Now go to bed, both of you!** "

Joe walked into his bedroom and waited until his father and brother were in theirs. Then he went to Cat's room, opened the door and whispered, "Cat, are you still awake?"

"Yes," came the reply.

Cat was sitting on the edge of her bed. Joe walked over, sat down next to her, wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Oh Cat, what have you done?"

"Adam caught me, Billy and Tommy looking under the door at the Bucket of Blood." She hugged her brother, started crying, and said, "Oh Joe. I'm afraid. Pa's going to kill me tomorrow and I don't know what to do. I guess I should leave and go back to Uncle Matt. He'll be mad at me, but he won't kill me."

"Pa is very angry with you and rightly so, but he's not going to kill you. He will probably punish you but he won't be anywhere near as hard on you as Adam was. You put yourself in danger tonight. Why didn't you come to me? I would have helped you."

"I didn't think anyone would believe me because they said I was a charity case and adopted and nobody ever believes anything charity cases and adopted kids says. Also, they said they were going to do something really bad if I told anyone."

"Now, that's just plain foolish talk. You and I have always been close. Remember, you were my tenth birthday gift from your parents. I got to hold you before your father did. Why wouldn't I believe you? What did they say they were going to do? Now you're in big trouble and there's nothing I can do to get you out of it. I can try to make it a little easier for you. I'll tell Hop Sing what happened in the morning and he'll put a cushion on your chair. If Pa and Adam aren't around, I'll help you with whatever extra chores you get, but I won't be able to get you out of being punished. You have got to start trusting us to take care of you and do what is right for you. You should know by now that I would never let anything bad happen to you."

"I can't tell you what they said they were going to do. I'm afraid they'll still do it because Adam caught us. He was real mean to me and game me thirty. He gave me fifteen with his belt on my bare bottom in the middle of Uncle Roy's office and fifteen on my bare bottom with his hand on the way home. I got five for saying I wasn't Pa's real daughter, five for arguing with him because I didn't want to ride double with him and five for being disrespectful because I wouldn't say sir to him. He also made me ride home behind him on Sport, trotted all the way home, and wouldn't let me sit on his saddle bags. It hurts real bad Joe. He said he did it because Pa wasn't hard enough on you when you were a boy and he was going to make sure it didn't happen with me. If Pa's going to give me more than Adam did, I'm going to leave tonight. I'll go to Uncle Matt, Uncle Rip, or the Apaches."

"No, Pa isn't going to give you anywhere near thirty. Since Adam was so hard on you tonight, he probably won't spank you. You may have to spend some time standing in the corner and have to do extra chores and then again, Pa may decide that what Adam did to you was more than enough. Hoss will be home tomorrow. It sounds like he and I need to have a talk with older brother. He was way too hard on you and needs to know it. Hoss and I will make sure that he's never that hard on you again. Adam may argue with me because he's bigger than I am, but he won't argue with Hoss or try to push him around. Now, you need to stop worrying and get some sleep. Pa isn't going to kill you. Even if he wanted to, which he doesn't, we wouldn't let him and neither would the hands."

"But what will I do if Billy and Tommy and their Pas show up here and say that I made them do it? Pa will believe them and I'll get another whipping."

"No, Pa won't believe them. He knows you don't lie and so does everyone else on this ranch. If they show up, I'll straighten them out. Now, go to sleep and stop worrying. Don't worry about doing your chores in the morning. You need the sleep, so I'll do them for you. Pa may get angry with me but that's my problem." Joe kissed Cat on her forehead, hugged her tightly, motioned for Silver Chief and Lassie to get on the bed next to her, and said, "I love you little sister. So does everyone else in this family. Don't you ever forget it."

He walked out of Cat's room and was surprised to see his father standing in the hallway. "How is she?"

"She's very sore, tired and scared to death that you're going to kill her. Adam was entirely too hard on her. He told her that it was because you were too easy on me when I was a boy and he was going to make sure it didn't happen with her. I don't care what she did; she didn't deserve thirty and being made to ride behind him on his saddle. She especially didn't deserve five for saying you weren't her real Pa and another five for not saying sir to him. He's not her Pa and she shouldn't have to say sir to him and he shouldn't be using his belt and spanking her on her bare bottom. Unless you told Adam something different, as far as I know, we're not even allowed to spank her on the seat of her pants, let alone use a belt on her bare bottom. She's only been here three months and I know that some of the kids at school have been teasing her about being adopted. Cat is positive that those boys and their fathers are going to show up here tomorrow and say that what happened tonight was all her fault. She's afraid you'll believe them and she'll get another whipping. I'm going to do her chores in the morning so she can get a little more sleep and I don't care what you or Adam has to say about it!"

"Go ahead and do her chores. She can use the extra sleep. I agree. Adam was entirely too hard on her and I intend to have a talk with him about it. I am extremely upset with him for doing that to your sister because he felt I wasn't hard enough on you when you were a boy. We have talked about that before. Go on back to bed. I'm going to sit with her for a few minutes and try to convince her how much I love here and that I will not believe those boys if they say tonight was her idea. In fact, before you go back to bed, please go down to the kitchen and see if Hop Sing has any of that burn cream he makes. If he does, I'll use some on her to help ease the pain."


	84. Chapter 84

Joe couldn't find Hop Sing's burn cream and had to wake him up. "Why you need burn cleam? Who burned?"

"Nobody. Those boys Cat fought with on Monday bullied her into riding to town tonight and looking under the saloon door. Adam caught her and whipped her real bad. Joe told Hop Sing everything Adam had done to Cat and why. She's very sore and Pa wants to see if your burn cream will help her."

Hop Sing became very angry. "Adam wrong to treat Missy Cat like that. I use spoon on him befole breakfast and make him feel how he make Missy Cat feel. Maybe I no give him breakfast. Take burn cream. Tell Missy Cat I make flapjacks, eggs and bacon for breakfast."

"Thank you. I'll tell Cat that you're going to make her favorite breakfast. That will make her feel better. Keep that spoon handy after you use it on Adam. I think those boys and their fathers are going to come out here tomorrow and say that Cat forced them to go to the saloon tonight."

"If boys tell lies about Missy Cat, I use spoon on them too. They no tell lies about her ever again."

"Thanks Hop Sing. I'll tell Cat what you said." Joe took the burn cream up to his father and said, "I told Hop Sing what Adam did to Cat and why."

"I thought you would. What did he say?"

"He's going to use his spoon on Adam and make him feel like Cat does now. He also said he might not give Adam any breakfast."

"Adam hurt your sister badly tonight both mentally and physically and he will deserve everything Hop Sing gives him. Go to bed son and let me take care of your sister."

"I need to give her a message from Hop Sing first." Joe walked into Cat's room sat down on her bed and hugged her. "I have three messages for you from Hop Sing. He is going to make your favorite breakfast for you tomorrow morning. He's also very angry at Adam and is going to use his spoon on him and may not let him have any breakfast. The last message is that if those boys show up here with their fathers tomorrow and start telling lies about what happened, he's going to use his spoon on them too. Pa has Hop Sing's burn cream to use on your bottom to help make it feel better so you can sleep. Would you like some help getting into your night clothes?"

"Yes please."

"Ok. Where is your nightgown?"

"In the wardrobe."

After helping Cat get ready for bed, he said, "Pull your underwear down and lay on your bed with your bottom up so Pa can use that burn cream on it. It will help. Hoss used it on me a few times when I was a boy and got a bad whipping." Once Cat was lying on her bed, Joe was shocked to see how red her bottom was. He walked out of the room and said, "Her bottom looks like it's on fire. I can't believe Adam did that to her. She's only nine."

"I know son and I will deal with your brother in the morning. Get some sleep and I'm going to take care of your sister." He walked into Cat's room, sat down on her bed and rubbed her back. "I've brought some of Hop Sing's burn cream. It will help make your bottom feel better. I am so very sorry this happened to you. I feel responsible because I made you ride double to school with me on Monday. The boys bullied you into going to town because of the fight, didn't they?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. I wish you had told one of us what they were trying to make you do."

"I couldn't. They said if I didn't go with them, or told anybody, or if we got caught by you, Adam, Hoss, or Joe, they were going to do something real bad and it would be all my fault."

"Will you tell me what they said they were going to do?"

"I can't. If I do, they'll do it and it will be really, really bad. People will get killed and it will be all my fault just like it's my fault that my mama was killed."

"No Kitten, it is not your fault that your mother was killed. I have a feeling that her death had something to do with her husband's business dealings. What people are going to be killed if you tell me what those boys said they would do?"

"I can't tell you any more. I shouldn't have even said that. They'll know I said something and then they'll do it. Don't make me tell you Pa. Please don't." Cat started crying hard.

Ben rubbed her back some more. "It's ok Sweetheart. I won't make you tell me, but you have to start trusting us to take care of you and keep you safe. Please tell me exactly what Adam did to you and why."

"When he caught us, he said he was going to make sure I couldn't sit down for a month. He gave me a bare bottom whipping in the middle of Uncle Roy's office for looking under the saloon door. He hit me real hard fifteen times. Then he gave me another fifteen bare with his hand on the way home because I wouldn't say 'sir' to him, I said I wasn't your real daughter, and I wanted to ride my own horse home. He made me ride behind him on his horse and he trotted Sport all the way home. When we got here, he threatened to take me to the barn and whip me again. He said he did it because you were too easy on Joe when he was a boy and he was going to make sure it didn't happen with me."

"I want you to know that I am very angry with Adam for the way he treated you. He should not have done that to you and I will make sure he never does it again. I wish you had come to me and told me how they threatened you to make you do something you knew was wrong. I could have protected you from whatever it was they said they would do."

"No you couldn't. Nobody could."

"I'm sorry you feel that way because almost everyone on this ranch will do everything in their power to protect you. I think the boys and their fathers will be here tomorrow. If you tell me, their fathers, and your brothers what they threatened to do, we can make sure they never get the chance to ever hurt anybody again. How does your bottom feel? Is the burn cream helping?"

"It doesn't hurt as much."

"That's good. It's not as red as it was either. Let's get your underwear pulled up and get you and your puppies under the covers. Joe said he is going to do your morning chores so you can sleep until it's almost time for breakfast. I'll leave the burn cream right here on your night table. If your bottom starts hurting badly again, wake someone and we'll put more on you. I hope you believe me when I tell you how very sorry I am this happened to you. If I had listened to your brothers and Hop Sing, this never would have happened. I promise you that I will never make you ride double to school with me again. I also want you to know that I will not believe any lies those boys tell if they come here tomorrow. I know that my little girl doesn't lie and I will make sure that their fathers know it too."

"Pa?"

"Yes Kitten?"

"Am I in real big trouble like Adam says I am? Are you going to give me another whipping?"

"Young lady, you are in such big trouble that you are going to have to clean the barn, chicken coop and hen house before and after school every day until your grandchildren have grandchildren. I am not going to let you graduate from school until your grandchildren's grandchildren do. In fact, I am not even going to let you get married until your grandchildren's grandchildren do. I have also decided not to let you turn ten next year. You are going to have to stay nine years old for the rest of your life."

Cat giggled. "Pa, if I stay nine and don't get married, I won't have any children and then I won't have any grandchildren. If I don't have grandchildren, they can't have grandchildren."

"Oh that's right. Well, I'll just have to talk to the doctor and see if we can arrange for you to have grandchildren before you get married and have children."

"You're silly Pa."

"I know but I wanted to make my little girl laugh a little bit tonight. No, you are not in trouble and I am not going to even give you a spanking much less a whipping. I would never punish my children for doing something they were coerced to do."

"What does cowcursed mean?"

"The word is co-er-sed and it means being forced to do something. In other words, you did something wrong because the boys threatened to do something bad if you didn't. Would you have gone to town tonight if those boys hadn't made those threats?"

"No. It was kinda scary riding to town all by myself so late at night."

"That's what I mean by you were coerced or forced to do something you wouldn't normally have done. If those boys and their fathers come here and we find out what the boys threatened to do, I am going to let Hop Sing use his spoon on them and they are going to learn exactly how angry I am. Now, it's very late and both of us need to get some sleep. This is a busy ranch and the work doesn't stop just because people are tired. Remember, if your bottom starts hurting again, wake someone and we'll use more of the burn cream on it. Goodnight Kitten. I love you very, very much and I am very sorry you got hurt because of something I did."

Cat had a very bad nightmare that night. She started screaming about her mother's death and people dying because of the boys. It took Ben, Joe, and Hop Sing almost an hour to get her calmed down. Adam tried to help but Cat wouldn't let him anywhere near her. Ben finally told him to go back to bed because he was just making things worse. Once they finally got her calmed down, Joe took her to the outhouse while Ben put her pillow and blanket on his bed.

Hoss arrived home shortly before breakfast and was met in the yard by Joe and Hop Sing who told him what Cat had done and what Adam had done to her. He became very angry at his older brother and said, "Well, now I know what she was up to on Tuesday night when I caught her ridin' inta town. I wish she woulda told me and I coulda taken care of them two boys the next day. Joe, I need you to keep little sister busy after breakfast while I deal with our brother. I'm gonna make shore he never hurts her like that again. I'll probably take him out behind the barn so's maybe the two of ya can clean the hen house and chicken coop fer a bit."

"I ask Missy Cat to help weed galden too," said Hop Sing. "You no hurt Adam too bad or fathel get angly at you too. He already vely angly at number one son."

"Don't you worry Hop Sing. I ain't gonna hurt Adam too bad but I'm gonna make durn shore he never does anything like that to little sister again. Did anyone do her chores or did Pa make her do them?"

"I just finished hers and mine," replied Joe. "Poor kid. You should have seen how red her bottom was. It looked like it was on fire. Pa used Hop Sing's burn cream on it before putting her to bed. She also had one of the worst nightmares she's had since she came here to live. I think Pa was going to use the burn cream on her again this morning before she got dressed. She should be awake by now. Why don't you go and see her and I'll take care of Chub. A hug from you always helped me feel better after I'd been punished and after what Adam did, I know it will help her too."

Hoss walked into the house and started up the stairs just as Cat was coming down. She spotted him, jumped into his arms, and squealed with delight. "Hoss you're home. I missed you lots and lots. Adam was real mean to me last night. I wish you woulda been there. He wouldn't have been mean to me then."

"Hi Punkin. I missed you too. Joe and Hop Sing told me all about what Adam did and I'm real sorry he was so mean to you. I promise he ain't gonna do that to you again as long as I'm around. Why didn't you tell me about those boys on Tuesday? I woulda gone to their fathers on Wednesday mornin' and I wouldn't have spanked you."

"I couldn't tell you or anybody else. They said if I told or didn't show up or we got caught, they were going to do something real real bad. I'm scared they're gonna do it 'cause Adam caught us."

"I see that you just woke up. Let's get ya to the outhouse and we can talk while we're walking. Ifn ya woulda told me what those boys said on Tuesday, we coulda protected you from them."

"You don't understand. I told Pa last night, people will get killed and it will be all my fault just like it's my fault that my mama was killed."

"No Punkin. It ain't yore fault yore mama was killed. Everybody done told ya lots of times she was just pretending to try and get ya to go to Australia with her. I don't know what them boys threatened to do to you but I promise that nobody in this family, includin' Adam, will stand by and watch you get hurt. We'll do everything we can to keep ya safe. Now, I'm just willin' to bet that Hop Sing's just about got breakfast ready so let's wash up and go inside 'cause I'm starving." After they washed up, he picked Cat up and put her on his shoulders.

Cat giggled. "You're always hungry. You could eat a whole steer and still be hungry."

"Well now, I don't know that I could eat a whole steer but I am hungry enough ta eat a little sister." He pretended to chew on one of her legs. "Kinda stringy. We're gonna have to fatten ya up ifn I'm gonna have ya for breakfast."

They walked into the house and Joe helped Cat down off Hoss' shoulders. Since she was still angry at Adam and didn't want to sit near him, she asked, "Joe, can I sit in your chair today?"

"Sure Squirt. You can sit in my chair anytime you want to." He switched the cushion from her chair to his.

"Thanks Joe."

"Anytime little sister."

Ben saw Hoss and said, "Welcome home son. I didn't expect you until this afternoon."

"I know but I had a feelin' that little sister was gonna need me and it turns out I was right." He glared at his older brother who stared right back at him.

"Were you able to get the contracts signed?"

"Yes." Hoss handed the contracts to his father.

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen carrying his spoon. He walked up to Adam and hit him hard with it five times, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain. "You stop being mean to Missy Cat! Missy Cat just little girl. Why you be so mean to her? Fathel never treat you like that even when you get allested so why you treat Missy Cat like that? No say because Little Joe allowed to lun wild because that lie. He get in trouble plenty times. You just not always hele to see. You still expect Little Joe to be six when you come home from school and not accept that he ten. That why you think he allowed to lun wild. You lucky you get bleakfast today. Next time you be mean to Missy Cat, Hop Sing use spoon more and you lucky if you even get suppel! Bleakfast leady. Evelybody sit down."

Just as everybody was sitting down to breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Ben opened the door and found Jerry from the telegraph office standing there. "Mr. Parker said this was important and to bring it out here right away."

Ben opened the envelope, read the telegram and said, "You're right. This is important. It's news I've been expecting for several weeks now. Have you eaten this morning? We're just sitting down to breakfast, there's plenty to eat and you're welcome to join us."

"No thank you. I ate before work this morning, but I would appreciate a cup of Hop Sing's coffee." Ben invited Jerry in, gave him a cup of coffee, wrote his reply to the telegram, handed it to Jerry along with a dollar, and told him to keep the change. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright. That coffee was more than worth the long ride out here. I'll give your reply to Mr. Parker as soon as I get back to town."

During breakfast, Hoss nodded at Joe who asked, "Cat, how about helping me clean the chicken coop and hen house? With both of us doing it, we'll be finished in no time at all and then maybe Hoss, you, and I can go fishing for a while. It's too cold for swimming but we can still fish."

Before Cat could answer, Hop Sing asked, "Missy Cat weed garden for Hop Sing?"

Cat looked at Joe and asked, "Will we still have time to go fishing if I weed the garden too?"

"Sure we will. Since we'll be picking the rest of the vegetables at Thanksgiving, weeding will be easy and we'll still have plenty of time to fish."

"Ok Hop Sing. I'll weed the garden after I help Joe with the hen house and chicken coop."

"Thank you. Missy Cat good girl. I make chocolate cake today."

Ben suspected something was going on between his younger sons and cook as Joe never volunteered to clean the chicken coop and hen house and there weren't many weeds in the garden. He knew that Hoss was very angry with Adam and was quite certain that his middle son planned to have a 'discussion' with his older brother about how he had treated their younger sister. What he didn't know was that Hop Sing had already planned to distract him long enough for Hoss to deal with Adam. He decided to try and focus their attention on something else and said, "I know that you are extremely curious as to the contents of the telegram I just received. I am very happy to inform you that Adam's grandfather has finally agreed to spend the holidays with us and will be here on Monday. While he is visiting, I hope to convince him to move here permanently. I don't like the idea of him living alone in that drafty house, especially in the winter. I don't know how well he's able to get up and down stairs any more, so tomorrow we'll prepare the downstairs bedroom and one of the guest rooms upstairs and let him choose when he gets here."

"That's great news Pa," said Joe. "It will be nice to see Grandfather Stoddard again. I was only twelve or thirteen the last time he was here."

"He came to visit for your twelfth birthday and stayed until school started in September. Cat, I'll remind you again on Monday, but instead of riding home with Michael, you will need to meet us at the stage depot after school. We'll take the surrey and rent a buckboard and team if it is necessary."

"I never had a grandfather before," said Cat. "What's it like?"

"I seem to remember that his last visit was a lot of fun," said Joe. "He likes to fish and swim and he tells the greatest stories about when he was a sailor. I think you'll like him a lot."

"You had a grandfather Cat," said Ben. "You just don't remember him. After your father died, your mother took you and moved in with him for a little while until your mother took you to live with Matt." Seeing the frown on Cat's face, Ben continued, "Don't worry about Captain Stoddard. He's nothing like my father was. Joe is right. He has a good sense of humor and tells great sea stories. I think the two of you will get along just fine. Now, if you want to go fishing today, I suggest that you eat your breakfast and do the things you said you were going to."

Before Ben could talk to Adam after breakfast, Hop Sing said, "Mr. Cartlight, we talk about Thanksgiving. It only three weeks away. Lot to do between now and then. Hop Sing need to plan. Who you going to invite?"

Ben was suspicious of Hop Sing's motives as he had never started planning a holiday meal three weeks ahead of time. "I thought I'd invite Paul and Virginia Martin, Reverend and Mrs. Long, and Roy."

"You invite Deputy Clem too. It not light he always in town when Sheliff Roy here."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'll invite Clem too. I'm sure that Roy can find someone to act as deputy while he and Clem are here."

"Vely good. We need two turkeys. Otherwise Hoss complain he not get enough to eat."

Ben laughed. "You could give Hoss his own turkey and he'd still complain that he wasn't getting enough to eat. Speaking of Hoss, where is he? I hope he and Adam aren't fighting."

While Ben and Hop Sing were talking, Hoss grabbed Adam by the arm and escorted him out behind the barn. "You and me got some talkin' to do brother and ya aint' gonna like what I'm gonna say." He hit Adam and said, "I can't believe you was that mean to our little sister and I aim to make shore ya never are again. Why did ya do it?" Adam started to say something about Little Joe getting away with everything when Hoss hit him again. "Don't give me that stuff. You hardly recognized him when you got home from college because he was ten instead of six. You wanted him to only be six but he wasn't. He was doin' stuff ten year olds do but you thought he was runnin' wild an' never missed a chance to say so to Pa or punish him. Now yore doin' it with little sister an' I ain't gonna stand still an' see ya hurt her again. Them two boys threatened her but ya had to punish her just 'cause ya thought Pa let Joe get away with too much. You may be my brother, but the next time ya do that to her, I'll tear ya apart."

Ben walked behind the barn just as Hoss hit Adam a third time. " **Hoss, stop that this instant! You know how I feel about you boys fighting with each other!** "

Hoss hit Adam one more time and said, "Sorry Pa, but somebody had ta teach older brother here a lesson an' you talkin' to him wasn't gonna do it. I done told him ifn he ever hurts little sister like that again, I won't stop with jus' a few punches."

"No son. That is not the right attitude. Adam is your brother and no matter how angry you are at him, killing him will not solve anything. I plan on having another talk with him about his attitude toward Catherine while you and Joe are fishing with her. Also, he is going to have to tell his grandfather what he did and why and I can assure you that Abel Stoddard will not be pleased at all. I also need to have another talk with your sister about kicking people when she's angry at them. She needs to learn how to control her temper and I am hoping that you will help her do so."

Tommy, Billy, and their fathers showed up while Cat was weeding the garden. Ben greeted the men. "Hello Ted, Bill, what can I do for you today?"

"We think our sons are lying to us," said Mr. Davis. "We need to speak with you and your daughter to see if our suspicions are true or not." The two boys gave each other worried looks as they tied their horses to the hitching rail. They knew that they were going to be in big trouble when their fathers learned how they had threatened Cat.

"I'll be happy to help and I'm sure that Catherine will be too. What do you need to know? Hoss, please go and get your sister."

"Does Catherine have a gun?" asked Mr. Roberts. "The boys said she brought a gun to school and threatened them if they didn't go to the saloon with her."

"No, she does not have a gun. I'm teaching her to shoot Joe's old twenty two but she really doesn't want anything to do with it. She blames guns for the deaths of her parents. She was standing next to her mother when she was murdered. Here she is now. You can ask her for yourselves."

"Cat," asked Mr. Roberts, "Did you take a gun to school and threaten to shoot the boys if they didn't go to the saloon with you?"

Cat became angry. "No sir. I hate guns. If it wasn't for guns, my Mama and Daddy would still be alive. I wish I could take every gun in the world and throw it in the ocean."

"Then why did you go to the saloon with them?"

"Remember what we said we'd do," yelled Billy. "We'll do it if you tell."

"Just what did you say you would do to Catherine?" asked Mr. Davis, staring at his son.

"Uh…uh...Nothing Pa."

"We'll see. Ben, may we borrow your daughter and a few of your porch chairs. I have a feeling she'll be much more willing to talk with us if she's nowhere near the boys."

"Of course you may."

Mr. Roberts picked Cat up and said, "Ben, don't you feed this child? She's lighter than a feather. You need to make sure she gets food before Hoss eats it all." Even though she was nervous, Cat giggled. Mr. Roberts sat down in the rocking chair and said, "Don't worry Cat. We're not here to scold or punish you. We came here today because we thought the boys were lying to us and now we know they were. Now that they can't hear you, won't you please tell us what they said to make you meet them in town last night? We can't protect you unless we know what they threatened to do."

Cat took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "They double dog dared me and they called me a chicken and a coward. They also said they would rip up my schoolwork and books and get me into as much trouble in school as they could and they said they'd do the same things to my friends. They're always causing trouble at school and getting other kids punished for what they do. Miss Winter always sends notes home but they still cause trouble. They said if I didn't show up, or told anyone, or we got caught, they would burn down our house, barn, and bunkhouse while we were sleeping and they said they'd do the same things to my friends."

The men became very angry at their sons. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Your family would have told us and we would have made sure they didn't do any of those things."

"I didn't think anyone would believe me because they said I was adopted and a charity case and nobody ever believes anything charity cases that are adopted says. I'm still afraid they're going to burn down the Ponderosa because we got caught and I just told you what they said."

"We're sorry you feel that way," said Mr. Davis. "I know that your family would have believed you. So would Sheriff Coffee, Reverend Long, and Dr. Martin. Don't worry about their threats. They aren't going to burn down anybody's house, barn, or anything else. I don't know about William, but Thomas is going to be locked in his room at night and I will put nails in the window so it can only be opened a few inches."

"William is going to receive the exact same treatment," said Mr. Davis. The boys will never be alone together again, even at school. I'll pay someone to sit there with them if I have to. Now, we need to tell your Pa what you said so you don't punished any more. We heard the boys talking and know that Adam was very hard on you last night, wasn't he?"

"Yes sir. My bottom still hurts."

"Well, he's going to feel very bad about the way he treated you when he learns what the boys threatened to do."

They carried Cat back over to Ben, set her down, and took him aside to tell him what the boys had threatened to do. While the men were talking, the boys saw one last chance to get Cat into trouble. Unaware that Hoss and Thaddeus were standing behind them, Tommy sneered, "Your Pa was a coward. He was shot in the back because he was running away from the battle."

"You're a bastard and your mother was a whore lady. She was shot by the jealous wife of a man she had been with," finished Billy. Their words had the desired effect. Cat attacked Billy with every intention of killing him. Tommy joined his friend and Cat found herself fighting both boys when they found themselves being pulled apart by Hoss and Thaddeus.

"What is going on here!?" demanded Ben.

"She attacked us for no reason at all," said Tommy. "We were just standing her and she attacked us."

"That ain't the truth and ya know it!" exclaimed Hoss as he gave the boy a shake. "Ya had no call to say those things to my little sister."

"Exactly what did they say?" asked Ben.

"I'll tell you what they said," said Thaddeus, "But I'm not going to repeat the words they used. Those words should never be used by anybody, especially by or around children." He pointed to Tommy and said, "That one said that Cat's father was a coward and was shot in the back running away from a battle. The other one called Cat the name that means her parents weren't married when she was born, and called her mother the name that means she wasn't a lady and said she was shot by a jealous wife."

"I see," said Ben. "Catherine, did you know what those words meant?"

"Yes sir. I heard them one day when Uncle Matt and I were walking past one of the saloons and asked him what they meant. He said what Thaddeus said and that they were real bad words and I should never use them."

"He's lying!" yelled Tommy.

"He's just saying that because he works for Mr. Cartwright!" added Billy.

The men gave their sons looks that would melt an iceberg. "Ben," said Mr. Davis, "Feel free to deal with our sons anyway you see fit for their threats and the way they talked about your family."

"I am too angry to deal with them," said Ben. "I might hurt them badly. Hop Sing would you care to deal with these boys for me?"

Hop Sing hit each boy ten times with his spoon. "You no be mean to Missy Cat! You no tell lies about Missy Cat! You no talk bad about Missy Cat and palents! Next time you get mole!"

Each boy yelped in pain the first time Hop Sing hit them with his spoon and both of them were crying by the time he was finished. Mr. Roberts looked at the boys and said, "That was just the beginning. Both of you are in a lot of trouble for what you said and did to Mr. Cartwright's daughter and we still have to stop at the school and talk with your teacher. We will discuss the rest of your punishment when we return home, however, Thomas will be attending Virginia Military Institute starting next autumn."

"You can't do that to me! This is all your fault Cartwright and you're going to pay for it. Just you wait and see! Nobody gets me in trouble and gets away with it!" He tried getting away from Hoss who held onto him while Hop Sing used his spoon another five times.

"You vely bad boy to thleaten Missy Cat. You do and say bad things, not her."

"Thomas," said Mr. Roberts, "I was shocked and saddened to learn that you and William are bullies. You will never hurt anybody ever again. I hope you and William enjoy your time together today because this is the last time the two of you will be allowed to be together or speak with each other except to say 'good morning' at church. Now get your horses. We've taken up enough of Mr. Cartwright's time with your lies and threats. Ben, Bill and I are very sorry for the trouble our sons have caused your daughter. You don't need to worry about them carrying through with their threat to burn down the Ponderosa or any farms and ranches. They will be locked in their bedrooms at night and the windows will be nailed so they can only be opened a few inches. We'll see you in church tomorrow." They mounted their horses and rode toward town.

Ben hugged Cat and said, "I wish you would have told us about the threats when they were made. One of your brothers or I would have told the boys' fathers about them and they would have made sure the threats were never carried out. Have you finished weeding the garden for Hop Sing?"

"Yes. I finished just before Hoss came and got me."

"Good. Now, you will need to wear your jacket when you go fishing. It will be colder by the lake."

"I don't need my jacket Pa. It's not that cold."

"I just said it will be colder by the lake. You can either wear the jacket or you can stay home. It's your choice. Which will it be?"

Cat sighed. "I'll wear the jacket."

"Good choice. Go and get it. I want to see it on you before you saddle your horse." Ben laughed and gave one of Cats braids a playful tug as she walked past him, grumbling about having too many adults in her life.

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 **a/n:** Although Virginia Military Institute is a college now, that was not always the case. It was founded in 1839 and boys as young as 14 years of age attended the school. During the Civil War, the VMI Corps of Cadets fought as a unit at the Battle of New Market, Virginia, on May 15, 1864. Two hundred fifty seven cadets were on the field, organized into a battalion of four companies of Infantry and one section of Artillery. Ten cadets were killed in battle or died later from the effects of their wounds; 45 were wounded. The youngest participating cadet was 15; the oldest 25. The Confederates won the battle, with the VMI Corps of Cadets performing well.


	85. Chapter 85

**a/n** : To my guest reviewer: This is Fan Fiction and it is not necessary to write the characters the way they were on the show. Also Pernell Roberts himself **DID NOT** like the way his character was written and ultimately left the show because of it.

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Cat came out of the house wearing her jacket. As she passed by Adam, she started to kick him. " **Catherine Michael**!" scolded Ben. "I promise you will not like the consequences if you do that."

"I'm mad at him."

"I've told you before and I'm telling you again, you cannot go around kicking people just because you are angry at them."

"Why not? Hoss and Joe are allowed to hit Adam so I should be able to kick him."

Ben sighed. "Hoss and Joe are not allowed to hit Adam and I am angry at them for doing that. I will speak to them about it later. I suggest you go saddle your horse and get your fishing pole if you are going fishing."

"Adam was mean to me and didn't get in trouble for it but I'll get in trouble if I kick him because he was mean to me and I'm mad at him. That's not fair."

"I will deal with Adam while you are fishing. If you choose to continue this discussion, you will be taking a trip to the barn with me instead of going fishing." Cat sighed, gave her father and eldest brother mean looks and walked into the barn.

"She's a lot like another nine year old you had around here not too long ago," said Pete, walking up to Ben.

Ben chuckled. "Yes she is. Too much so sometimes."

"I wouldn't worry too much. The other one grew out of it and I'm sure this one will too. Look at it this way. I'm positive that you'll never catch her in the saloon drinking whiskey, gambling, and starting fights."

"From your lips to God's ears. I don't think there is anything she wouldn't try at least once."

"I don't think she'd try that but think of it this way. If you're lucky, she'll be married by the time she's old enough to go into a saloon."

"I don't even want her to turn ten next year, let alone be old enough to marry."

Pete laughed. "Why is she angry at Adam this time?" Ben told him what happened and he let out a low whistle. "Well, I don't blame her for being angry but you're right, she can't go around kicking people just because she's angry at them. If she does, she's liable to kick the wrong person and get seriously hurt. As far as those boys go, well, I know what you wanted to do to them."

"That's why I let Hop Sing deal with them. I am very angry with them and could have hurt them badly. However, Cat has got to learn to use words instead of her fists and feet to resolve differences with others. I don't want my daughter fighting any more than I want my sons fighting."

"That not happen," said Hop Sing, walking up to the men. "Missy Cat been fighter all life. She born fighting and fight to stay alive just like Little Joe. When Little Joe born, we think we lose Missy Marie and Little Joe. Both fight to stay alive. Same with Missy Cat. When she born, we think we lose Missy Kate and Missy Cat. Both fight to stay alive. Missy Cat learn to control temper when she spend time with Hoss and get older."

Cat walked out of the barn leading her horse only to find herself being picked up by Hoss. "Don' worry about worm cans Joe," he called. "I got the bait right here. Hey Adam, get yore horse and fishin' pole. I got enough bait here so's 'most everyone can go fishin' today."

"Yes Hoss, I do think you have enough bait there for everyone to use," said Adam, checking Cat's cinch. "You're getting better at getting your cinch tight Cat. It was just a little bit loose this time. I think I will go fishing with you. It will be interesting to see what we can catch with this piece of bait." He pulled one of Cat's moccasins off and started tickling her while Hoss held her tight.

"That's no fair," said Cat, giggling. "Two against one ain't right."

"I think it is," said Adam. "What do you think Hoss?"

"Well, considerin' I've done told her a hundred times not to talk like me, I think it's quite fair. But if we're gonna have time for fishin' you'd better get your horse an' fishin' pole."

"You just gave me an idea. Every time little sister uses poor grammar, we'll tickle her. Maybe she'll start speaking like a proper young lady then."

Ben started to say something about needing to speak with Adam when Pete said, "Let him go with them. Spending time alone with his siblings will go much farther to mend things between him and Cat than your lectures will. I have a feeling that he's feeling pretty bad about the way he treated her last night. She needs to learn to trust him and he needs to get to know her. The two of them spending time together is the only way that will happen."

Hoss put Cat in her saddle after Joe put a cushion on it and put the puppies in their pouches. "These two aren't going to fit in these pouches much longer Cat. They're getting too big for them and they're also getting too heavy for you to pick up. They're almost big enough to start keeping up with a horse. I don't want you putting them on Fury's back any more either. They're too heavy and could hurt him. He's way too young to have any weight on him."

"I want them to stay little puppies forever."

"Yes and the rest of us want you to stay nine forever but neither of those things are going to happen. I would say that by Christmas, these two should be able to keep up with a horse. Adam, Hoss, what do you think?"

"I think we should let them run with us on the way home and then put them in the pouches when they start getting tired," said Adam. "That way, they'll start building up their strength and stamina. I'll bet that I catch more fish than you do today Cat. If you catch more fish than I do, I'll do your chores for a week and if I catch more fish than you do, you groom Sport for a week."

"Ok, but you have to teach Sport to lay down so I can reach his back. I need to figure out how to get taller. I hate being the shortest one here."

"You are getting taller Squirt. When we get home, put on the buckskins you got when you were in Arizona. I think you'll find that they've gotten a bit short. Anyway, if you lose our little wager, I'll put a crate in Sport's stall for you to stand on."

"Ok. When can I ride Sport again?"

"I don't know. We'll see what happens. Maybe when Little Joe is bigger than Hoss."

"That won't ever happen. Hoss is bigger than you and Joe and Pa together."

When the boys left the Ponderosa with their fathers, they rode straight to the school where Susan Winter was preparing the following week's lessons. The men ordered their sons to stay with the horses while they went inside to talk to her. She looked up from her work and said, "Good morning gentlemen. What can I help you with today?"

"I'm Ted Roberts and this is Bill Davis. We're Thomas and William's fathers. We understand that you've sent several notes home about our sons."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Yes I have. Both boys get into quite a bit of trouble when they bother coming to school."

"Are you telling us that our sons don't always attend school?" asked Mr. Williams.

"Yes I am. They rarely attend more than three days a week. Haven't they given you the notes I send home? The notes are always signed when the boys return them."

"No they haven't," replied Mr. Roberts. "That's why we're here. Do you happen to have those notes?"

"Yes I do." She pulled two envelopes out of her desk and handed them to the men.

"This isn't my signature," said Mr. Roberts.

"This isn't mine either," added Mr. Davis.

While their fathers were talking to Susan, two of Tommy and Billy's friends came by the school and asked why they were at school on a Saturday. The boys told their friends about what had happened. Then they came up with a scheme to cause trouble for Cat.

"Look Jeff, Dave, we need you to do something for us," said Tommy. "This is all Cartwright's fault and we're in trouble because of her."

"Sure," said Dave. "What do you need us to do?"

"We need you to make sure all of the town gossips know what happened last night," said Billy. "Be sure they know that Cartwright brought a gun to school and threatened us if we didn't go to the saloon with her."

"Yeah," added Tommy. "Also tell them that her father was a coward, she's a bastard and her mother was a whore. I told her she wasn't going to get away with getting us in trouble and hopefully this will fix her good."

"Tommy's Pa is making him go to a military school in Virginia in the fall and it's all Cartwright's fault."

"Gosh Tommy," said Dave. "I'm sorry your Pa is gonna do that to you. We'll make sure all the town gossips know what happened that that it's all Cartwright's fault."

"Thanks fellas," said Tommy. "I'm glad we can count on you. You had better go before our Pas come out here and find us talking to you. If they do, they'll make us tell them what we asked you to do and we'll get in even more trouble."

No sooner had Jeff and Dave started to ride away when Mr. Roberts called the boys. " **Thomas, William, get in here now**! **The two of you have a lot of explaining to do**!" The two boys reluctantly entered the school and walked up to their fathers and teacher. "Whose signatures are these?" he demanded. "They don't belong to me or William's father!"

"It's Cartwright's fault," whined Billy. "She made us do it." He yelped as his father delivered a very strong smack to his bottom.

"Stop blaming a nine year old child for your actions. Some of these notes were written by Abigail Jones when she was your teacher and Catherine Cartwright was still living in Dodge. Now I want to hear the truth for a change. I promise if I hear one more lie from you today, you will not be able to sit down for a week!"

"They're ours," Billy sighed. "I signed Tommy's and he signed mine."

"I see. That is one more thing to add to your list of transgressions. Now what were you and Thomas talking to Jeffrey and David about?"

"Nothing Pa. We were just having some fun."

"I said I wanted the truth," replied his father, delivering another strong smack to his son's bottom. "What were the two of you talking to your friends about?"

"We told them what happened last night and asked them to make sure the town gossips knew about it and that Cartwright forced us to do it. We also asked them to let the gossips know what we said about her and her parents."

"You boys are in a lot of trouble," said Mr. Roberts. "Miss Winter, I apologize for the actions of my son and his friend. Please separate them even if it means one of them has to sit with the youngest students."

"I have separated them on many occasions but they sit have no respect for authority. In fact, since neither of you had come to speak with me about them, I was planning on asking Mr. Miller to call a special meeting of the school board to discuss their behavior as well as their lack of attendance and work."

"I see. Rest assured that you will not have any further problems from either of these two boys. We will be paying someone, probably my oldest son, to ensure they attend school, do not give you any further problems, or speak with each other."

"That will be fine. Whoever you send can sit at the small table at the back of the classroom. I must inform you that both of the boys have failed this semester due to their attendance and not completing any assignments. I will be sending grades home next week and right now, the boys have a zero in all of their subjects. If they complete all of their missing assignments, I will give them half credit and I expect all further assignments to be completed and handed in on time. Boys, it's all or nothing. If you want any credit at all for your missing work, all of it must be completed and turned in by Thursday including the work I give you next week. Also, you are not to neglect your chores at home. You have had six weeks in which to complete the assignments but you chose not to attend school or do the work. So consider yourselves fortunate that I am even offering to give you half credit."

"Miss Winter, we've taken up enough of your time today," said Mr. Davis. "Please accept our apologies again for our sons' behavior and our assurances that they will never cause a problem in your classroom again. Say goodbye to your teacher boys and let's go. William, you and I are going to have a long discussion about your behavior and I am quite certain that Thomas will be having a similar discussion with his father."

When they arrived home, Mr. Roberts told Tommy to wait for him in the barn. He went into the house, had a cup of coffee to calm down and then got his razor strop. His wife looked at him and asked, "Is that really necessary? He's just a boy. Can't you just use your belt on him?"

"He's done too much for that this time and I have decided that he will be attending Virginia Military Institute in the fall."

"What has he done?" He told her everything the boys had done and said.

"Yes. I understand now why you must use that. Please have another cup of coffee to make sure you have completely calmed down before punishing him. The waiting and worrying about what is going to happen will also help to teach him a lesson. I am just sorry he needs to learn it."

When he was sufficiently calmed down, Mr. Roberts walked out to the barn where his son was waiting. Tommy looked at the razor strop and realized he and Billy had gone too far this time. "Son, your mother and I are very disappointed in what we have learned about you today. Since I cannot trust you to do the right thing, you will not be leaving this ranch without an adult until you leave for military school in August. Your brother will be at the school babysitting you so he will not be able to help me on the ranch. Therefore, you will be doing your chores and his every day. Except for church, your weekends and school holidays will be spent helping me run the ranch so he can have some time for himself. If it is raining or snowing, you will be helping your mother in the house. You are not to associate with William or speak to him except to say 'good morning' at school and church. If you misbehave in school, Richard will have permission to use a switch on you and then I will deal with you when you return home. Because of your threats to burn down the Ponderosa and other ranches and farms, you will be locked in your bedroom at night and the window will be nailed so that it can only be opened a few inches. If you attempt to remove the nails or otherwise force the window open and sneak out, you will receive more of what I am about to give you. I am sorry I need to use this on you but you have given me no choice. Now pull your pants and underwear down and bend over that saddle stand." Mr. Roberts used the razor stop on Tommy and when he was finished he said, "I am very sorry I had to do that to you son and I hope I never have to do it again. Get your and Richard's chores done then sit at the kitchen table and do your schoolwork. You have four days in which to complete six weeks worth of work and as your teacher said, completing your missing work is not to interfere with your chores here."

While Mr. Roberts was dealing with his son, Mr. Davis was having a very similar discussion with Billy. When they were finished, two very unhappy fifteen year old boys sat on hard kitchen chairs, working on their missing school assignments.

When Richard came into the house, his father took him aside, told him everything that his brother and Billy had said and done. Then he said, "Please saddle your horse and ride over to the church and the Ponderosa and tell Reverend Long and Ben Cartwright to expect the old busy bodies to cause problems for Cat at church. Also, your brother will be doing your chores from now until he leaves for school in the fall. Let me know if he doesn't do them correctly and I'll deal with him. Starting on Monday, Bill Davis and I will be paying you to sit at the school and babysit the boys. They are not allowed to spend any time together and they are only allowed to say 'good morning' to each other, nothing else. If either of them gives you or the teacher a hard time, you have permission to use a switch on them and Bill or I will deal with the offender when you bring them home. Since you will be at the school and unable to help me on the ranch, Thomas will spend his weekends and school holidays helping me and you will have them free to do whatever you please."

When Cat and her brothers reached their fishing spot, she started to take her jacket off. "Leave it on Cat," said Joe.

"I don't see why I have to. It's not that cold."

"Pa said to and as I learned long ago, that's the only reason necessary. Hoss, Adam, am I right about why Cat needs to keep her jacket on?"

"Yes you are," answered both of his brothers. "That is the best reason to do it." Cat grumbled but kept her jacket on and looked for a good place to dig for worms.

"Hoss pulled Joe aside and said, "Them two need to spend time together workin' out their differences. What do ya think about a fishing contest between us and them? Losing team does the winnin' team's chores for two weeks."

"As much as I hate doing extra chores, if it means the two of them trying to work things out without trying to kill each other, I'll do it."

When Cat returned with a can full of worms, Hoss told her about his idea for a fishing contest. She thought about it for a minute and asked, "Does that mean if I beat Adam and we beat you and Joe, I won't have to do my chores for three weeks?"

"That's right Punkin. Ifn you beat Adam and you an' him beat me an' Joe, except for takin' care of Fury since yore trainin' him, you won't have any chores for the rest of the month."

"That's great. I hate doing chores."

Adam chuckled at his sister's statement. "Alright you two, you're on. I hope you have fun doing our chores for two weeks. Cat, I hope you are going to enjoy grooming Sport because I fully intend to catch more fish than anyone else."

Cat found a spot she wanted to fish from and sat down. Adam sat next to her, hugged her and said, "I want and need to apologize to you for last night. I was wrong to punish you the way I did. In fact, I shouldn't have punished you at all. You said the boys had threatened to rip up your school work and books, get you in trouble in school, and do something very bad but I didn't listen to you and that was very wrong of me. I should have waited for Roy to get their fathers and have you tell all of us what the boys threatened to do. But I was so angry at finding you in town and putting yourself in danger by looking under the saloon door that I decided you needed to be punished. I was positive that Pa wouldn't do anything about it, so I decided that I wasn't going to let you get away with it. I punished you and I was wrong. I'm glad those boys had left the Ponderosa by the time I found out what they had threatened to do. If they had still been there, I probably would have done something I would have regretted as soon as I did it. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I can't promise that I will never make a mistake like that again. I am human and far from being perfect. But I do promise that I will try my best not to make a mistake like that again. I need you to be able to trust and depend on me to look after you. If anything ever happens to Pa where he can't take care of you, that will be my job and although I probably won't do as good a job as Pa would, I promise that I will do the best I can. You are my little sister and I love you very much and I will always do everything I can to keep you from being hurt."

"Nothing is going to happen to Pa so you won't have to take care of me. Besides that, I don't need anybody to take care of me. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time now. Uncle Matt wasn't always around so I had to take care of myself. Sometimes I went to the Tanner's but mostly I took care of myself. I can hunt and fish and know how to cook what I catch and I'm even learning how to make my own clothes, so nobody has to take care of me."

Adam laughed at his sister and hugged her again. "Little Wild Cat, you are too independent and there's no reason for it. You don't need to take care of yourself anymore. That's what your family is for, to take care of you. We love you and it is our job to make sure you have plenty to eat, clothes to wear, and are protected from danger. If Pa gets hurt or sick and can't do those things for you, then it will be my job to do them until he is well. Now if you don't want to have to groom Sport for two weeks, you had better get your hook baited and into the water."

" _ **Two weeks**_?! You said one week."

"I was just teasing. If I catch more fish than you, you only have to groom him for one week."

"Good because I'm still mad at you and I don't know if I'm going to ever forgive you or not. If I lost and had to groom Sport for two weeks, I would be even madder at you and probably would never forgive you."

"I hope you do forgive me Cat because I do love you very much and I am very, very sorry about what I did to you last night."

While Mr. Roberts and Mr. Davis were dealing with their sons, some members of the Operation Slingshot brigade noticed that Mrs. Warren was out of jail. They retrieved their hidden slingshots, found some acorns and small stones, and shot her several times. She walked into Roy's office and demanded that he arrest Cat.

"None of the Cartwrights are in town and except for school, Catherine is not allowed to come to town without a family member. She is only nine years old and Ben does not want her riding this far alone. She rides into school with some friends. Also, she does not have a slingshot. If I catch whoever is doing that, I'll take them to their parents but you have to stop blaming Catherine Cartwright for everything that happens to you."

"That's not what I heard. I heard she forced two innocent boys to come into town last night and look into the saloon."

"I don't know where you got your information from, but those boys are far from innocent and threatened to do some bad things to Catherine so she would come into town last night. Remember, if you do or even threaten to do something to that child, you will end up right back in that cell again. Only this time it won't be for just a month. It will be until a relative or the prison wagon comes to get you. Believe me when I tell you that at your age, you won't live for more than a month after you enter prison. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Good day Mrs. Warren and remember my warning. The judge won't be lenient with you again."

Ben was in the yard when his children rode in after spending most of the day fishing. "Hi Pa. Guess what!" exclaimed Cat excitedly.

Ben helped her down from her horse, hugged her and said, "Your brothers let you swim all the way across Lake Tahoe."

"No," giggled Cat. "They wouldn't even let me put my feet in the water."

"Don't tell me that your brothers swam all the way across the lake without you."

"No. Starting Monday, I don't have to do any chores for three whole weeks!"

"And just how did you manage to do that? Did you beat your brothers up to get them to do your chores?"

Cat giggled some more. "No. Hoss is too big for me to beat up. I caught more fish than Adam and me and him caught more fish than Hoss and Joe did. Adam said if I caught more fish than him, he'd do my chores for a week and Hoss said if me and Adam caught more fish than him and Joe, they'd do our chores for two weeks."

Cat was so excited Ben didn't have the heart to correct her grammar. "Well now my little fisherman, remind me not to bet with you when we go fishing. If I do, I might end up doing your chores for a whole year. Now I think you and your brothers had better get those fish cleaned so we can eat some of them for supper."

After Cat walked off, Ben pulled Adam aside and asked, "Did you and Cat get anything worked out?"

"I don't know. I apologized and told her I was wrong but she hasn't forgiven me yet. I hope she will because I feel very bad about what I did to her."

"I hope so too son but it has to be her decision and I am not going to pressure her."

By the time they arrived at church the next morning, Ben had forgotten about the warning Richard Roberts had brought and didn't pay attention when Cat walked off to talk with her friends. Before she reached them, one of the women grabbed her by the arm, led her off and pushed her up against the church. "You are a very wicked child," said Mrs. White. "You were responsible for my Annabel getting into trouble and you threatened two innocent boys to get them to sin by looking into a saloon."

"You have been pretending to be a good girl," continued Mrs. Thomas, "However, all the time you were conceived and born in sin and are continuing to sin. Your parents were not married when you were conceived and born. Also, your mother was a prostitute. Ben Cartwright and his sons are going to go to Hell because they took you into their family!"

Cat's friends saw what was happening and tried to get the women to stop being mean to Cat. Laura tried defending her only to have Mrs. Thomas slap her across the face. Mary ran to her father and Ben for help. "Pa, Mr. Cartwright, come quick. The old hens have Cat up against the church and are saying very bad things to her. When Laura tried to defend her, Mrs. Thomas slapped her." Caroline started to scold Mary for calling the women old hens and Mary said, "I'm sorry Ma but they were just like chickens pecking at corn the way they were attacking Cat."

Ben and Charles ran over to where the women were standing. Ben looked for Cat but she had already escaped her tormentors and run off. "Where is my daughter!?" he demanded. "What have you done with her?"

"The little heathen is gone, for good we hope," replied Mrs. Anders. "A wicked child like that has no place among good people like us."

"I am warning you now that if anything happens to Catherine because of you, my sons and I will not be responsible for our actions." He stormed off, found his sons and said, "Your sister is missing. Richard Roberts rode out to the Ponderosa yesterday and warned me those women might cause trouble. I forgot about it because I didn't think they'd actually do anything at church. Anyway, we need to find her. Let's split up and search the town."

"Somebody should be here in case she comes back," said Adam. "Why don't you stay here and the three of us will look for her."

Ben walked into the church while his sons started searching for their sister. He looked at the women and said, "I demand to know what you said to my daughter any why you did it!"

"We heard about her forcing those poor innocent boys to look into the saloon on Friday," said Mrs. White.

"And we learned the truth about her and her parents," added Mrs. Thomas.

"And just what might that 'truth' be?" demanded Ben, giving the women a scorching look.

"Well, that her parents weren't married when she was conceived and born and that her mother was a prostitute."

Ben became even angrier at the women. "That is my sister you are talking about. Kate was many things but she was not a prostitute. And as far as her not being married when her daughter was conceived and born goes, most of you were at her wedding and most of you were here when Catherine was baptized almost two years later."

"I remember that wedding," said Pete Dawson. "Adam came home from college for it and went back a few days later. Little Joe got to be the ring bearer. I was jealous because I was a year older than him and thought I should be the ring bearer. He was eight and I was nine. I asked my Pa why Little Joe got to be the ring bearer and not me and he said it was because the lady getting married was Little Joe's aunt. I don't ever remember seeing him try so hard to stay out of trouble. He stayed right by Adam's side until the wedding started. I also remember when Cat was baptized. Little Joe was ten and he got to hold her the whole time. He was proud as a peacock and that baby sure loved him. She didn't cry at all the whole time. He said it was because she was born on his birthday and he got to hold her before her Pa did."

Just then, Mr. Simson ran in. "Ben, I know where your daughter went. She borrowed one of my horses and left this note on my desk at the livery."

Ben read the note. "Dear Mr. Simson, I borrowed one of your horses. I'll bring it back in a little while. I have to go to the Ponderosa and get my things and go back to Dodge before something bad happens to my family. If it does, it will be all my fault just like it was my fault my mama got killed."

"I've got a horse all saddled for you outside. Go and get that little girl before something happens to her. Don't worry about paying me to use the horses. Seeing that little girl safe in your arms is all the payment I need."

"Go on Ben," said Reverend Long. "I'll deal with these 'fine' women." Ben rode off at a gallop. When his sons returned to the church, they were told where their father had gone and decided to wait outside for him to return with Cat. Reverend Long addressed the women. "I would like to know why you said those things to that poor child. Even if they had been true, there was no need to say them."

"The Bible says that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon their children," said Mrs. Warren, "and we don't need that kind of child here."

"I'll tell you why," said Pete.

"Alright Peter. Why do you think they said those things to Catherine?"

"Because all of the old widows want to marry Mr. Cartwright. He's rich, they want his money and they don't want to raise another woman's daughter. I was in the general store on Wednesday and heard Mrs. Thomas talking to Mrs. White. Mrs. Thomas said she was certain that Mr. Cartwright had been ready to ask her to marry him when his sister died and he adopted Cat. She said that he shouldn't have adopted Cat because when she got older, she would replace her in Mr. Cartwright's affections and also, she didn't want to be bothered teaching another woman's daughter to cook and sew. She was also upset that Mr. Cartwright allows Cat to dress like what she calls a heathen and that Cat should be whipped until she dresses like a girl all the time but Mr. Cartwright wouldn't let her do it."

"I see. You ladies have broken several of the Commandments and some of the other rules God has set down for us to follow. I am going to let the children tell you which ones you have broken and why. However, before I do that, I would like Thomas and William to come up here and tell everyone the truth about what happened Friday night and why."

Cat wasn't used to riding bareback so she kept the horse to a canter and it didn't take Ben long to catch up with her. He stopped her horse, helped her down and hugged her tightly. "I have to leave Pa. Those ladies said you, Hoss, Joe, Adam, and Hop Sing were going to go to Hell because you adopted me and it will be my fault just like it is my fault that my mama got killed."

Ben hugged her again. "Those ladies lied to you and Reverend Long is dealing with them right now. It is not your fault that your mother was killed and the next time somebody says or does something mean like that to you, don't run away. Come and tell me or one of your brothers. We'll take care of you. That's what we're here for. You are more important to us than the Ponderosa is. We can always rebuild the ranch if something happens to it, but we would be lost without you. You don't have to handle your problems alone any more. You have us to help you with them."


	86. Chapter 86

**a/n:** To Freewrite8, Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you like my story. I try my best.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas (or as my cats like to say, Meowy Catmas) and Happy New Year. I hope that 2019 brings you many blessings.

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Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked into the church just as Pete was telling everyone why the women had been so mean to Cat. When Reverend Long told Tommy and Billy to tell everyone what they had done and said, Tommy started, "It's all Cartwright's fault…" and was interrupted by Adam.

"Our sister has a name. Use it," he said with ice in his voice. "You are in God's house so try telling the truth for a change and stop blaming a little girl who is six years younger than you for your words and actions. Remember, God, your fathers and my family all know what you threatened to do to Cat and about the lies you told yesterday. Mrs. Thomas, my father has absolutely no intentions of marrying you or any of the other widows in this town. If he marries again, it will be to a woman he loves and who loves him, not his money. My family doesn't want any of you anywhere near Cat. You have hurt her too much already and we won't stand by and watch you hurt her even more. Consider yourselves warned. If Catherine gets hurt or worse because of your words and actions, we will ask the judge to impose the maximum sentence on you. Now boys, see if you can tell everyone the truth about what happened on Friday and why. Pete, thanks for the memories of my aunt's wedding. I had forgotten the things you mentioned. Hoss, Joe, let's go wait outside for Pa and Cat. I can't stand being in the same room as those 'fine' ladies any more. They make me sick."

When Ben and Cat returned to town, they left the horses at the livery and walked over to the church. Ben hugged Cat, gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "Adam said that he apologized to you and asked you to forgive him. Have you forgiven him?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning to tell him?"

"Yes."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not until Thanksgiving or Christmas."

"Why are you waiting to tell him?"

"Because I want him to worry if I am or not."

Ben laughed. "You are a little scamp. I highly recommend that you tell him soon. Remember, Christmas is a little more than a month away and Santa Claus is watching. You don't want to end up on his naughty list, now do you?"

"No. That would be _really, really, **really**_ bad. It would be worse than awful. I guess I'll tell Adam today."

"That's my girl. Now let's get over to the church so everyone will know that you're safe." Adam, Hoss, and Joe were waiting for them when they arrived at the church. "Will one of you please get the surrey? We're going home as soon as I let our friends know that Cat is safe." Adam pulled Ben aside and told him what Mrs. Thomas had said and what he had said to the women. "Thank you son. I don't know where that woman got the idea I was going to propose marriage to her. I don't even like her and can barely stand being in the same room with her for more than a few minutes. Come on Cat. Let's go tell our friends that you're safe and then we're going home." They walked into the church and Ben picked Cat up and hugged her in front of everyone.

"He shouldn't be carrying that child," said Mrs. Warren to Mrs. Anders. "There's nothing wrong with her legs, she should be walking."

"As everyone can see," said Ben. "I found my daughter and she's fine. For your information Mrs. Warren, it has been many years since I was able to pick any of my sons up, hold and hug them, which is something I loved to do, and I intend to do this as often as I can with Catherine until she gets too big. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent holding and hugging their children." He put Cat down & told her to go outside with her brothers. "My family and I are going home now. I do not wish to spend any more time than necessary in the same room as adults who can be so cruel to a child. If there was another church in Virginia City, we would attend it so as not to expose Catherine to any more of your ridiculous notions and finger pointing. Since you have very short memories and chose to believe two children who said cruel things to try and cause trouble for another child, here's something to think about. My sister was married in May of 1858 and her daughter was born in June of 1860, so do the mathematics and figure out how long Catherine's parents had been married before she was born. If you have trouble with the mathematics, I am quite certain that most of the children will be more than happy to tell you the answer. Reverend Long can tell you exactly what book in the Bible this is from but when people were going to stone a prostitute, Jesus said that the one who was without sin should cast the first stone. Remember this, when you are pointing a finger at someone else, there are four fingers pointing back at you." He walked outside and got in the surrey. Just as he was about to hand the reins to Cat, Jerry from the telegraph office ran up.

"Mr. Cartwright, I'm glad I caught you. This telegram just came in."

Ben read the telegram, put it in his pocket, wrote his reply on the envelope and handed it back to Jerry with some money. "Thank you Jerry. I appreciate you running over here to give this to me. Have a good day and we'll see you tomorrow."

When they arrived back home, Hop Sing had dinner waiting for them. "I already clean downstairs bedroom and put clean sheets on bed. Upstairs guest room still need to be done."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I don't know what we would ever do without you. Hoss, if you'll take the rug outside and beat it after dinner, Adam and Joe can put fresh sheets on the bed, Cat can dust and I'll mop the floor. With five of us working, it will hardly take any time at all to prepare the room and then the five of us can go fishing for a while. Cat, I'll make the same bet that Adam had with you. If you catch more fish than me, I'll do your chores for a week, so you'll have four weeks without having to do any chores. If I catch more fish than you, you have to groom Buck for a week."

"Four whole weeks with no chores. Let's go."

Everyone laughed at how excited Cat was. "Hold on little one," laughed Ben. You need to finish your dinner and we have to get that bedroom ship shape before we can go fishing."

"I'll eat while I'm dusting. I want to go fishing."

"Not so fast my little Wild Cat. Unless you are sick or too badly hurt to get out of bed, meals are eaten here at the table, not in bedrooms. Now sit down and finish your dinner or you will stay here and help Hop Sing instead of going fishing." With all five Cartwrights working, the bedroom was ready for Captain Stoddard and they were on their way to Lake Tahoe in no time at all. Cat's puppies ran alongside the horses until they were about half way to the lake. Then Joe put them in their pouches on Cat's saddle. While they were fishing, Joe wanted to make sure that Cat won the bet with their father so when he thought nobody was watching, he put two of the fish from his stringer onto Cat's. At the end of the day, Cat had one more fish on her stringer than Ben did. He hugged her and said, "Well my little Wild Cat, it appears that you are the champion fish catcher this time. You had better watch out next time because I will find a way to catch more fish than you, even if I have to come out here and tell them not to bite your hook." Then he looked toward the mountains and said, "It looks like we will have some snow for Thanksgiving."

"How can you tell?" asked Cat.

Hoss picked her up and said, "Look at the mountains. Do ya see how far down the snow is on them and do ya see that big cloud over them? That cloud means it's snowing an' the snow is far enough down that ifn it keeps snowin' the way it was, we'll have snow by Thanksgiving. It probably won' be a lot but it shore will make everything look right pretty with silver dust on it."

"Can I stay out here and watch it snow on the mountains?"

"I'm afraid not Squirt," said Adam taking her from Hoss and putting her in her saddle. "Hop Sing would kill us if we came home without you. He might even follow through on one of his threats to go back to China. Poor Hoss would probably die if he had to miss a meal. Now you wouldn't want that to happen, now would you?"

"No, I guess not. I would miss him if he did that."

"Well then, you need to go home with us. Besides that, my grandfather will be here tomorrow and he's looking forward to meeting you. I know you wouldn't want to disappoint him, now would you?"

"I guess not. Maybe I should just go back to Dodge while he's here. He probably won't like me very much."

"Now you're being silly. Grandfather Stoddard is going to love you. I lived with him while I was in college and he told me a lot of stories about my mother when she was young. From what I remember of his stories, you are a lot like her, so I'm quite sure he will love you a lot. We have a lot of fish to clean and if we don't hurry, Hop Sing will be angry because we're late for supper. If we are and he yells at us, I'm going to tell him it's your fault we're late."

Cat stuck her tongue out at Adam and then asked, "Pa?"

"Yes Kitten?"

"Will I have to go to school when it snows?"

"That depends on how hard it's snowing and how much snow is on the ground. When the snow gets deep, none of the children who live this far from town attend school. When that happens, Adam will teach you at home."

"You had better hope you're not out of school too long little sister," said Joe. "Adam is a very mean teacher. He never gave me any breaks and I had to eat dinner while I was doing my lessons. He made me do more work in a day than Miss Jones did in a week."

"That's because you weren't working up to your full potential," replied Adam.

"Then how come the only time you did that to me is when Pa wasn't home?"

"Adam, Joseph, that is enough!" Ben ended the argument before it got worse. "Joseph, why didn't you tell me about that when I returned home?"

"I tried but Adam got to you first and told you I wouldn't listen to him. You always believed him and punished me."

"I'm sorry that happened to you and that I didn't believe you. I guarantee that will not happen with Catherine. Adam, you were wrong to treat your brother that way and you will not treat your sister like that. You cannot expect a young child to perform like a college student. Now let's get these fish home, cleaned and put into the smoke house."

While the family was eating supper, Ben said, "Someone is going to need to drive the buckboard to town tomorrow. The telegram I received was from Adam's grandfather. He will definitely be here on the afternoon stage tomorrow and has a trunk as well as several other bags. There isn't room on the surrey for all of that luggage, so we will need the buckboard."

"I'll drive it," said Cat.

"That's an awful long way to drive it alone Kitten," replied Ben.

"But I won't be alone for long. Just until I get to the road that goes to Mike's ranch. He'll be with me then and we meet Jas about half way to town. They'll help me unhitch the team and harness it back up after school. Don't worry, I won't drive too fast."

Ben thought for a minute and then said, "Alright Cat. You may drive the buckboard to school tomorrow. I know that Michael and Jasper will not let you go too fast and they'll help you if you run into trouble."

Adam had a feeling that Cat was still a bit upset over what had happened at church that morning so when Ben told Cat it was time for bed, Joe started to go upstairs with her and Adam asked, "Aren't you done reading King Arthur yet?"

"Yes. We finished last night and were going to pick out a new book to start tonight."

"Well then, it's my turn to play with the Cat."

Joe had an idea of where Adam was going with his conversation so he decided to play along. "No. She's my Cat and you can't have her."

"You have to share and can't keep her all to yourself."

"I said no. She was my birthday present and I'm not going to let you have her."

Cat giggled at her brothers pretending to argue over her.

"Pa, Joe won't share the Cat. He's had her for an entire book and now it's my turn."

Ben chuckled to himself at his eldest and youngest sons pretending to argue over their sister. "Joseph, I have told you many times that you have to share with your brothers. Now let Adam have your Cat for a while."

"Why should I? He won't share his horse with me."

"You have your own horse. However, we only have one Cat and even though she was your birthday present, you still have to share her with the rest of the family. Adam isn't going to hurt her so let him have her."

Joe pretended to grumble and finally said, "Alright, you can have her for a little while but if you do anything to make her mad, I'm taking her back."

Adam walked upstairs with Cat and waited outside her door while she changed into her nightgown. When she opened the door, he walked in and said, "We need to pick out a new book to read. I see one you might like." He took a book off its shelf and handed it to Cat who read the title.

"One Thousand and One Nights. What's it all about?"

"We'll have to read it to find out, but I'll tell you the story about how this book came to be written. Many, many years ago, after finding out that his first wife was unfaithful, the Sultan of Shahrayar kills her and swears to marry a different woman each night before killing her the following morning to prevent further betrayal. Scheherazade, his vizier's daughter, comes up with a plan to end this pattern. She marries Shahrayar, and then begins to tell him a story that night. However, she stops the story in the middle, so that he will be excited to hear the rest the following night. The next evening, she finishes that story and then begins another, following the same pattern for one thousand one nights, until Shahrayar has a change of heart. The stories she tells make up the book. Now it's not going to take us that many nights to read it because this is the first of three volumes and there are less than one thousand pages in it. We'll read volumes two and three some other time so you don't get bored with it."

Cat got into bed and her puppies jumped up there too. Adam pulled his boots off and sat next to her. "Adam?"

"Yes Cat?"

"I just wanted you to know that I forgive you for what you did on Friday."

Adam hugged her. "Thank you little sister. That means a lot to me. I meant what I said when I promised to try not to ever do that again." They read two chapters and when Ben went upstairs to say goodnight to Cat and tuck her in, Adam looked at Joe and said, "I saw what you did with your fish. That was very sneaky little brother. Sneaky but cute. I may have been tempted to do the same thing if I had been sitting next to Cat."

"You're not going to tell Pa, are you?"

"No Joe I'm not. Like I said, it was cute and I might have done the same thing myself. Besides that, it's going to be fun watching Pa do Cat's chores for a week."

"You won't tell Pa, will you Hoss?"

"Of course not Shortshanks. I woulda done the same thing myself ifn I had been sittin' next to little sister."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"We're not doing it for you Joe," teased Adam. "We're doing it for Cat."

Hoss hitched a team to the buckboard after breakfast and Cat set off for school, feeling very grown up at being allowed to drive the wagon without an adult being along. She met Mike Devlin at the road leading to his family's ranch. "Hi Cat. How come you're driving the buckboard instead of riding your horse?"

"Adam's grandfather is coming in on the afternoon stage. Pa said someone needed to take the buckboard to town because he had too much luggage to put in the surrey. So I said I would drive it in. Pa didn't want to let me 'cause I was going to be alone but I told him that you and Jas would be with me so he said I could."

"That's great. You drive and I'll help you hold the team if something spooks them." They met Jasper about half way to town and told him the same thing Cat had told Mike. When they reached the school, even the older children were impressed that Cat had been allowed to drive the wagon to town without an adult.

The stage arrived on time and when Abel Stoddard emerged, Adam tried to shake hands with his grandfather but found himself being pulled into an embrace. After greeting the rest of the Cartwright men, Abel looked around and asked Ben, "And where are you hiding my granddaughter? I expected to see her here when I got off the stage."

"She's in school. The students should be dismissed shortly. Let's get your luggage off the stage. Catherine should be here soon."

Cat drove up in the buckboard about five minutes later. Captain Stoddard was amazed to see a nine year old girl dressed in buckskins and driving the wagon. She ran up to Ben and said excitedly, "You should have seen the kids at school this morning. Even the big kids were really jealous when they saw me driving the buckboard this morning."

Ben laughed, hugged her and said, "There's someone here you need to meet." They walked up to Adam's grandfather and Ben introduced them. "Cat, this is Adam's grandfather, Captain Stoddard. Abel, this is my daughter Catherine."

"Hello Captain Stoddard. It's nice to meet you."

Abel laughed, hugged her and said, "Captain Stoddard is a bit formal for family, isn't it? Why don't you call me Grandpa? Benjamin can tell you that I've been referring to you as my granddaughter ever since he wrote to tell me he had adopted you. So how did you convince him to allow you to drive the wagon into town this morning?"

"I don't know. I guess because I reminded him that I would have two friends with me and they would help me if anything spooked the horses."

"Well whatever the reason, I was very surprised and pleased to see my granddaughter driving the wagon."

"Cat, are you riding home on the buckboard or in the surrey?" asked Ben.

"Can I drive the surrey?"

"It's 'May I' and yes you may. Who is going to take the buckboard home?"

"You, Adam, Hoss, and Joe."

"And just who, besides your new grandfather, will be in the surrey to help you if the horses spook?"

"That's easy. I'll be right back." Cat saw Mike and Jasper coming out of the general store and ran up to them. "I'm driving the surrey home. Do you want to ride in it?"

"Sure," answered both boys together. "We'll get our horses and meet you in a minute."

Cat ran back to where her family was waiting. "Mike and Jas are going to ride with me so I don't need any grownups."

Ben laughed. "You are a little scamp. You know as well as the rest of us do that while there is room on the buckboard seat for three or four nine and ten year olds, there is only room on it for two adults."

"Hoss and Joe can sit on the seat and you and Adam can ride in the back."

Ben gave her a playful swat. "I don't think so little one. I think that Hoss and I will take the buckboard home and Adam and Joe can ride in the surrey with Abel."

Mike and Jasper walked up with their horses and Ben introduced them to Captain Stoddard. As they were getting into the surrey, Jasper said, "Say Cat, I forgot to ask you this morning. Did you ever finish King Arthur?"

"Yes. I finished it the night before last and started reading One Thousand and One Nights last night."

"Say, that's great," said Mike. "Stop by the school on the way out of town. If Miss Winter is still there, we can borrow it from the school library. Then we can talk about it on the way into school like we've been doing with King Arthur."

"Ok. Let me tell Pa so I don't get in trouble for stopping."

"Cat, my grandfather has had a very long trip. The boys can get the books tomorrow," said Adam.

"Nonsense Adam," said his grandfather. "I spent the last three days in Denver and am not in the least bit tired. And I never thought I would see the day when you would discourage a child from reading a book. I'm sure it won't take them long to locate the books and I may just go with them and ask the teacher how my new granddaughter is doing in school."

Cat ran to the buckboard and told Ben of her plans to stop at the school and why. Then she ran back to the surrey, got in, grabbed the reins and started following Ben and Hoss in the buckboard. As they were passing the general store, Mr. McLeod came out and said, "Ben, I'm glad I caught you before you left town. My shipment of children's winter clothing came today and I thought you would want to get what Cat needs while you're here."

"That's a great idea George. Thank you. Adam's grandfather just got into town today so let me ask him if he minds waiting while I get some winter clothing for Cat."

He walked back to the buckboard and talked to Abel who said, "That's fine. Take care of Cat while we're here. I am going to walk over to the school with these two young men, introduce myself to the teacher and ask how my granddaughter is doing in school."

Susan Winter was still at the school when Abel and the boys walked in. She looked up from her work and said, "Hello. I'm Susan Winter, the teacher here. How may I help you?"

"Hello. My name is Abel Stoddard. I am Adam Cartwright's grandfather and just claimed Catherine as my granddaughter. Since these two young men wanted to get a book, I thought I would walk over with them and see how my new granddaughter is doing in school."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Catherine is a very good student and I enjoy having her in my class."

"How is she doing with her studies?"

"She struggles with arithmetic and grammar. However, she is performing at grade level and is continuing to improve. She excels at all of her other subjects and is reading at a seventh grade level."

"How is her behavior?"

"Her behavior is excellent. She has gotten into a few fights but they were started by other students and she was defending herself. She is easy to get along with and has quite a few friends. Ever since she became friends with those two," she pointed at Mike and Jasper, "they have become more interested in reading and their grades have improved. Boys, have you returned King Arthur? Remember, you are supposed to return the books you have before borrowing another one."

"We forgot them," said Jasper. "We promise that we'll bring them back tomorrow morning. It's just that Cat started reading One Thousand and One Nights and we need to start reading it so we can talk about it on the ride into school."

"Alright boys. I'll let you borrow the books but if King Arthur isn't returned tomorrow, each of you will owe me a dime. You see Mr. Stoddard, in order to teach the children responsibility, if they don't return a book on time, they have to pay a ten cent fine. That money will be put aside and given to the school board to be used toward the purchase of more books. Two dollars in fines have already been paid since we received the books."

Just then Cat ran in and said, "Excuse me Miss Winter. Grandpa, Jas, Mike, Pa is ready to leave. Adam said if we don't hurry, he's going to drive the surrey home, not me. I sure wish Pa woulda let me sell Mr. Bossy Boots when I wanted to."

"I take it that Adam is bossing you around the way he used to boss Joe around?" asked Abel.

"Yes sir."

"Well, you just go and tell that grandson of mine I said to hold his horses. These two young men and I will join you when I am finished talking with your teacher. Oh, and be sure to tell him that I said you will be driving the surrey home no matter how long I take her and if he's in that big a hurry, he can join Benjamin and Hoss on the wagon."

"I'll tell him but he won't like it. He'll be madder than a hornet's nest that's been poked with a stick and he'll probably yell at me."

He hugged her and said, "Don't you worry about Adam. I'll deal with him if he gives you a hard time. Now scoot. I'll be along in a few minutes." Cat went back and told Adam what his grandfather had said. Except for when he was fishing or hunting, he hated waiting, so as Cat had predicted, he was upset with the delay. He started to scold Cat when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you angry at your sister? Was she rude when she delivered my message?"

"No she wasn't."

"I thought so. You have never liked waiting and even though I was the cause of the additional delay, you decided to take it out on your sister. You won't yell at me and Catherine can't yell at you, so she is the one to suffer for your lack of patience. I want you to think about it on the ride home and ask yourself if that is fair to her. Cat, are you driving us home or is this thing going to drive itself?"

"I don't know. Let me ask it & see if it wants to drive itself." She pretended to talk to the surrey and said, "It said it wants me to drive."

Joe picked her up, put her on the front seat and said, "Well then drive or I will."

When Cat stopped the surrey at the road leading to the King ranch, Jasper asked, "Say Cat, how far did you read last night?"

"Adam and I read two chapters but he probably isn't going to want to read with me tonight so I might get one or two more read depending on how late Pa lets me stay up."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself little sister?" asked Adam. "I don't remember saying I wouldn't read with you tonight. Joe did you hear me say anything about not wanting to read with our Cat tonight?"

"No I didn't. I'm sure that Pa and Hoss didn't either."

"I just figured…"

"Save that figuring for your arithmetic problems Squirt. Just because my grandfather is here doesn't mean I don't want to read with you. We'll probably get another two chapters read tonight Jasper, so you and Mike need to have the first four chapters read if you want to talk about them with Cat on your way to school in the morning."

When they arrived at the Ponderosa, Abel, Adam, and Joe went into the house while Cat struggled to take the harness off of the team. It took a while but she got it done and fed and watered the horses before bedding them down for the night. Then she carried the harness into the tack room only to discover that the nail it hung on was too high for her to reach. She walked into the house and found the rest of the family in the great room. "Will somebody please hang the harness up for me? I can't reach the nail."

"Did _you_ unhitch the team?" asked Ben.

"Yes I did and it isn't easy when you're the shortest person around. I still have to muck out Beauty's stall, feed him, Lady, and Fury, fill Hop Sing's wood box, work with Fury and do my homework before supper because my brothers forgot that I'm not even supposed to have chores today or for the next four weeks. As soon as Fury doesn't need Lady any more, I'm going back to Dodge. Uncle Matt never broke his promises." She ran out the door and slammed it behind her.

"Is that true?" asked the captain. "The four of you sat here talking while a nine year old girl unharnessed a team, fed, watered, and bedded them down. Now she still has to take care of three more horses, fill a wood box and do homework before supper and she isn't supposed to have chores for the next month? I am very disappointed in all of you. I know that I haven't been here in many years, however, I will be here until the spring and we will have a lot of time to talk. Now, whoever is supposed to be doing her chores had better take care of them and if you don't want to lose her, I highly recommend that all of you apologize to Cat and tell her she won't have any chores until next year."

Just then Hop Sing walked into the great room carrying his spoon. "Why Missy Cat doing chores? She no supposed to have chores for one month. Missy Cat vely upset family no keep word. Go keep plomise and do chores. No be mean to Missy Cat or Hop Sing go back to China and take Missy Cat too!" He proceded to hit all four Cartwright men with his spoon and went back to the kitchen muttering in Chinese the whole time.

Captain Stoddard followed the rest of the family out to the barn where they found Cat mucking out Beauty's stall and talking to him. "See Beauty. I told you that the kids at school were right. Grownups don't adopt kids 'cause they love or want them. They only adopt kids 'cause they feel sorry for them. Well they can adopt some other kid 'cause I'm goin' back to Dodge where I belong. I never should have moved here. Comin' here for Christmas and the summer was fun but living her sure ain't. Adam hates me and Pa doesn't really want me. Hoss, Joe, and Hop Sing are the only ones who love me and want me here." Cat's words broke the old captain's heart and he decided that he needed to have a long talk with his grandson and son-in-law before bed that night.

Ben picked Cat up hugged her and said, "The kids at school are wrong Kitten. I adopted you because I love you and wanted you to be a permanent part of my family. Adam doesn't hate you. He doesn't always act like it, but he does love you. So do the rest of us. I'm sorry that everyone left you to take care of the team and do the chores you are not supposed to have to do for a month. It was very wrong of us to do that to you and I am just as much to blame as your brothers are. The only way I can think of to make it up to you is to tell you that except for taking care of Fury because you're training him, you don't have to do any chores until next year. What do you have to do for homework today?"

"Arithmetic, reading, history and grammar. The last three are easy but the arithmetic is probably going to take me until I'm as old as Adam."

Ben laughed. "I don't think it will take you that long. Are you still working on long division?"

"Yes and I don't see why I need to do it. Nobody goes around dividing eight numbers by three numbers."

"Well, I don't know about that, but why don't you introduce your new grandfather to Fury and your puppies. Then do as much of your homework as you can before supper. As long as I see that you have been working, you can finish it before bed."

"Gee thanks Pa. Come on Grandpa. You have to meet Fury and my puppies." Cat grabbed her saddle bags, a brush and curry comb and let her new grandfather out to the pasture where Fury was playing with Lassie and Silver Chief. She no sooner climbed through the pasture gate when she found herself on the ground being smothered in puppy fur and kisses.

After being introduced to Fury and the puppies, Abel asked, "Why don't we go up to the house now so you can do your homework?"

"I do it out here unless it's raining. When I lived in Dodge, I used to do most of it while I was fishing so Pa said I could do it out here as long as I'm finished before supper. The only time I don't have to finish my homework before supper is when I need help with my arithmetic. Then it has to be finished before I go to bed. I do my grammar and history first. Then I read to my puppies and Fury. After that I start working on arithmetic. That way everyone else can get their work done and have time to help me if I need it."

"Would you do something for your old grandpa?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Would you do your reading now, while I'm still out here? I'd really like to hear you read."

"Sure. I can do that." Cat sat down against the fence, took her reader out of her saddle bags and started reading the new lesson and asking her puppies what unfamiliar words were. By the time she finished, the old captain was laughing so hard he had tears coming out of his eyes. He helped her pronounce the words, hugged her and went back up to the house, laughing the entire time.


	87. Chapter 87

The captain was still laughing when he walked into the house. He walked over to Ben who was working on the books and said, "That child is funny. Do you know that she asks her puppies to help her pronounce unfamiliar words when she's reading?"

"Yes I do. She started doing that on the train when Adam and I were bringing her home from Dodge last summer. She and Silver Chief hid under her seat and when we came back from looking for her, she was sitting in her seat reading to the puppy. She said she was teaching him how to read, pointed to a word, asked him what it was and he said 'woof'. Her teacher knows about it and thinks it's funny. Arithmetic on the other hand is troublesome for her. Despite many attempts to show her, Cat cannot see why it's necessary. She gets frustrated because it doesn't come easy and I've almost been hit by a flying arithmetic book several times."

"I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands while I'm here so maybe I'll be able to help her. Right now I am concerned about her sitting out there in that pasture with no jacket or coat on when it is getting cold."

"I wasn't aware that she didn't have her jacket on. I'd better go and get her. Silly girl thinks that she'll never get sick or hurt." Just as he reached the door, Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked in. "I was just informed that your sister is out in the pasture with Fury and doesn't have her jacket on. Will you please go and bring her into the house? All three of you have my permission to give her one smack and feel free to scold her all you want for being so foolish. I think from now until spring, she can do her homework in the house. I do not want her getting sick from being out in the pasture without a jacket on. In that respect, she's worse than you were at that age Joe. At least you had sense enough to wear a jacket when it was getting cold outside."

Once Cat's brothers went out to get her, Abel turned to Ben and asked, "Why did I hear my granddaughter telling her horse that Adam hates her? That causes me great concern."

"You need to discuss that with Adam. It is his story to tell."

"Why wasn't she supposed to have any chores for a month?"

"Because she's a better fisherman than the rest of us. The four of them went fishing on Saturday and Adam bet her a week's worth of chores that he could catch more fish than her. If he won, she would have to groom his horse for a week and if she won, he would have to do her chores for a week. Hoss and Joe bet two weeks worth of chores that they could catch more fish than Adam and Cat combined. When the five of us went fishing yesterday, I was foolish enough to make the same bet with her that Adam did. I don't approve of gambling but I don't consider betting for chores to be gambling because chores have no monetary value. I have also been foolish enough to bet a child who hardly weighs more than a feather, that I could beat her in a horse race. She got to eat cookies before supper. I told her that the next time we race she has to put fifty pounds of rocks in her pockets and ride facing backwards. Oh, I forgot to ask if you would prefer to have the downstairs bedroom or one upstairs. We have prepared both so the choice is yours."

"I will have to see what I can do about beating my granddaughter in a horse race. Thank you for being so considerate. I would like to have the upstairs bedroom. Although I'm not up to climbing a ship's rigging any more, I am still up to walking up and down stairs and my doctor said doing so was good for me. What else do I need to know about Cat and why did you need to give your sons permission to give her smacks?"

"She isn't afraid of anything and doesn't think she'll get hurt if she does something dangerous. My father's cook caught her trying to climb up the china cabinet when she was just over a year old. When she was six, she and two of her friends climbed the water tank in Dodge. If she doesn't think anybody is watching, she will jump her horse over fences, fallen trees, and anything else that suits her. Catherine also will not stop running in the house. She ran into me one day and I spilled hot coffee all over myself.

Right now, because I'm trying to give her time to become adjusted to being part of a family, I do not want her brothers to spank her. That will be changing in January. She will have been here five months by then and they will need to have the authority to deal with any misbehavior if I am gone and they are left in charge or even if they come across her jumping her horse over fences or other high objects.

You don't need to worry about Cat skipping school. Her uncles have told her that if she skips school, she won't be allowed to spend the summer with them and that would break her heart. I would have a very unhappy little girl on my hands because she would not be allowed to spend her summer fishing, hunting, and playing with friends. Oh yes. One very important thing. Catherine will not lie. The last time she told a lie was when she was five. She and the boys she climbed the water tank with were bored with school and decided to go fishing instead. They did that three times and lied about it all three times. Matt didn't tell me what he did to her and I didn't ask. President Grant is her Godfather and she thinks that she's going to take his job when she turns ten next year. None of the family has had the heart to tell her that a person has to be thirty five to become president. So don't be surprised if you hear her say that there are too many grownups in the world and she can't wait until she turns ten and takes her uncle's job."

Cat walked into the house and stormed up to her father's desk. "You let them spank me and yell at me all the way back to the house! Why?! I wasn't doing nothing wrong! It's not fair doing that to me just because I'm the littlest!"

"Young lady, you had better watch that attitude of yours and your tone of voice because right now, you are dangerously close to having a necessary discussion with me in the barn. I gave them permission to do those things because you were out in the pasture without a jacket on. I told you several times that it's getting colder and you need to wear a jacket whenever you are outside. In fact, I told you yesterday that we would have snow before Thanksgiving and you need to wear your jacket."

"It's not that cold outside and I don't need no dumb jacket!" Before Cat could continue arguing with Ben, she found herself being carried outside over one of Hoss' shoulders with Adam and Joe following right behind. He carried her out to the barn so nobody could hear him and his brothers yelling at her.

Hoss and his brothers sat down on hay bales. Hoss put Cat across his knees, gave her one smack and handed her to Joe. Joe repeated Hoss' actions before handing her to Adam who did the same thing. "What is it going to take to get you to stop arguing with Pa?" demanded Joe. "How many times do the three of us need to bring you outside and scold you? Pa warned you that he was getting ready to bring you out here and I guarantee that the spanking you would have received would have been a lot worse than the last one you got for arguing and talking back. Why did you keep arguing with him? Do you want him to give you another spanking?"

"No. His spankings hurt worse than Uncle Matt's. I don't know. I guess I'm just tired of everyone telling me what to do and acting like I'm a baby. And I'm tired of grownups picking on me and telling me how bad I am. I can fight Anabel, Tommy, and Billy but I can't fight grownups. I guess I should just go back to Dodge."

"That's another thing," said Hoss. "This is yore home now Punkin. Ya gotta stop talking about goin' back to Dodge when things go wrong."

"Why? Nobody here really wants me anyway. The kids at school were right. Grownups only adopt kids 'cause they feel sorry for them. I'm only nine and I had to take care of the team when we got home from town because nobody else wanted to do it and I never did that before. You were all busy talking to Adam's grandpa that you didn't even notice I wasn't in the house. Even though I'm not supposed to have any chores for a month, I still had to do part of them and would have had to do all of them if Hop Sing hadn't yelled at you. Mark said that having a family would be good. He was wrong. I was better off living in Uncle Matt's office. At least he loves and wants me." She ran out of the barn, into the house and up to her room where she slammed the door, found her carpet bag and started packing.

While Adam, Hoss, and Joe were in the barn with Cat, Abel asked, "Benjamin, what is wrong with that child? Why didn't she stop arguing when you told her to?"

"I suspect it is several things, some of which were caused by my actions. I'll tell you about that in a minute. She's not used to having five people telling her what to do. Before moving here, her uncle was the only one who told her what to do. Now she has me, the boys and Hop Sing all telling her what to do and sometimes the boys take advantage of the fact that she's a lot younger than they are. For a while, they had her feeding and grooming three horses, including her colt and mucking out two stalls in addition to her regular chores before breakfast and after school. Because she is so much like Joe, I have been guilty of assuming she's doing or going to do the same things he did when he was nine. I start trying to enforce rules I never told her about and of course, she gets upset over that. We are coming up on the six month anniversary of her mother's death and although she won't say so, I know that is bothering her. Despite attempts by the whole family, including her uncles to persuade her otherwise, she is still blaming herself for Kate's death."

"Let me give it a try. Maybe I will succeed where everyone else has failed. I will talk with my grandson later but what have you done to make her think you don't want her here?"

"It all started on November second. I caught Catherine running in the house. Since everything else had failed, we had decided that her punishment would be to stand in the corner for an hour and to ride double with someone. The next day was Monday and even though the boys and Hop Sing tried to get me to change my mind, I made her ride double to school with me. I should have listened to my sons and Hop Sing." He went on to tell the captain about the fight at school and the boys' threats, causing Cat to ride to town in the middle of the night. Ben also told him about the lies the boys had said to her while they were on the Ponderosa and how they got some friends to spread the same lies to the town gossips and what the women had done to her at church.

"I see. And what was Adam's role in all of that?"

"He needs to be the one to tell you."

Just then Cat ran in and up the stairs to her room. Ben started to go upstairs but Abel said, "Let me go, talk to my new granddaughter while you talk to your sons and find out why she is so upset. Once she goes to sleep tonight, the five of us need to sit and talk."

Ben walked outside to talk to his sons while Abel went upstairs to talk with Cat. He knocked on her door and received a reply he wasn't expecting. "Go away and leave me alone. I'm mad at all of you and don't want to talk to you right now."

"Cat, it's Grandpa. May I please come in?"

"Sure Grandpa. I'm not mad at you."

He walked into her room, hugged her and said, "I'm glad you're not angry at me since we just met today. Will you please tell me why you're so upset and why you are going to abandon ship?"

"I'm going back to Dodge. I don't belong here. Adam hates me and Pa doesn't really want me here. He only adopted me because he felt sorry for me and everyone, especially Adam, treats me like I'm a baby except when they don't want to do something. Then I have to do it. I had to unhitch the team from the surrey and take the harness off them and I didn't even know how. Then I had to groom and feed them and make sure they had fresh bedding. I had to stand on top of two crates to groom them and the top crate kept wobbling. Nobody even cared that I was doing all that and my chores until Hop Sing yelled at everybody. There are too many grownups telling me what to do and being mean to me. I can fight the kids who are mean to me at school but I can't fight grownups."

"Please tell me why you think that Adam hates you and why you think that Benjamin only adopted you because he felt sorry for you."

"He always calls me a pest and a nuisance and he's always trying to get me in trouble. I was about fifteen minutes late getting home from school one day because Mike and I raced to his house and his ma gave us lemonade and cookies. Adam was glad I was late because he thought I got in trouble in school. A couple weeks ago, Pa said I could go fishing with all the kids after school on Friday. When Mike and I stopped to leave our fishing poles where everyone fishes, Adam was hiding in the bushes with his belt off. He was hoping that I was going to skip school so he could give me a whipping. I hate going to school but I'm not going to skip. If I do, my uncles won't let me spend the summer with them. He was really mean to me on Friday. Ask Joe what Adam did to me."

"I will be speaking to Adam later. Now why do you think that Benjamin only adopted you because he feels sorry for you?"

"'Cause my mama was his sister and it's my fault she was killed."

"I see. And just why is it your fault?"

"'Cause I didn't want to go to Australia with her. She stayed in Dodge to try and get me to go. Ifn I woulda gone with her, she would still be alive."

"Well now. I heard that she stayed in Dodge so she could divorce her husband because he was not treating her the way a lady should be treated. However, even if you had gone back to Australia with her, there is a very good possibility that neither of you would be alive right now. I'll talk to you about what I said after supper but right now we need to talk about your homework. How much do you have left?"

"Four arithmetic problems."

"Get your book and tablet and sit here on your bed with me. I'll help you with them. Then we'll talk a little more." With her new grandfather helping, it hardly took any time at all for Cat to finish her homework. "You did a good job on those problems. The trick to arithmetic besides knowing your facts is to take your time and figure out the best way to solve the problem before starting to work on it. Now let's talk about your plans to abandon ship. You're being a bit hasty with your plans. The ship may be listing some but she is in no danger of floundering."

"I don't understand what you're saying."

He laughed and said, "I guess you don't, but you will after a while. Go and ask Adam if we can borrow that ship's model he has in his room. Be sure and ask politely."

Cat went downstairs, walked up to Adam and asked, "Can Grandpa and me please borrow the ship's model you have in your room?"

Adam looked up from his book, smiled at Cat and said, "It's 'May Grandpa and I' and yes you may. Just please be careful with it."

"Thank you. I will." She got the model, carried it into her bedroom and handed it to the captain.

"Thank you child." He held the model upright and said, "Now when a ship is sailing it looks like this. I said that the ship that is this family is listing and this is what that looks like." He tilted the model to one side. "As you can see, it's leaning to one side but it's not about to sink."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Yes it can. All that is usually required is adjusting the sails and a slight course change."

"What's that?"

"A course change is simply changing directions."

"What causes it?"

"Usually some rough weather like a squall or a storm. That's what has happened here. The family has hit some rough weather and the ship is listing. All that's needed to fix it is a slight course change and adjusting the sails. Part of the problem is that you are so much younger than your brothers and they are not used to dealing with a much younger sibling. Nothing can be done about the age difference, but with time they will become used to dealing with you. You are not used to having so many people telling you what to do and they need to remember it. On the other hand, you need to learn to listen, do what you are told, especially when it's for your own good, and speak respectfully to Benjamin and your brothers. Arguing and talking back to them will result in unpleasant consequences. It may not have seemed cold to you, however, at this time of year, the weather here can change in an instant and you could have become very cold in just a few minutes. From now on, until the spring, even if it seems too warm, I want you to have your jacket with you so if the weather changes, you will be prepared. I want you to promise me, no more talking back to Benjamin or your brothers."

"I'll try but they make me so mad sometimes, especially when they don't listen to me or treat me like I'm a baby. They all think that 'cause I'm only nine, I don't know anything. I know me better than they do. Besides that, I don't need anybody to tell me what to do or take care of me. I can take care of myself. I had to do it a lot 'cause Uncle Matt was sometimes too busy to take care of me."

"I understand that you are nine years old and don't like being treated like a baby. We're going to work on that and other things while I'm here. You have a family and don't need to take care of yourself any more. You have a father and brothers now. It is their job to take care of you so all you have to worry about is getting good grades in school, winning horse races against and catching more fish than the rest of the family. Benjamin did not adopt you because he felt sorry for you. He adopted you because he loves you and wants you to be a part of his family. He loves you and so do your brothers. However, being angry at someone is no excuse for being rude and talking back."

"It's their fault. I had a really good day until we got home. I got to drive the buckboard into town without a grownup and all the big kids were jealous. Then I got to drive the surrey home but everybody ruined it because they didn't want to take care of the team & do my chores like they were supposed to, so I had to do everything by myself. Then Pa let Adam, Hoss, and Joe spank and yell at me just 'cause I wasn't wearing my jacket and then they spanked me again 'cause I was arguin' with Pa. It just ain't fair. They all say they love me but they sure don't act like it."

"No child, life is not fair and families don't always act as though they love each other even though they do love each other very much. People argue and make mistakes. That's all a part of being human. Your family didn't mean for you to have to take care of the team and do your chores. They were just happy to see me again and forgot about everything else because they wanted to spend time talking with me."

"Uncle Matt never forgot about me, even when he was real busy when the cattle drives came to town. He said that cowboys who have been on a long cattle drive forget their manners lots of time and sometimes cause trouble so he took me out to the Tanner's when they were in town, but he rode out to see me every day."

"As I said, they made a mistake and you need to forgive them for it." 

"No. I'm tired of always being hurt, especially by Adam and having to forgive them just 'cause they say they're sorry. I ain't forgiving them this time. They have to show me that they're sorry 'cause it's easy to say but not easy to show."

Ben went upstairs to tell Cat and Abel it was time to wash up for supper. He stood outside Cat's door and listened to what she was saying. He was deeply hurt when he heard her say that Matt never forgot about her and she no longer believed him and Adam when they apologized to her. He knocked on the door and said, "Supper's almost ready. You two need to get washed up and Cat you need to set the table."

Cat sighed. She was tired of having to set the table just because she was a girl. Abel spoke up. "Catherine, why do you have to set the table?"

"'Cause I'm a girl and Pa says settin' the table is stuff girls are supposed to do."

"I see. Who set the table before you came to live here?"

"I don't know. Probably Hop Sing."

"Benjamin, you, your sons and I are going to have a long talk later. Right now, Catherine is not going to set the table. She is not supposed to have any chores until after the holidays so somebody else will have to set the table."

During supper, Abel asked, "Cat, why did you unhitch the team and get them bedded down for the night?"

"'Cause I didn't want to get yelled at and punished for not doing it."

"Who would have done that and why didn't you come in the house and ask someone to do it?"

"Adam. He's always hoping to catch me doing something I'm not supposed to. I didn't ask for help because he woulda said since I drove the surrey, it was my job to take care of the team. I'm surprised he didn't yell at me 'cause I couldn't hang the harness up."

"I would never do that to you Cat and I am very sorry that you think I would. That team was not your responsibility and you should have come in here and asked someone to take care of them for you. Those horses are bigger than Sport and Chub. How were you able to groom them?"

"I stood on top of two crates and the top one kept wiggling."

"That was a very dangerous thing to do little sister. If you had fallen, you could have spooked whichever horse you were grooming and he could have hurt you badly. Please don't ever do that again. All of us would be devastated if you got hurt or worse doing something dangerous because you thought you would get in trouble for not doing it."

After supper, Abel asked, "Joe, would you please go up to my bedroom and bring down the chart lying on my bed? Benjamin, may I please trouble you for a ruler, piece of paper and a pencil?" Abel spread the chart out on the table and called Cat over to him. "When we were talking upstairs, I said I would tell you why you and your mother might not be alive if you had agreed to go back to Australia with her and her husband. I'll tell you about this chart in a minute. Before I do, I want you to think about some things. Since you would be gone for several years, your mother would have insisted that you be allowed to spend some time with your father's brother in Arizona and with your uncle and cousins here on the Ponderosa. You probably would have gone from Dodge to Arizona and then to here and taken trains and stage coaches. Both trains and stage coaches have accidents and people are hurt or killed. They also get held up. Usually with a train robbery, as long as the passengers do what the robbers want, nobody gets hurt. The same is not always true with stage coach robberies. As I'm sure that your father, brothers, and uncles can tell you, just like with bank robberies, sometimes people who hold up stage coaches kill all of the passengers and the driver just because they want to."

The rest of the family gathered around the table to see what the captain was going to teach Cat. "Now I want you to take a look at this paper. It's called a chart. A chart is a map only it's for the ocean, not land. The lines going from top to bottom are called lines of longitude and the lines going from side to side are called lines of latitude. The line going from side to side in the middle is called the Equator. They help tell you where you are at on the Earth. Those numbers at the bottom are called the scale. On this scale, one inch is the same as two hundred nautical miles."

"What's a nautical mile?"

"A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. If you were to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. You could divide that circle into three hundred sixty degrees. You could then divide a degree into sixty minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is one nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all countries for sea travel. A knot is how sailors measure speed. If you are traveling at a speed of one nautical mile per hour, you are traveling at a speed of one knot. A nautical mile is one and one thousand, five hundred eight ten-thousandths miles, or six thousand seventy six feet. One knot is one and fifteen hundredths miles per hour. The fastest most ships can travel is five or six knots. Clipper ships can travel as fast as twenty knots. The wind and the sea determine how fast a ship can travel. If the seas are rough and you are sailing against the wind, you will not travel very fast. However, if the seas are calm and you are sailing with the wind, you will travel much faster. If the wind is light or not blowing at all, you will not travel fast."

"What do circumference and against the wind mean?"

"Circumference is the outer boundary of a circle and against the wind means that you're sailing into the wind. With the wind means that the wind is blowing from behind you."

"How can the wind slow a ship down?"

"The ship has to work harder to sail into the wind. Have you ever had trouble walking into the wind?"

"Sometimes."

"Ships have trouble sailing into the wind because it's pushing the sails backwards. Try this. Go and try to walk while pushing Hoss."

Cat did as she was told and said, "It's hard. Hoss is lots bigger than me."

"That's right. Now think of the ship as being you and the wind as being Hoss. Do you see why it is hard to sail into the wind?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now try and walk with Hoss pushing you."

"That's lots easier. I can go really fast with Hoss pushing me."

"That's right. Now do you understand how the wind affects how fast a ship can go?"

"Yes I do."

"Let's look at the chart. Here is San Francisco. That's where you would have sailed from. That big island is Australia. The big dot is the city of Sydney. That is where you would have sailed into. Now, let's measure how far it is from San Francisco to Sydney."

"The ruler is too short."

"That's alright. Use the pencil and make a mark at the end of the ruler. Then move it so the end closest to you is at the line."

"It's a little more than three ruler lengths."

"How much farther?"

"An inch and a little bit."

"Excellent. That little bit is actually one twelfth of an inch. So, on this chart, how many inches is it between San Francisco and Sydney?"

Cat counted on her fingers. "Twelve, twenty four, thirty six. Thirty seven and one twelfth."

"Very good. Now if you remember, I said that on this chart, one inch equals two hundred nautical miles, so how far is thirty seven and one twelfth inches in nautical miles?"

Cat said, "I don't know what to do with the decimal point. I only know how to add and subtract with them. Miss Winter said we're going to start multiplying decimals next week."

"Just write the number with the decimal point and multiply the two numbers as though it isn't even there."

Cat did the multiplication and said, "It comes out to six thousand four hundred fifty one."

"That's correct. In this case, you don't need to do anything with the decimal point. Now let's see how long you would have been at sea. We'll start with the fastest speed a ship can go. How fast did I say a clipper ship could go?"

"Twenty knots."

"Do you know what an equation is?"

"No. I never heard of it."

"An equation tells you how to solve a problem when the numbers can change. The things they represent stay the same but the numbers can change. In this case, you would divide the distance by the speed. So divide six thousand four hundred fifty one by twenty."

"It's three hundred twenty two and fifty five hundredths."

"That's correct. Now, that is the number of hours you would be at sea. How many hours are in a day?"

"Twenty four."

"Ok so divide the number of hours by twenty four."

"Thirteen and forty four hundredths."

"That means the minimum amount of time you would be at sea would be a little more than thirteen days if you were on a clipper ship. Now divide six thousand four hundred fifty one by six and then change that answer into days."

"That's forty four and eighty one hundredths."

"Very good. So at six knots, you would be at sea for almost forty five days. Remember, a ship cannot always sail at full speed so how many days would you be at sea if the ship could only sail as fast as two knots?"

" **WOW**! That would be one hundred thirty four and forty one hundredths days. That's more than four months!"

"Excellent. Now in those four months, a lot of things can happen. During the summer, there are very bad storms called typhoons. The winds in the worst of those storms can reach more than one hundred fifty miles an hour. If a storm with winds that strong were to hit the Ponderosa, it would destroy the ranch, including the house, barn, and most of the trees. A ship at sea wouldn't stand a chance of surviving. If a ship's captain sees a storm, he's going to change course and try to avoid it, but that isn't always possible. Having to change course will make the trip longer. Another thing that could happen while you're sailing to Australia is you could get sick. Ship's doctors don't have room to store all of the medicines that doctors on land do. If you got sick and the doctor didn't have the medicine you needed, you could die. Now do you understand why I said that even if you had decided to go to Australia, you might not be alive today? It is _**NOT**_ your fault that your mother is dead. I don't know why she was killed but you did not cause her death. I never met her but I am positive that she would not want you to go through life blaming yourself because she was killed. Your mother was Benjamin's sister and he isn't blaming you for her death so why are you blaming yourself?"

"'Cause she woulda left Dodge sooner if I hadn't said I wouldn't go to Australia."

"I've been told that everyone in the family, including your uncle in Dodge, has told you that your mother was only pretending to try and get you to go to Australia so she would be able to see a lawyer and divorce her husband because he was mean to her and did not treat her like a lady should be treated. Do you think that everyone is lying to you?"

"No. I thought they were just saying that so I would stop saying it was my fault Mama was killed."

Abel rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he picked Cat up and sat her on the table. "Saying something that isn't true is lying no matter what the reason is. You just said that you didn't think everyone was lying to you but then you said that they were lying. You can't have it both ways child. Either the family lied to you or they didn't. Which is it? Did they lie or didn't they?"

"They didn't."

"That's true. Your family did not lie to you. Now you just have to start believing it is _**NOT**_ your fault that your mother was killed. When you say your prayers before going to sleep tonight, ask God to help you believe it was not your fault and He will help you."

Hoss picked Cat up and said, "It's getting' late but you have time for one game of checkers. Who are you going to play with, me or Little Joe?"

"I don't know. I want to play with both of you."

"You don't have time for two games Kitten," said Ben. "If you didn't have school in the morning, I would let you stay up and play two games but I do not want you falling asleep in school. So, which one of your brothers are you going to play with?"

"I don't know."

Adam said, "You and I haven't played checkers in a while. Why don't the two of us play tonight and you can play with Hoss and Joe tomorrow night?"

"Ok, but I'm going to win. Just you wait and see."

"And just how do you propose to do that? I am a much better checker player than you or our brothers are."

"Easy. When you're not looking, I'm going to hide some of your checkers and put them back just before I win."

"You've been spending too much time with Joe. Let's get this game going or we're not going to have time to read before you have to go to sleep."


	88. Chapter 88

**a/n:** To St. Cyr, Even when Cat and Adam are angry with each other, he will always defend her against others who try and harm her in any way. Yes, those women do need to take a good long look at themselves and ask why they believed the words spoken by a couple of fifteen year old boys against a nine year old. Now that Adam's grandfather has arrived, he'll help bridge the gap between Adam and Cat and help her to adjust to being part of a family.

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Adam won the game of checkers and Ben told Cat it was time for bed. Adam read two chapters in One Thousand and One Nights with her, turned the lamp down and went downstairs. After Ben tucked her in and returned to the great room, Abel said, "We need to talk about Catherine. Hop Sing, you are part of this family and I would like you to be part of this discussion. Adam, I want to know why you have been treating your sister the way you have and don't start telling me about what you think Joe did when you returned from college. I also want to know exactly what you did to her on Friday and why. I know what she did and why but I must know what you did and why." Adam told his grandfather what he had done to Cat on Friday and why. "I see. Your sister told you the boys had threatened to do something very bad if she didn't do what they said but instead of attempting to learn what that threat was, you decided that your sister needed to be punished. And you made that decision based on the fact that you thought your father had let Joe get away with everything, so you decided he would not punish your sister and it was up to you to do so. I am very disappointed. Let me ask you this. If you had waited to talk with the boys' fathers, would you have punished your sister? If you had not punished her in the sheriff's office, would you have needed to punish her for talking back to you on the way home?"

"No I wouldn't."

"Exactly. You remind me of some first mates I've had. They thought they were ready to be in command even though they were still learning what it takes to become a captain. I'm sure your father remembers at least one of them."

"Yes I do. I was your cabin boy and no older than eleven when he ordered me aloft with no safety line. When I protested that I was not allowed aloft, he struck me."

"That's right. The second mate came down to my cabin and told me what was happening. The man was drunk so I demoted him to seaman, fired him when we returned to Boston and ensured he would never serve as an officer on any vessel again. Adam you are an excellent first mate but not quite ready to command. Catherine doesn't trust you due to your attitude and actions toward her. That is why she risked serious injury to take care of the team today. You are going to have to work hard to regain her trust. I can't tell you how to do it as that is something you need to discover for yourself. I do know one thing that may help. You know she struggles with arithmetic so instead of waiting for her to ask for help, ask her if she would like some help. That alone will not cause you to regain her trust but it may help. Hop Sing, I would welcome your opinion. What do you think of the way the family has been treating its youngest member?"

"Mr. Cartlight and Adam need to stop acting like Missy Cat is baby. Need to stop tleating her like Little Joe when he boy. She no get into mischief like Little Joe. She been through much pain and loss and need to feel like she loved and wanted. Maybe then nightmares stop. Family need to keep promises. You tell her she have no chores so no make her do chores. She little girl and need time to play but she no have time except on weekend. Listen to what she say and stop making her aflaid she be punished for no doing something she not supposed to do. Hoss and Little Joe always take time to play and show her they love her. Show her mole of Ponderosa, how get there and let her go alone. Puppies soon be big enough to protect her."

"Cat has nightmares? What are they about?"

"Her mother's death," answered Joe. "We took her out to her mother's grave and they got better for a while. She wasn't having so many and the ones she had weren't as bad until Friday. Then she had one of the worst nightmares she's had since coming here to live."

"Joe, please tell me exactly what a school day is like for her."

"Before breakfast, she has to gather the eggs, fill Hop Sing's wood box, muck out Beauty's stall and feed him, Lady and Fury. She also has to set the table for breakfast and clear it when we're done eating. After school, she has to groom Beauty, feed him, Lady, and Fury, fill Hop Sing's wood box, work with Fury, do her homework, set the table and clear it after supper. Then she has time for two games of checkers before getting ready for bed."

"Who used to set and clear the table before Catherine came to live here?"

"I did," said Hop Sing. "Mr. Cartlight say setting and clearing table something Missy Cat need to do."

"I was right when I told my granddaughter that this family ship needs a course change and the sails adjusting. Counting me and Hop Sing, there are seven people in this family. Therefore, each one of us can set and clear the table one day a week. Since Catherine has no chores until after the holidays, she will be exempt unless someone politely asks her to do it and then they will have to take two of her days in January."

"Abel, you are a guest in our home and do not need to do any work, including setting and clearing the table," said Ben.

"Nonsense. I am family and will do what I can to help around here. Adam, I want you to try something until after the new year. Whenever you are going to do something to your sister, stop and ask yourself if whatever it is you are planning to do is something you would do if Catherine was your daughter instead of your sister. If the answer is yes, then go ahead and do it. If the answer is no, ask yourself why you are doing it. If you can justify your actions, then do whatever it is you were going to do. Otherwise don't do it. Also, if you catch her doing something you don't think she should be doing, especially if she could get hurt, ask her why she's doing it. She may think she's helping out and may not realize that she could get hurt. Try spending more time with her. I know it's getting too cold for fishing but the two of you could just go for a ride. Another thing you could do is ask if she'd like to learn to play the guitar. Benjamin, Hoss, Joe, if you see Adam do something to Cat, ask him why he did it. If his answer is reasonable, accept it. If it is not, ask him how he could have handled the situation differently. Adam, I make no guarantees, but doing what I just asked you to do may help to restore her trust in you. Will you do that for me?"

"Yes I will. As you said, it may help and it certainly can't hurt. When I learned what those boys had threatened to do if Cat didn't go to the saloon with them, I wanted to wring their necks. I also realized how wrong I was to treat Cat the way I did and wished there was some way to undo my actions. She told me they had threatened to do something bad but I wasn't paying attention to her words, only to the fact that she was in town in the middle of the night, looking under the saloon door."

"Very good. Now I want to know why Cat has been here for three months and still does not know her way around this ranch."

"Pa's bein' real overprotective of little sister," said Hoss. "He wants ta wrap her in cotton wool & put her on a shelf. I'm surprised he don't insist on riding ta school with her every day. Even though Doc Martin said for us to take her, Pa didn't even want me, Adam and Joe takin' her to her mama's grave 'cause the doc said for him not to go. He don' even want her learnin' how to get anywhere on her own exceptin' school and Lake Tahoe."

"He's gotten better," added Joe, "but he's still got a long way to go. I'm surprised he let her go fishing with us on Saturday and I'm even more surprised he let her drive the buckboard to school this morning. I think the only reason he let her help us move the cattle to their winter pastures is because he knew she would try and do something on her own and possibly get badly hurt."

"What was her life like before she came here to live?"

"She had a lot of freedom," answered Adam. "As long as her uncle or one of his friends knew where she was going, she was allowed to go anywhere she wanted. She also had three jobs."

"What kind of jobs did a young girl have?"

"She caught fish for the hotel restaurant, took telegrams to the farms and ranches outside of town, and sometimes helped the blacksmith. In fact, she'd go fishing after school and do her homework while she was fishing. It took some doing but we managed to convince Pa to allow her to do her homework out in the pasture with her colt."

"Well Benjamin, now I know why that precious child thinks that you don't really want her and only adopted her because you felt sorry for her. She went from having unlimited freedom to having none at all. It also explains why she keeps saying she wants to go back to Dodge. She knew she was loved and that her uncle would always be there for her. He took her to a family outside of town to keep her safe when a cattle drive arrived but rode out to see her every day. The four of you didn't even notice that she wasn't in the house with everyone else this afternoon until she asked someone to put the harness away and Hop Sing scolded you.

Beginning tomorrow, after Catherine finishes her homework, one of you is going to start showing her around the ranch. Pick a spot and take her there every day until she can find it with her eyes closed. Then pick another spot and to do the same thing until she knows her way around the ranch. Obviously you're not going to be able to show her the entire ranch before the end of this year, but you can get a good start on it. You and Adam need to do more than tell Cat that you love her. You need to show her that you love her. Remember, actions speak louder than words and until she believes that the two of you do love her and want her here, she will not be happy and will continue wanting to go back to her uncle. Catherine is a sweet child who needs to know that she is loved and wanted. Since this is your first experience raising a girl, there is one thing you need to know. Girls wear their hearts on their sleeves, and they are easily broken. Little girls' feelings are also easily hurt. Sometimes all it takes is a single cross word to make a girl go running off in tears. I experienced that many times with Elizabeth when she was growing up. Now Benjamin, how about a game of chess. I am anxious to see if your skills have improved since the last time we played."

"It's not that late so I'm going to ride over and see if Amos Morgan will let me ask Sally Ann to the harvest festival and dance on Saturday," said Joe. "With everything that happened at church yesterday, I didn't get a chance to ask her. Don't worry, I won't be out too late. Amos won't let us do much more than sit on the porch and talk for a little while."

When Joe returned home, everyone else had already gone to bed. He decided to look in on Cat to make sure she hadn't kicked her covers off and was surprised to find her bed empty. Knowing that Adam was still awake, he lightly knocked on his brother's door. "What do you want at this hour of the night?" asked Adam. "Don't you relize what time it is?"

"Shhh," whispered Joe. "I don't want to wake Pa. May I come in for a minute?"

Adam stood aside and let his brother in and closed the door behind him. "Now just exactly what is so important that it can't wait for morning?"

"Cat's not in her bed and neither are her puppies."

"If she's ridden off somewhere…"

"She's still here somewhere. Her clothes are on her desk chair and all of the horses are in their stalls."

"Alright. You check the outhouse and I'll look in the kitchen."

Joe came back in the house and said, "She's not in the outhouse and I don't see her puppies anywhere in the yard."

"Well then, that means there's only one other place she can be."

"You're right. I didn't even think to look and see if she was sleeping with Fury. She does that when she's upset and these past two days have been very upsetting for her."

"I think I'll let her spend the night in here with me. Please get her pillow and blanket while I put my boots on and then we'll see if our theory is right and little sister is sleeping with her colt again."

They walked out to the barn and found Cat sound asleep in Lady and Fury's stall, using the colt as a pillow, with her puppies curled up on either side of her. "Too bad it's too cold to leave her out here," said Joe. "I can't believe she didn't even think to bring a blanket with her."

"I know. She is awfully cute lying there and if it were still summer, I'd leave her right where she's at. Since it's late fall, we had better get her into the house."

"Yeah," said Joe, picking her up. "She's awfully cold. Let's make some hot cocoa for her before putting her back to bed."

"You read my mind little brother. Some hot cocoa will help all of us to get to sleep faster."

They carried Cat into the kitchen and made enough noise to wake Hop Sing who came out of his room. "What you doing so late? Why Missy Cat not in bed?"

"Shhh," said Adam. "Not so loud. We don't want to wake Pa. We found Cat sleeping in the barn with Fury and she didn't even have a blanket with her. She's cold so we're making some hot cocoa to warm her up before taking her back upstairs. I'm going to put her in my bed. I hate lying to Pa but if he looks for her in the morning, I'm going to tell him that she was having a hard time sleeping so I made her some hot cocoa and put her in my bed. Please don't tell him that we found her in the barn. It will just make him angry."

"Hop Sing no say anything. No want Mr. Cartlight angly at Missy Cat. I make hot cocoa. You get cups out." They drank their hot cocoa and Adam carried Cat upstairs and put her in his bed. He rubbed her back and sang to her until she fell asleep."

The next morning, Ben was surprised when he didn't find Cat in her bed. He asked Adam about it while they were having coffee before starting morning chores. "She was having trouble sleeping, so I made her some hot cocoa and put her in my bed. I rubbed her back and sang to her until she fell asleep."

"Why didn't you wake me?" demanded Ben.

"Why did Adam need to wake you?" asked Abel. "What could you have done for her that he didn't? I think he did an excellent job taking care of his sister."

"Thank you Grandfather. I used to do the same things for Joe after Marie died and Pa left us."

"Because I'm her father and I need to know if she's having trouble sleeping."

"You didn't seem to care that your five year old son was having nightmares and crying for his mama and papa fourteen years ago," retorted Adam.

"Adam," said Abel. "That was fourteen years ago. I am surprised that you are still angry with your father after all these years. He knows he was wrong to leave. I also realize how hard it was for you to run the ranch and take care of your brothers when you were only seventeen. However, your father did return and apologized for his actions. What has been done has been done and cannot be undone. It is long past time for you to let go of your anger. Benjamin, it is not necessary for you to be notified everytime something happens with Catherine or she does something. She had trouble sleeping and Adam took care of her. I am quite certain that he would have knocked on your door if she had been having a nightmare or if she had fallen down the stairs. You cannot continue to be overprotective of her. If you do, you will lose her. She is a young child, full of life who needs the opportunity to run and play and to be allowed to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. It is only by making mistakes and learning from them as children that we grow into responsible adults.

Catherine is a lot like Elizabeth was at that age. She was wild and fun loving. Much like Cat and her friends climbing the water tank in Dodge, Elizabeth snuck on board my ship and climbed the rigging when she was eight. Of course, I was terrified something bad would happen to her. Also, I had recently been promoted to first mate and was concerned that her actions would cause me to be demoted back to second mate. Instead, my captain climbed the rigging himself, helped her into the crow's nest and let her look through his spyglass before helping her back to the deck. Then he told her she was welcome on board anytime but she should ask his help before climbing the rigging again. My wife on the other hand, was not so forgiving. Margaret was furious when she learned where our daughter had been and what she had been doing. She felt that Elizabeth should be at home, learning to cook, sew, and keep house. I told her there would be plenty of time for Liz to learn those things but she was only going to be a child once and should enjoy her childhood. I'm afraid I overindulged my daughter when she was a child but I firmly believe that if I hadn't, she wouldn't have grown into the young woman you fell in love with and married. I would like you to do the same thing with Cat. A little bit of overindulgence won't hurt her a bit." As everyone was getting ready to go outside and do the morning chores, Abel asked, "Should I go and wake my granddaughter?"

Ben looked at the clock and said, "No, not yet. Since she doesn't have any chores this morning, she can sleep for another hour. If she's not awake by the time breakfast is ready, you can wake her then."

Cat came downstairs shortly before breakfast, yawning, stretching, and rubbing her eyes. As usual when she hadn't had enough sleep, her shirt was on backwards. Her brothers laughed at her and Adam teased, "Little sister, what have Hoss, Joe, and I told you about going into town, playing poker, and drinking most of the night?"

"Not to, but it's fun."

"I see. And how much did you win last night?"

"Five hundred million dollars."

"And what did you do with all that money?"

"I bought a bunch of candy and ate it on the way home. I really had fun last night. I got into a big fight and beat ten cowboys who were bigger than Hoss. Then I moved all of the horses around so nobody could find theirs. It was lots of fun watching all the cowboys looking for their horses. It took them hours and hours to find them."

"That does sound like fun. I'll have to try it sometime. How much whisky did you drink?"

"None. I don't like whisky. It tastes worse than coffee does. I drank a small barrel of beer. I'm too tired to go to school today. I should just stay home and sleep."

Abel had a hard time containing his laughter while Cat was telling everyone what she had done during the night.

"Young lady," said Ben with mock severity, "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, little girls who spend their nights drinking and gambling in saloons do not get to sleep all day. They have to go to school even if they have to do it riding backwards on a mule."

Adam picked Cat up and put her over one of his shoulders. "Come on Squirt. You need to use the outhouse before you wet your pants because if you do, I will ride to school with you and tell all of your classmates what you did so they can laugh at you."

"Adam, why are you carrying your sister like that?" asked Abel.

"Because it's fun. Hoss and I still do it with Joe sometimes but he's not as light as he used to be. Also, if I carry her this way, I can do this…" He took one of Cat's moccasins off her feet and began to tickle her."

"Say Adam," said Hoss, "That ain't such a good idea. You got a clean shirt on an' you know what happens when little sister gets tickled first thing in the morning."

"Thanks Hoss. Tickling little sister is so much fun I forgot about that. Come on Squirt. Let's get you outside." He set Cat down near the outhouse and said, "Meet me at the pump when you're done. I'll pump some cold water on your head to help you wake up. You might want to put your shirt on the right way around while you're in there or everyone at school will laugh at you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Once Adam had left the house with Cat over his shoulder, Abel started laughing so hard, he had tears coming out of his eyes. "That little girl sure does have an active imagination. I'm trying to picture her winning a fight against ten men all of whom are bigger than Hoss."

"Don't forget winning five hundred million dollars at poker and moving all of the horses around so nobody could find theirs," added Joe.

"You're not planning on curbing that imagination, are you Benjamin? I certainly hope not," asked Abel.

"No, of course not. I'm afraid that if I even thought about it, I would be ostracized by my family. I would probably have to sleep in the barn or one of the line shacks, _**if**_ they even allowed me on the Ponderosa. In fact, my friends and everyone who knows Cat would be so angry with me that I would probably have to move to another town and change my name."

Cat had a hard time staying awake at breakfast and Adam had to wake her up several times. After the second time, Ben said, "Cat, try and finish your breakfast then go back to bed. I'm afraid if I send you to school, you'll fall out of the saddle before you get out of the yard. Joe, after you finish eating, please ride over to the Ingalls', tell Laura that Cat won't be in school today and ask her to get your sister's lessons. Then ride over to the Devlins and tell Michael so he won't wait for her. I don't want him to be late for school."

Joe rode over to the Ingalls and found Charles hitching up the wagon. Joe told him about Cat's bad night, that she wouldn't be going to school and asked if Laura would please get her assignments. Then he said, "Please don't tell the girls about what happened last night. I know that they wouldn't intentionally say anything, but they might do so accidentally and I wouldn't want Cat to get teased and embarrassed."

"Don't worry about it Joe. I'll just tell the girls that Cat isn't feeling well and ask Laura to get her assignments."

"Thank you Charles. Little sister would kill me if something happened and I was the cause of it. She's still angry at Pa about last Monday and Adam about what happened on Friday. I don't want her angry at me too. I've got to head over to the Devlins so Mike doesn't wait for Cat."

"Ben and Adam were both wrong so I don't blame Cat for being angry with them. It will take a while, but she'll eventually stop being angry, however something tells me that they're going to have to prove that they really are sorry for their actions. Go on and get over to the Devlins so Mike isn't late for school."

After Joe left, Adam walked up to his father's desk and said, "I've got to go out to the lumber camp after dinner. I think I'll take Cat with me. Maybe I'll even let her be Bull of the Woods today."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. She could get hurt."

"How is she going to get hurt? I'll put her on a tree stump or a small stack of logs that are tied down & tell her to yell 'moo' as loud as she can. The men will think it's funny. She can also help me mark trees and maybe I'll let her give the men some instructions. She can tell them to make sure their saws are sharp before trying to cut down a tree or something like that."

"Alright son. I'm sure she'll enjoy the experience."

Ben went upstairs to wake Cat a little while before dinner. "What got you so upset that you couldn't sleep last night?"

"Nothing."

"It's not like you to tell a lie. Something was bothering you and I'd like to know what it was."

"You'll be mad at me if I tell you."

"No I won't. I can probably guess what it was. It's everything that has happened to you since you got in trouble for running in the house, including the fact that I made you ride to school double with me and what happened on Sunday and yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yes," she answered quietly.

Ben hugged her. "That's what I thought. Kitten, I don't ever want you to be afraid to tell me when something is bothering you. I can't help you if I don't know something is wrong. Why don't you get up and get dressed? Dinner is almost ready and Adam has something he wants to do with you this afternoon."

"What does he want to do?"

"He said something about feeding you to some trees."

Cat giggled. "That's silly. Trees don't eat people."

"Well, maybe he found some that do. You won't know unless you get dressed and eat dinner."

Cat and Adam rode out after dinner and she asked, "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll see when we get there."

When they rode into the lumber camp, all of the men greeted Adam who picked Cat up and said, "Men, meet your new Bull of the Woods."

The men all said hello to her and one of them asked, "How come our new Bull of the Woods isn't in school today?"

"Well little sister, if you're going to be the boss today, you have to tell them why you aren't in school."

Cat told them everything she had told the family that morning and to their credit, the men played along. "Oh, so you're the reason it took me an hour to find my horse last night," said Tom. "Next time that happens, I'll just take your horse and ride it back here."

Jake said, "I'm never playing poker with you again. You're too lucky. I lost a whole week's pay to you only to watch you spend it on beer and candy."

"I thought maybe she was cheating," said Wes, "But the only time her hands weren't in sight is when she dropped a card. It fell on the floor next to me and I watched her pick it up."

While the men were teasing Cat, Adam whispered something to one of the others. He took three men and put extra ropes over a stack of logs and staked them down to make sure they were secure. Once that was done, Ron, the man Adam had whispered to said, "How do we know that this pint sized person is up to the job of Bull of the Woods? We ain't heard her moo yet."

"You've been challenged Cat," said Adam.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Do you see that stack of logs over there? Well, you have to climb up, stand on top and yell 'moo' as loud as you can. If you're loud enough, the men will accept you as their boss."

Cat walked over to the logs, climbed up to the top, stood up and yelled, " **MOO, MOOO, MOOOOOOOO**!" as loud as she could.

"That was real good," said Ron. "I think she'll make a good Bull of the Woods." The rest of the men agreed.

"Alright Cat, the men are convinced you're the right person for the job. Come on down." Cat started to try and walk down the logs when Adam said, "No Cat. Don't try and walk down. Sit down and come down on your bottom. Pa will kill me if you get hurt and you could fall and get hurt trying to walk down the logs."

When Cat reached the ground, Ron said, "That was very good Miss Cat. You were even louder than your Pa and Adam."

"WOW! Wait until I tell Pa. I didn't think anyone was louder than him. Joe said that when he was little and got in trouble, they could probably hear Pa yelling all the way in Carson City. How come those logs are tied like that?"

"It's to keep them from rolling and hurting people."

"I don't understand. Why would they roll?"

"Come over to the table and I'll show you." There was a box of pencils on the table and he took several of them out. "The logs are round just like these pencils. Watch what happens when I try and stack them like the logs." He tried stacking the pencils and Cat watched as they all rolled away. "If we didn't tie the logs down, they would do the same thing. Now watch what happens when I keep the bottom pencils from moving." He put two fingers from one hand on either side of the bottom pencils and stacked more on top. "If you look at that stack of logs you climbed up, you'll see that we've got stakes in four places on each side. Once we put the bottom logs in place, we drive stakes into the ground to keep them from moving before adding extra layers. Then once the stack is complete, we throw ropes over the top and tie them to the end stakes to keep everything in place. When we're ready to put the logs onto a wagon, we untie them, someone climbs up to the top, puts a grappling fork into the top log and then comes back down again. Then we use a hoist to pick the log up and move it onto the wagon. I don't think we're planning on doing that today so maybe you'll get to see how it works the next time you're here."

"Doesn't anyone ever get hurt?"

"Accidents do happen and men get careless, but as long as we're very careful and keep the equipment in good repair, everybody usually stays safe. Now, you're the boss, so what do you want us to do first?"

Cat looked at Adam who whispered something to her. She looked at some axes that needed sharpening and said, "I think that everyone should sharpen their axes and saws. My Uncle Luke says that if an axe isn't sharp, it could bounce off a tree or log and the person using it could get hurt. I don't want anybody to get hurt so all of the axes and saws should be sharpened before you use them."

While the men were sharpening their tools, Adam took Cat and showed her how to mark trees. "Why don't you mark all of them?" she asked.

"Because then there would be nothing to hold the soil in place when it rains and that could cause a big mud slide. If that happens, everything in the path of the mud would be destroyed, including trees, people, and animals."

"Oh. That would be a really bad thing."

"Yes it would. Here come the men. We need to stand back here so we're not in the way of a tree that's being cut."

After watching the men saw trees for a little while, Cat asked, "Can I try doing that?"

"You're pretty small for that, but I'll ask Ron if he'll let you try." Adam and Ron got all of the men to stop working for a little while. Then Adam took her over to where Wes was working and showed her how a two person saw worked. She tried cutting a tree down with Wes and, when he saw her struggling, Adam helped her. They stayed at the lumber camp for several hours and when they left, all of the men hugged Cat, told her that she was the best Bull of the Woods they ever had, and to come back and see them again soon. On the way home, they stopped by a small stream to water their horses. Adam helped Cat down off Beauty and said, "Let's sit here for a few minutes. I have something I need to tell you." He hugged her tightly and said, "I want you to know how proud I am of how you acted today. Even though I put you in charge, you treated all of the men with respect and they appreciated it. I am also very proud of the fact that you stayed right by my side and didn't try to do anything without asking. When we get home, I am going to tell Pa how well you did today and how proud I am of you. Now I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you will never come up here alone unless one of us tells you to or it's an emergency."

"Why?"

"Because that was your first visit to a lumber camp, they are dangerous, and you don't know enough about them to stay completely safe. If you got in the way of a falling tree, you could be killed. Sometimes axe handles break and the head goes flying. If you are nearby, it could hit you. If you were standing too near the wagon when it is being loaded and the hoist broke, a log could fall on you and kill you. If you do have to come up here alone, stay by the table until an adult takes you somewhere else. Will you please make that promise to me? It's for your safety."

"I promise."

Adam hugged her. "Thank you Cat. Your promise means a lot to me and Pa and I won't have to worry about you coming up here and possibly getting hurt or worse."

"Wait until I tell Pa what I did today. He's really going to be surprised."

"Yes he is. Now I had better get you home before Pa and Grandfather think I fed you to a tree. I'll help you with your lessons after I do our chores. That reminds me, it's getting too cold for you to sit out in the pasture and do your homework. It's still warm enough to do it in the barn but by the beginning of December, you'll have to do it in the house."


	89. Chapter 89

When they reached the house, Adam asked Cat to take both horses into the barn and unsaddle Beauty. Then he walked into the house and said, "Please play along with whatever Cat says and I'll explain later. Remember, she likes to exaggerate a lot. I can't wait until she starts telling fish stories. We're liable to find out that we have a whale or sea monster living in Lake Tahoe."

"Alright son," said Ben. "I do know how she likes to exaggerate, so I have no problem playing along with whatever she says."

Cat came into the house and after being hugged by Ben and Abel said, "Wait 'til I tell you what I did today."

"Why don't you wait until Hoss and Joe are home?" asked Ben. "That way you can tell everybody all at once instead of having to tell your story several times."

"Ok."

"That's my girl. Why don't you go and work with Fury for a while? Laura or Michael should be here with your school work within the hour."

When Cat went out to work with Fury, she thought about putting her puppies on his back but remembered what Joe had told her. 'Your puppies are too heavy for you to pick up, so they're too heavy for Fury to have on his back. He's only five months old and if you put something heavy on his back, you could hurt him.' Instead, she hugged him and said, "I wish you could hurry up and grow up. I don't want to wait until you're two until I can ride you. I want to be able to ride you to school tomorrow."

Mike arrived with Cat's school work while she was out in the pasture with Fury. He climbed over the gate and joined her. "He sure is getting big, isn't he? I know you're wishing he was old enough to ride. I was the same way with Pepper here. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks Mike. I wasn't really sick. I just couldn't sleep 'cause I was mad at Pa and my brothers. When we got home yesterday, they all went in the house to talk with Grandpa Stoddard and I had to take care of the team all by myself. They didn't even care until I came in the house and asked someone to hang the harness up 'cause I couldn't reach the hook. They only cared when Hop Sing yelled at them and hit them with his spoon. Grandpa must have yelled at them last night 'cause Pa let me sleep until almost dinner time and Adam took me with him to the lumber camp after dinner. I got to be Bull of the Woods. I got to stand on top of a big pile of logs and yell 'moo', I got to tell the men what to do and I got to help cut down a big tree. It was fun. Maybe I'll get to do it again soon. What do I have for homework?"

"I'm sorry your family did that to you. Sometimes grownups are really dumb and act worse than little kids. They do things that they'd yell at kids for doing. Going to the lumber camp does sound like fun. Maybe I'll get to go with you next time. Homework is just grammar and arithmetic. We have an arithmetic test on Thursday, so be sure you know your long division and how to check if your answer is right. Miss Winter said she's going to review problems that were missed on the test on Friday, and you're going to be starting to learn how to add and subtract fractions on Monday. Believe it or not, that's harder than multiplying and dividing them. You have to make all of the fractions have common denominators, add or subtract them and then put the answer in lowest terms. But at least you won't be doing long division any more."

"Yuck. I hate arithmetic. I don't see any reason to do fractions any more than I see a reason to do long division. They're both dumb, especially problems like if a barn has ten stalls and three of them are empty, what fraction are occupied? I mean, who cares as long as there's enough stalls for all the horses. And who divides ten numbers by three numbers? The stuff we have to learn in school just doesn't make sense."

"Yeah. I agree. We had a problem last year that was something like if a pasture has six hundred cows in it and six fifteenths of those cows have calves, how many do not have calves? We shouldn't have to do stuff like that. Who cares how many cows don't have calves as long as the cattle are healthy and fat enough to make the spring drive and get a good price from the cattle buyers? It gets even worse in fifth grade. We have to add, subtract, multiply and divide percentages. We also have to convert fractions and decimals to percentages as well as converting percentages to fractions and decimals. It just isn't fair."

Unknown to either child, while they were complaining about arithmetic and adults, Adam had walked up to the pasture and was standing at the gate. He burst out laughing, startling Mike and Cat and said, "You two are funny. If you spent as much time concentrating on your school work as you do complaining about it, your grades would be much better than they are now."

"That's easy for you to say," answered Mike. "You liked school. We don't. We know enough now so we shouldn't have to go to school any more. I'd quit tomorrow if I could, but Pa says I've got to go until I'm at least sixteen and that's six years from now."

"You're lucky Mike," said Cat. "My Pa says I have to go to school until I'm eighteen. All my friends will be married by then and I'll still be stuck going to school. I'll be an old maid before I finish school and no boy will want to marry me then."

Adam shook his head and laughed at his sister's pronouncement. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Cat, you have got to be the silliest little girl I've ever met. Many parents won't allow their daughters to marry until they turn eighteen and those girls are nowhere near close to being old maids. The girl Joe is courting, Sally Ann Morgan, is nineteen and she is definitely not an old maid. Besides that, even if Pa lets you quit school before you're eighteen, which he won't, he has already said he will not allow you to marry until you are eighteen. So just plan on staying a little girl for the next nine years. Now I know that you and Mike have homework to do and I'm sure he also has chores waiting at home so say goodbye to Fury and let's go, get your homework done."

Cat and Mike started climbing the pasture gate only to find themselves on the receiving end of swats from Adam. "Hey! What's that for?" demanded Cat.

"Climbing the gate is not safe and you know it. There are two safe ways to leave the pasture. You can open the gate and exit that way or you can climb through the gate but you may not climb the gate."

Cat looked at Adam and said, "Grumpy!" as she and Mike climbed through the gate.

"Hey, I like that," laughed Mike. "Wait until I tell Mitch. He'll love it too. Grumpy Yankee Granite Head. It's perfect."

"You two just made a huge mistake and are about to pay for it," teased Adam as he put the children over his shoulders. He grabbed the reins of Mike's horse and walked up to the house. After tying the horse to the hitching rail, he walked into the house. "I thought you would like to say goodbye to these two. They made a huge mistake and are about to die a slow and painful death."

The rest of the family started laughing. "What did they do and what are you going to do to them?" asked Ben.

"They said adults and mathematics were dumb. Then little sister said I was grumpy and this other one thought it was funny and was going to tell Mitch that I was a Grumpy Yankee Granite Head."

"Why did your sister say you were grumpy?"

"Because I swatted and scolded them for climbing over the pasture gate."

"Cat, you know better than to climb over the gate. You could have been hurt."

"You're right Mike," said Cat. "Grownups are dumb sometimes. I never get hurt doing stuff I like doing. Since I can't climb the pasture gate 'cause I might get hurt, that means I don't have to go to church or school either 'cause I already got hurt in those places."

Abel laughed. "She's got you there Benjamin. Cat, although I agree with your Pa that school at least, is important, I like the way you used his argument against him. Now Adam, what are you planning on doing to those children?"

Joe and Hoss knew what was going to happen next, so while Ben and Abel had their attention focused on Adam and his two captives, Joe held up five fingers and Hoss held up four. They started counting down when Adam said, "I am going to stake them out and tickle them to death."

Cat decided it was time to get some help and yelled, " **Hop Sing help! Adam's being mean to me and Mike! He says he's going to kill us!** " Hoss and Joe stopped counting when Cat started yelling and Hoss won the little competition.

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen carrying his wooden spoon. He hit Adam with it twice and said, "No be mean to Missy Cat and Mike. Go tell Mike palents he be home after suppel." When Adam made no move to put Mike and Cat down, Hop Sing hit him again. "Hop Sing say put children down and go. You go or Hop Sing use spoon again."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'm going, I'm going. You don't need to use your spoon any more." He put Cat and Mike down, grabbed his jacket, hat and gun and walked out the door.

"Joe, can I please get the chair out of your room? Mike and I are going to do our homework in my room and Mike needs a chair to sit on."

"Sure Cat. Just please remember to put it back when you're done."

After Cat and Mike went upstairs, Hop Sing told Joe to set the table. Abel looked at Ben and asked, "Did I just see what I think I did? I get the distinct impression that my granddaughter has Hop Sing wrapped around her little finger."

Ben laughed. "Yes you saw what you think you did. I may own this ranch but Hop Sing rules it. Even the hands listen to him. In the three months since Adam and I brought Cat home from Dodge, Hop Sing has threatened to go back to China and take Cat with him at least six times."

After Mike and Cat finished their homework, Cat said, "I think we've still got some time before supper. Come on and I'll introduce you to Samson."

"Who is Samson?"

"He's our big bull and he likes me. I'm not supposed to go in the pasture with him because Pa says I could get hurt, but I do anyway when nobody's around. That's another dumb rule. Samson wouldn't hurt me and Pa knows it." They walked downstairs and Cat asked, "How much time until supper Pa? I want to take Mike out and introduce him to Samson."

"I'm not sure. Why don't you ask Hop Sing?"

They went into the kitchen and talked to Hop Sing who told them they had plenty of time to spend with the bull and gave each of them two carrots and some lettuce for him. They went outside and Cat said, "I've got to saddle Beauty. The pasture is about a ten minute ride that way." She pointed toward the east.

"Why don't we just ride double on Pepper? We'll get there faster."

"Ok. I just have to get something from the barn. I'll be right back." Cat returned from the barn with two brushes in her hand and said, "Ok. Let's go before we run out of time."

When they reached the pasture, Mike looked at the bull, let out a low whistle and said, "Wow. He is really big. Now I know why your Pa named him Samson."

They walked over to the pasture gate and the bull walked up to greet them. "Hi Samson," said Cat as she kissed the bull's snout. "This is my friend Mike. Mike, this is Samson. You can pet him if you want to and he'll take the carrots and lettuce from you real gentle. He loves it when I brush him. You can brush him too."

After Mike and Cat went into the kitchen, Abel asked, "Who is Samson?"

"He's our big bull. Would you like to see him? It will only take a few minutes for me to saddle a horse for you."

"Yes, I would like that very much. I want to learn everything I possibly can about my new granddaughter." Ben walked out of the barn a few minutes later, leading a horse for Abel and carrying a rope which he tied to his saddle. "Why are you bringing that rope? Is it dangerous for the children to be near the bull?"

"No, not at all. That bull loves Cat and would never intentionally hurt her. She's not allowed in the pasture unless an adult is present in case something happens and she accidentally gets hurt. That has been the rule since she was six and she has been caught breaking it on more than one occasion. Since I'll be there, she'll want to go into the pasture and the rope is just a precaution in the unlikely event something happens and I need to get the bull away from the children." They rode up to the pasture and before Cat could ask, Ben said, "Yes Cat, you and Mike may go in with the bull since your grandfather and I are here."

"Gee thanks Pa. Come on Mike. Back up Samson so we can climb through the gate." Abel was amazed to see a very large bull acting like a young calf with the two children and couldn't believe it when he took the offered treats as gentle as a lamb. The children hugged the bull and brushed him. When Ben said it was time to go, Cat hugged and kissed the bull before climbing back through the pasture gate.

Abel looked at Ben and said, "I've never seen anything like that in my life. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that bull blushed when Cat kissed him. That child could probably charm the pants off a pirate."

"I wouldn't be surprised but I'd rather not find out if she can or not."

During supper, Hoss asked, "What did you do all day little sister? I'm shore Pa didn't let ya sleep all day."

"I went to the lumber camp with Adam. I got to be Bull of the Woods. First I had to climb this really big pile of logs. It was as high as a mountain or maybe even higher. Once I got up to the top, I had to stand up and yell 'moo' as loud as I could. Mr. Ron said I yelled even louder than Pa and Adam."

"That's really good sis," said Joe. "I didn't think anyone could yell louder than Pa. When I was a boy and got in trouble, I swear they could have heard him yelling in Carson City and possibly as far away as Sacramento. If you yell louder than Pa, your kids won't stand a chance when they get into trouble."

"I got to help Adam mark trees and he told me why we don't cut all of them down. I even got to cut down a tree that must have been at least a million feet tall."

"A million feet tall," said Ben. "That must have been quite some tree. Are there any more that are like that?"

"Yes. There are lots. That was a short one. Mr. Wes said I couldn't cut down a bigger one until I got taller. He said I might be able to do it when I'm ten. I even got to make the horses pull the logs over to be stacked. I didn't get to help stack them 'cause Mr. Ron said they weren't doing that today but I maybe could the next time I go there."

After Cat finished, Adam said, "I want everyone to know how proud I am of Cat. Even though she was in charge, she treated all of the men with respect and when she told them to do something, she told them why she wanted them to do it. They really appreciated the way she acted toward them. She asked questions and paid attention to the answers, and she waited for permission before attempting to do anything the men were doing. Also, she promised me that she would never go up there alone unless it was an emergency or one of us told her to."

"Well, you certainly had quite an adventure today," said Ben. "You're going to have quite a story to tell your friends at school tomorrow."

"I'm not going back to school ever and I'm not ever going to church again either."

"Why not?"

"'Cause you said I can't climb the pasture gates or go in with Samson unless a grownup is there and I could get hurt. I already got hurt at school and church and could get hurt again so I shouldn't have to go to those places anymore."

Ben sighed. His nine year old daughter was using his logic against him and he wasn't sure how to answer her without getting her upset. "Didn't someone hurt you at school in Dodge?"

"No. Mark Hansen shot at me one day when I was walking with Uncle Matt but he missed by a lot. He didn't dare try anything at school because Robert Tanner and his friends would have beat him up."

"You still have to go to school and church Sweetheart."

"Why? So I can get hurt again? I guess you really don't love me."

Mike was doing all he could to keep from laughing as was the rest of the family.

"I do love you Cat but school is important and so is church."

"That's dumb. I already know how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I don't need to know anything else. Having to go to church all the time is dumb too. Uncle Matt never went and the only time I did is when Miss Kitty took me. You keep saying I can't do stuff I want to 'cause I might get hurt but you want to make me go places where I already got hurt. I never get hurt doing stuff I want to. I'm a cat and everybody knows that cats never get hurt."

Ben sighed again and did the only thing he could do. He compromised, sort of. "I understand your feelings so I will reevaluate the things I have been telling you not to do, including climbing the pasture gate, because you could get hurt. However, some things will not change. Until you are older, the hayloft is still off limits unless an adult is with you. If you fell out of it, you could be crippled for life. You will not jump your horse over anything higher than Hoss' knees and you will not go into the bull's pasture unless an adult is with you. I know that bull loves you and would never intentionally hurt you, but if he accidentally stepped on you, he would crush your foot. Do you remember how heavy those two bales of hay were when I put them on your feet?"

"Yes."

"That bull weighs at least thirty times more than those bales of hay do, so somebody who is familiar with cattle needs to be there to tell you to get out of the way in a hurry if they see him shift his weight or move the foot closest to you."

"Pa's right Punkin'," said Hoss. "I'm lots bigger than you and that ol' bull could crush one of my feet too. That's why I'm extra careful whenever I go in the pasture with him."

"You still have to go to school and church. You are only nine years old and that is much too young to quit school. The rest of the family, including your Godparents would take you away from me if I let you do that, so you will attend school until you are eighteen. The only times you will not go to school are if you are sick or injured, if it is raining too hard, or we are snowed in. The same applies to church. I know that you did not attend church very often, but, this family attends church every Sunday unless something prevents us from doing so. Now I highly recommend you finish your supper so you will have time to spend with Mike before he goes home. You both have school in the morning."

Mike could not contain himself any longer and asked, "Mr. Cartwright, will you please stop saying that bad word? It's bad enough we've got to be tortured by going there all the time and we really shouldn't have to hear that word during a meal."

Everyone started laughing and Joe nearly choked on his food. "Alright Mike," laughed Ben. "I won't say that word any more while we're eating."

All of a sudden, they heard the unmistakable roll of thunder and saw a flash of lightning. Mike got up and started to run for the door. "I've got to get home. Pepper is out there, he's still saddled, and needs to be fed."

"Sit down Michael," said Ben. "You're not going anywhere in a storm. Your parents would kill me if I let you ride home in this weather so you will spend the night here. I'm sure that Joe has an old nightgown, robe and slippers that should fit you. Hoss, will you please take care of Michael's horse for him?" 

"Thank you Mr. Cartwright."

"You're very welcome Mike. Now you need to eat more. There's plenty of food so don't be afraid to eat as much as you can hold. Remember, Hop Sing is used to feeding Hoss."

Hoss came back into the house just as the sky opened up. "That shore is gonna be some storm. As bad as it's rainin' it's a good thing it ain't any colder. Ifn it was, we'd be getting' a whole lot of snow. Don't worry about your horse none Mike. I got him all fed and bedded down for the night."

"Thanks Hoss."

"It weren't no trouble at all. Heck, I'd even do the same for Little Joe."

"Gee thanks big brother."

"Don't mention it Shortshanks. That's what brothers are for."

After supper, Cat and Mike played two games of checkers, each of them winning one. Ben told them it was time to get ready for bed. Joe put a nightgown, robe and pair of slippers in a guest room for Mike. As they were going upstairs, Cat asked, "Joe, what room did you put Mike in?"

"It's the one right next to Grandfather's."

"Thanks. Come on Mike. I'll show you which room you're going to use tonight." When they reached the second floor, Cat showed Mike where everybody's room was before taking him to his. "Come to my room when you're ready for bed. Adam will be up to read with me in a few minutes and you can read with us."

Adam read with Cat and Mike and shortly after he left Cat's room, Joe walked in carrying two logs. "It's going to be a cold, damp night so I've brought extra logs for your fire. I've already put two in Mike's room. Mike, did Cat show you where everyone's room is?"

"Yes she did."

"Good. If you need anything during the night, feel free to knock on anyone's door. However, I would recommend that you avoid knocking on this one. These two ferocious beasts might just have you for a late night snack." Mike and Cat laughed as Joe tickled both puppies under their chins. "It's high time the pair of you were in bed. Pa will be up shortly and I can tell you from experience that he will _ **not**_ be happy if you're not under the covers in your own beds."

"Alright Joe, I'm going," said Mike. "What chores do you have in the morning Cat? I'll help you with them."

"I don't have any until next year 'cause I caught more fish than everybody else and had to take care of the team by myself yesterday."

"Hey, that's great. Not that you had to take care of the team by yourself but that you don't have any chores until next year. Since I'm spending the night here, Mitch will have to do mine in the morning. I can't remember the last time I didn't have to do chores. Maybe I should make the same bet with Mitch as your family did with you. Well, I'd better go to bed before your Pa comes up here and gets mad at us. See you in the morning."

When Cat and Mike arrived at school the next morning, Cat told her friends about her adventure at the lumber camp the previous afternoon. Annabel was eavesdropping on the conversation and said, "You weren't really sick. I can't believe your Pa let you skip school so you could play all day. I'm telling Miss Winter that you weren't really sick and you're going to get a whipping for skipping school."

"It's obvious that you know absolutely nothing about our family," came a voice from behind Annabel. "Our father has raised three sons and knows if a child is sick or not and Catherine was sick during the night. I will be seeing your father and Reverend Long in a little while and I fully intend to tell them that you were eavesdropping and were trying to cause trouble for my sister. You obviously have a hard time following directions because you are not supposed to be anywhere near Cat but here you are listening in on her conversation." Then he looked at Cat and said, "Hi Squirt."

"Hi Adam. Why are you here? Mike and I didn't forget anything."

"Hop Sing sent me. He said he forgot to put these in your dinner pails this morning." He handed Mike and Cat two packages.

Cat unwrapped her package, squealed with delight and hugged Adam. "Chocolate cookies! Hop Sing makes the best chocolate cookies in the world! Thanks for bringing them Adam. That was really nice of you."

"Thank you Adam and please thank Hop Sing for me," said Mike. "Don't tell my Ma I said so, but Hop Sing is the best cook in the world."

Adam laughed. "You're welcome kids. Don't worry Mike. Your secret is safe with me. Cat, please meet me at Mr. McLeod's store after school. You and I need to do some shopping. Don't ask why we need to go shopping, just please meet me after school. You'll find out then."

"That's not fair. Now I'm gonna spend the whole day wondering why we're going shopping."

"You had better spend your day concentrating on your lessons, not why I asked you to meet me at Mr. McLeod's store."

"You're no fun. You're supposed to tell me not to worry about my lessons."

Adam laughed and hugged Cat. "Sorry Squirt. Joe might tell you that but Pa and I never will. There's the bell. You had better get going so you're not late. I'll see you after school." He turned her in the direction of the school steps and sent her off with a playful swat. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him before running to catch up with her friends.

Cat met Adam at the general store after school. "I know you're curious why I asked you to meet me here today. You and I need to do some shopping without the rest of the family being around. Pa's birthday is on Sunday and Grandfather's is on December first. Don't say anything about you don't have any money because I know you don't. You're going to pick out the gifts and I'll pay for them. Remember what I told you in Santa Fe when you wanted to get that parasol for Miss Kitty? That's what family is for. I used to do the same thing for Hoss and Joe when they were boys. Now, shall we look around and see if we can find anything for Pa and Grandfather?"

Cat was surprised at what Adam told her and said, "I guess so. Sure, why not?"

Adam laughed and said, "You are a silly little girl. Now what do you think you should get for Pa?"

"I don't know. What does he like?"

"Believe me, he'll like anything you get him."

"Yeah, Uncle Matt's the same way, but I want to get him something he'll really like."

"Well, I happen to know that he needs a new pocket knife. Why don't we see what Mr. McLeod has and see if you like any of them?"

They looked at all of the pocket knives in the store and Cat finally picked one up and said, "I like this one."

"That's a good choice little sister. It is heavy enough for ranch work but not so heavy it won't weigh Pa's pockets down. Now, what do you want to get for Grandfather?"

Cat thought for a minute and said, "I think he needs a hat. He'll look awfully funny riding without one."

Adam wasn't sure how much riding his grandfather was going to do but said, "Alright Squirt. The hats are on that shelf up there. Which one do you like?"

"I don't know. It's hard to see them from down here."

"Well, I know the perfect solution to that problem." He picked Cat up and sat her on one of his shoulders. "Can you see better now?"

"Yes. Thank you." Cat looked at her brother and at the hats and made a decision. She pointed to a pair of hats in different shades of brown and said, "I like those two." Adam took the hats off the shelf and handed them to Cat. She looked at them and at Adam, took his hat off his head and put the lighter one on him.

"We're supposed to be getting a hat for Grandfather. I already have one."

"Yes, but I don't like you wearing black all the time. I like that hat better than your black one. Will you please get it for you and start wearing different color shirts?"

"I happen to like wearing black little sister."

"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" She looked into his brown eyes with pleading in her green ones and his heart melted. He knew right then and there that there were going to be many things he would be unable to refuse her and this was one of them."

"Alright, but I'm still going to wear black sometimes."

"Sometimes is ok, just not all the time."

"Only sometimes. I promise. Now I guess you had better help me pick out some shirts."

Cat looked at the shirts and her brother and said, "Red, blue, green, and gold."

Adam picked out two of each color shirt and asked, "Do you need anything for you?"

"I guess I need more socks. My feet are always cold. It's colder here than it was in Dodge."

"Why haven't you said anything before now?"

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to bother anybody."

"Cat, you need to let us know when you need something or if something isn't right, like your feet being cold. That's not bothering us. It's our job to take care of you and we can't do that unless you let us know what you need. Once everybody is home, we're going to have to sit down as a family and talk about your habit of not telling us when you need something. Joe and I didn't tell Pa that we found you sleeping in the barn Monday night because he would have been very upset that you didn't tell anyone that something was bothering you. Let's get you some thicker socks so I can pay for everything and then we have to go home. What do you have to do for homework tonight?"

"Arithmetic, history and reading. I have a dumb arithmetic test tomorrow."

"That means you'll have to spend extra time studying for it so you get a good grade."

"Adam?"

"Yes Cat?"

"Will you take my arithmetic test for me tomorrow? You're lots better at it than me."

Adam laughed, picked Cat up, kissed her on the forehead, hugged her and said, "You are a very silly little girl. There are many things I would gladly do for you but that is not one of them. I would gladly fight off a herd of stampeding elephants if I had to, but I will not take your arithmetic test or any other test for that matter. That is something you need to do yourself. Tests are designed to see how much you have learned. Nobody would know how much you have learned if I took the test for you. I will be more than happy to spend time helping you prepare for it, but I will not take it for you. Now go and get yourself some thick socks before I decide to feed you to James' puppy."

When Adam was getting ready to pay for their purchases, Mr. McLeod asked, "Adam, would you please help me with something in the back room?"

"I'd be more than happy to Gerald. Cat, why don't you look around the store while I help Mr. McLeod? This shouldn't take too long."

Once they were in the back room, Mr. McLeod said, "I don't need your help, I just said that so Cat wouldn't be suspicious when I asked you to come back here. I wanted to show you something I got in today. Christmas is a little more than a month away and the family might want to think about getting one for Cat." He opened a large crate and took out a sled.

Adam looked at it and said, "Thank you Gerald. I'm sure that Pa will agree to have Santa bring one for Cat. In fact, please put three of them aside for us. I see no reason why Santa shouldn't bring one for Mary and Laura Ingalls also. I'm sure that many of the children they play with already have one so this way all three girls can go sledding with their friends. I'll let Pa know tonight after Cat is asleep."

"I'll be more than happy to do that for you." When they returned to the store, Mr. McLeod said, "Thank you for your help Adam. I needed help moving that crate and James is off on an errand."

Before paying for everything, Adam asked Mr. McLeod to add two pieces of licorice and a bag of penny candy to their purchases. When they walked outside, Adam picked Cat up and put her on her horse. Then he handed her a licorice stick, the bag of candy and said, "You may have the licorice and two pieces of candy now and the rest will have to wait until later. Pa and Hop Sing will have my head if you eat too much candy and don't eat supper."

Cat looked in the bag, picked out two pieces of candy and said, "Thanks Adam. Will you please carry the candy home 'cause if I do, I'm gonna want to eat all of it before we get there. You can have some if you want to. You know, I might just ask Hop Sing to take your head off anyways. It would be funny to see you carrying it like the headless horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

"Scamp. If you aren't careful, I'm going to pick you up out of that saddle and turn you around so you're facing backwards. Now let's go. You have an arithmetic test to study for."


End file.
